The 2013, 2014, and 2015 vintages of the Gravel Series ‘The Vow’ Cabernet Sauvignon are deeply concentrated and intensely structured with floral aromatics, luscious dark fruit character, and smooth, supple tannins.
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Gravel Series The Vow is ripe, dark and unctuous, with a seamless feel and tons of personality. There is plenty of structure underpinning the fruit, but the wine’s mid-palate sweetness and overall density give The Vow a distinctly voluptuous expression. Persistent and deep, the 2014 is going to have a lot to say over the coming 10-15 years or more.“
95+ points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
“One of the many highlights in this range, the Cabernet Sauvignon Gravel Series The Vow is terrific today. Powerful, structured and tannic, The Vow packs a real punch. Gravel, smoke, cured meat, charcoal embers and licorice add to the wine’s feel of gravitas. Readers will have to be patient, but the 2015 looks like to have the potential to develop into a pretty special wine. Even at this early stage, it is compelling.”
A nearly perfect growing season provided a stellar harvest in 2013. Moderate weather allowed the fruit to hang longer on the vine for better flavor development and phenolic maturity, without excessive sugar accumulation.
The 2014 vintage experienced early bud break, early veraison, and early harvest. The continued warm and dry weather throughout the summer and fall led to the perfect amount of vine stress, allowing the fruit to profit from long hang-time.
Cooler conditions during fruit set resulted in lower yields than normal; indicating that the vines were in good balance with no need to drop fruit to achieve ripening. Throughout the rest of the season, growing conditions were near perfect. The very small crop produced more concentrated flavors and achieved ripeness earlier than any previous vintage.