2018 Memento Mori Vine Hill Ranch Vineyard

Save the date out … August 25th … can’t wait.

Di Co, Realm, MM… going to be a very expensive cc statement

Yes! My Amex will be suffering…

Do we know when the other SVD releases are?

Also Kinsman Eades on 8/25 and Realm on 9/1. And I thought I would finish under budget this year.

and William & Mary is also coming up… I believe the other SVDs are in October…

Thanks Rodrigo! It’ll be a somewhat nice “break” on the wallet…

Also, in addition to this, Di Costanzo, Realm, theres also Macdonald and Ultramarine!

Yup, i have Dico and Realm on the calendard… Not worthy of Mcdonald yet… hopefully one day I get on that one…

Going back to the main topic, I wanted to ask how this VHR SVD compares to the main VHR wine made by Bruce?

Thanks for all of the reminders of the upcoming releases - I was putting together a wish list for the HDH auction on the 20th/21st - will now go back and cross off 75%

Guys, I had a chance to drink this wine on Friday night with Adam at a neighbors house here in Manhattan Beach. They had decanted it for probably 2 hours before I arrived. It’s lush and round with bright fruit and major promise for a long evolution. I always have a tough time discerning wines this young, especially late in the evening after I’ve had multiple other wines to drink, but this stood out as a clear winner next to a 2010 Next of Kyn and a 2008 Spottswoode that I brought. Warm up your credit cards.

Peschon, winemaker for VHR, style tends to lean a bit more towards Bordeaux (Yet 100% Napa) from a structure perspective while Kaplan leans right down the middle Yielding the best of both sides (IMO), not a TRB fruit bomb which I also enjoy nor overly tight and coy waiting for the structure to relax in order to let the wine speak- rather maybe just right down the middle (Napawise anyway). Same goes for the stylistic VHR personalities and their take on each- keep in mind VHR property is vast and dramatically diverse allowing each individual parcel to have its own unique personality/character.

I had the fortune to taste the 2018 MM VHR barrel back in September and while young, and at that time, seemed like it would develop into an absolute stunner of a wine (lots of complexity flavor wise as it bounced around the different color spectrum yet had the structure to keep everything in honest and in check.

Not a fair comparison but I did taste it against (that weekend) the 2016 VHR, 2018 MM VHR and 2018 Keplinger VHR. The two ‘18s came out dramatically on top which is saying a lot as I really enjoyed the 2016 VHR. Again could be an unfair comparison due to vintage variation but Keplinger and Kaplan were on another level. Hope that helps.

Interesting comments on “vintage variation” and “dramatically better”…are you suggesting 2018s are far superior to 2016s? Or just happened to show better in this tasting. Either way, thanks for the insights!

Thanks for the insight Ryan.

I popped the cork on a 2017 MM VHR a couple weeks back, and after three hours in the decanter, it was delicious. I can’t imagine how much better the ‘18 is going to be. Excited for this Tuesday for sure…

Hi Mar. My reference was two fold:

1. the two 2018 VHRs from Keplinger and MM, IMO for my palate, seemed to be a notch more exciting and tantalizing which is (was) surprising as they were up against a truly spectacular wine. Now will the 2016 VHR out live the 2018s from other winemakers and parcels- maybe but unfortunately these two wines were killer. Caveat they were barrel samples so the final blend/other barrels can vary but our entire group did a double take it was that good when tasting the 2018 Keplinger VHR (for whatever that is worth).
2. could the 2018 vintage be the best in a streak of killer vintages- I am not talented enough to make that call yet and I would suggest it has a lot to do with stylistic preferences: more structure, more acid, more flavor more everything… too early to tell but between Vice Versa, Memento Mori and Keplinger Barrel samples they were all outstanding even in this/that stage. I am tasting my first 2018 Cabernet in bottle Saturday night which I am excited (La Pelle) as it will help get my lay of the 2018 vintage in a bit more.

Does that help or confuse more?

Very helpful, thanks for sharing. I’ve never had a Keplinger wine but I’ll add that to the radar.

And please share a TN on that ‘18 La Pelle…

Blarmston- on it.

Hey Ryan- haha…helpful! Thank you. Sounds like 2018 is another super strong vintage and VHR continues to be an impressive vineyard for a variety of styles. FWIW, I did a 2013 side by side of the Bond Vecina and VHR…it was splitting hairs as both were outstanding wines and still youthful.

Very cool. I really enjoyed the 2013 VHR a couple of weeks ago. Lots of time left for sure.

Per request, below is my La Pelle thoughts although wasn’t opened by itself with enough time to Contemplate appropriately).

Too many wines, too little time for contemplation however the below is from memory. Whoa this puppy is built for the long haul and a wonderful representation of the vintage. More in the profile of the 2016 vintage than the 2017 tasted alongside it which was super yummy (yes looking for more and one of the few 2017s worth the price of admission). Bright dark red and blackberry and maybe blue fruit poking out all supported by great structure and lift. There is a solid core of mineral but it’s not yet a spine from start to finish.

While the wine has yet to be released, it will need time to settle in and fully come tighter as the wine has all the stuffing to surpass its previous renditions with time in the cellar. For those with patience this shoukd reward for years to come. Very well built and delivers on its price point again which is a consistent theme.93++

Thanks, Ryan - really appreciate the TN!