Tor Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside 2015 / 750 ml.

Drive the Oakville Cross Road to the Silverado Trail, then look directly forward and up and you see Tierra Roja, a small four-acre jewel of a hillside vineyard. The vineyard is dotted with big rocks, and the soil is roja (very red). The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside comes from the upper steep terraces of the vineyard, directly below Dalla Valle. It includes 5% Cabernet Franc from another of Oakville’s vineyards. Fermented in a single closed-top tank, this was allowed to stay on its skins for a little over 30 days. The wine continued to pick up sweetness and depth without adding on any drying tannin, so extended maceration was used. After fermentation this was lightly pressed to new Taransaud and Darnajou barrels. Deep garnet-purple colored, it gives profound crème de cassis, blueberry pie, mulberries, plums, chocolate box, menthol and licorice aromas with underbrush hints. The full-bodied palate is firm, vibrant and earthy with herbal accents, finishing long and earthy. 300 cases produced.

Tor’s 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Hillside Tierra Roja Vineyard includes a dollop of 5% Cabernet Franc from To Kalon. A powerful, structured wine, the Oakville Hillside is going to need at least a few years to allow the tannins to soften. This is an especially tannic, imposing 2015 Cabernet. The 2015 spent 18 months in French oak, about 70% of it new.

A touch rustic and chewy while still maintaining an elegant profile, marked by charcoal, lead pencil, dried berry, sage and cedary oak notes. Should gain. Best from 2020 through 2030. 300 cases made.