Immortal Estate- 2016 Release (former Hidden Ridge)

I received Immortal Estate’s 2016 release email a week ago, didn’t get around to ordering it until this morning when the reminder email arrived right after the Detert email. Two birds, one credit card or something like that…

I’m a Spring Mountain nut so search out interesting wines from that area which led me to the Hidden Ridge 55 Degree Slope recommendations here. Hidden Ridge gets/got a lot of love as a great value cabernet in the $40-50 range. The brutally steep vineyard sits at the top of the Mayacamas Range, but just on the Sonoma side of Spring Mtn so carries a Sonoma County designation.
Sometime in 2016 (?) Hidden Ridge was sold after one of the previous owners passed and Immortal Estate formed. Same vineyards and winemaker (Tim Milos) as previous at Hidden Ridge. Immortal Estate’s wines are Slope (standard cab, now $80) and Impassable Mountain Reserve ($300).

I’ve purchased the '14 & '15 (and now '16) Slope, but haven’t purchased the Impassable. I’ve tried the '14 and really enjoyed it. Parker gave it a 95-97, I think JD was 96. My notes from the first bottle:

At 2hrs-
Opened this ‘14 for dinner, should see 2hr decant.
I think this is what tasters mean when they invoke “leaping out of the glass.”
Nice red color. A small whiff of alcohol. Red fruit, plum & black berry.

Almost 3 hrs in-
Cherry & blackberry aromas, alcohol note is gone. Lots of cherry kirsch & heat on the palate. Lots of fruit into the mid palate, long finish (45 seconds?) with a bit of heat and tannin coming through til the end.
Really nice, classic red-fruit cab profile. No vanilla, no caramel, no chocolate, this is old school.
Needs more decant time? More bottle time?
I’ll see how it goes w food.

At 5 hrs-
I should have started the decant earlier!
At 5 hrs it’s drinking beautifully. Excellent complement to filet, rosemary/thyme fingerlings, salad.
Very pretty nose still, palate has added blackberries & leather to the cherry. Gained a bit of spiciness and density. Tannins are in the background, in balance and carry through the finish.
Really nice wine! 93/95
Intellectually fun tasting. Not a cookie-cutter CA Cab. My wife initially thought it could pass as a high end, young Zin. She ultimately guessed it was an expensive Cab, more exp than $75.
My first taste of Immortal Estate (Hidden Ridge) wine. Good relative value at $75. I’ll look at picking up the ‘15 which was just released.

I was impressed and felt it was a good value at $75 for what’s in the glass (despite technically not being Napa). Thought I’d give a shout out to a wine I really enjoyed in the last 6 months.

Release email:

Dear Friends,

The best things in life take time, and they’re usually worth the wait.

Ever since the 2016 season—another 100-point vintage at our Spring Mountain vineyard and one of the best Cabernet years California’s ever seen—we’ve known the 2016 Immortal Slope would be one of the greats. Now, nearly five years after harvest, the wine is showing just as beautifully as we’d hoped.

Today we’re thrilled to offer the 2016 Immortal Slope Cabernet Sauvignon. Boasting a 95-point score from Jeb Dunnuck, it shows every bit of the glory of the historic vintage that also produced our upcoming 100-point 2016 Impassible Mountain Cabernet.

CLICK HERE TO ACQUIRE
This is a rich, dense, and profound Cabernet with what Dunnuck calls a “mammoth-sized personality.” As always, it’s composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from hand-selected lots that represent the many aspects and elevations of our Spring Mountain vineyard. Layered with black fruit and accented by allspice, cedar, mocha, and a hint of mint, the wine is built on a frame of sturdy tannins. After 28 months in 75% new French oak and three years in bottle, it’s silky and perfectly seamless.

We cellar our wines because we want you to enjoy them on release, and this one delivers tons of pleasure out of the gate.

We thank you for your support and can’t wait for you to try the incredible 2016 Immortal Slope.

Sincerely,
Timothy Martin, Randy Nichols, and Daniel Nichols

FREE SHIPPING: FOR ALL ORDERS OF 12 BOTTLES OR MORE

What was pricing this year?

$80 for the 2016 Slope. The Impassable Mtn (Reserve) was previously $300 (IIRC), the 2016 Impassable gets released in Sept, not sure when or at what price.

Is there a way to sign up on their mail list?

Here’s the “acquire” tab on their website. Go all the way to the bottom of that page and click the “please sign up here” link to get on their mailing list.

Was ascent the same wine in 12?

No, that was Diamond Mtn.

The 2016 slope is on wineaccess.com for $80 (release price). If you’re a new customer you can get $50 off $150+ with this referral link: Friendbuy - Forwarding To Destination
That brings 2x down to $55 each and includes free shipping.

Thank you Kurt for the link - and i love both these wines - i bought the estate wine - 3 bottles offer for about 900

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I’ve had 5 bottles of the Hidden Ridge 2012 & 2013:

Incredible nose on this wine - really remarkable and memorable - unfortunately no matter how long I have decanted (up to 24 hours) the taste of the wine does not come close to the smell, fairly one-note in my opinion, I am holding one bottle of 2013 for at least 10 years to see if this makes a difference, but at $80 I think you have many superior choices for mountain fruit (e.g. Saunter ESV - which is excellent, Burgess, etc)