Description

Ulysses 3-Vintage Vertical 2014, 2015, 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Boxed
Ulysses is primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot | Alc: 15%
Yountville, Napa Valley, California

Winemaker’s notes:
Ulysses 2014, with its breadth of dimension and creamy texture, offers rich tobacco, ripe plum and fig aromas balanced beautifully by a long, supple finish.
Offering tremendous opulence, Ulysses 2015 marries lavender and sage in voluptuous layers of blond tobacco and blue plum. A wine of great potential.
Remarkably fresh and full of energy, the Ulysses 2016 offers deep boysenberry, lavender and sage, spruce, rose petals, and wild cherry. The palate vibrates with fine – grained tannins and along, bracing finish.

Critical Acclaim:
“Made by the team at Dominus, yet from a slightly different terroir that’s more draining and slightly lesser density plantings, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. It’s a vibrant, elegant wine that has an exotic character in its blue fruits, gravelly minerality, dried herbs, and savory forest floor aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, with good concentration and integrated acidity, it needs 3-5 years of bottle age to come together and is a beautiful wine.”  95 Pts – Jeb Dunnuck

2014“The evolution of this wine has been phenomenal since I tasted it in barrel a year ago with the same black cherry, plum and citrus character but with a turn to orange leaf, dark Chinese tea, and mushroom. Full body, fine and velvety tannins with a touch of dust to the texture. So much chocolate and fruit undertones with forest floor and hints of tobacco, too. The mouthfeel and complexity are seductive. Better from 2022 but a joy to taste. Spring 2018 release.”  98 Pts – James Suckling #33 in James Suckling’s Top 100 Napa and Sonoma Wines of 2017

2015“Aromas of dark fruit, such as blackberries and black olives, as well as black tea and tanned leather. Raspberries and lemon spices, too. Full-bodied, very tight and polished with beautiful tannins and a weave of fruit and acidity to beautifully buttress the whole wine. Balanced and bright for the vintage. Drink in 2020 and onwards.”  96 Pts – James Suckling

2016“Aromas of sweet berries, fresh herbs, currant bush and licorice. Terracotta. Full body, layered and soft, velvety and focused tannins. Breathtaking texture. The focus ad polished is phenomenal. Harmonious. Enticing. Fascinating and thoughtful. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot. Drink or hold.”  99 Pts – James Suckling #8 in James Suckling – Top 100 American Wines of 2018

2014“The wine is dense purple, with sweet cedar wood, unsmoked cigar tobacco, crème de cassis, and black raspberries in a classic, almost St.-Julien/Pauillac style. This emerged from a valley floor vineyard on the west side of Napa, where Christian Moueix told me that 2014 was characterized by generally slightly higher than average temperatures for the summer with only minor heat spikes in June and July. August and September went off without a hitch, and the harvest took place during the month of September. This full-bodied wine will hit its peak in 3-5 years and last for 25-30. This is the newest estate vineyard wine from Christian Moueix. Located just to the north of Dominus, production varies from a low of 950 cases in 2015 to just over 1,300 cases in 2014.”  94 Pts – The Wine Advocate

2015“Possessing mere splashes of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon has a beautifully expressive crème de cassis nose with underlying black cherries, chocolate box, star anise and violets plus touches of pencil shavings and beef drippings. Medium to full-bodied, it delivers a quiet intensity of black fruits and restrained earthy layers supported by chewy tannins and plenty of freshness, finishing long with mineral and savory nuances. It has lovely elegance and depth. It needs another 2-3 years in bottle, then it should cellar gracefully over the next 20+ years.”  95 Pts – The Wine Advocate

2016“Very deep purple-black in color, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon leaps from the glass with exuberant notes of cassis, black cherries and blackberries with touches of bay leaves, lavender, rose hip tea and pencil shavings plus a waft of spice box developing with time. The palate is medium to full-bodied with a well-sustained mid-palate of youthful black fruit, a rock-solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and fantastic freshness lifting the perfumed fruit to a long, lively finish.”  95+ Pts – The Wine Advocate

2015“From the Ulysses Vineyard in Oakville, and blended with small amounts of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, this wine impresses in earthy sage, clove, cedar and tobacco. Old World in style, it has appealing aspects of crushed rock and structured tannin, with just a hint of dark chocolate and currant. Best 2025–2030.”  94 Pts – Wine Enthusiast

2015“Youthfully tight, featuring a wall of toast and dark earth notes out front, keeping a hefty core of steeped currant, blackberry and fig fruit at bay for now. The long, loamy spine carries the finish, with tobacco and alder notes filling in. Very backward now. This will require patience. Best from 2024 through 2038.”  93 Pts – Wine Spectator

2016“This is well-built but stays restrained in style, featuring alluring cassis and blackberry flavors, lined with black tea, minerally iron and warm tobacco accents. A late flash of warm paving stone adds depth and range through the finish. Should put on weight in the cellar. Best from 2021 through 2036.”  94 Pts – Wine Spectator

Winery

Tipsy Knitter Wines – Your Seattle based, online wine shop

Ulysses Vertical