TN: 2018 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)

Pours a deep dark ruby with thick, glass staining tears. Nose is a bit tight, but teasing out dark cherry and a hint of woody herb. Palate is a lot more giving than the nose. Rich, dense, full-bodied. Black cherries, gentle cassis, oaky vanilla, with subtle but supportive acid. The finish mimics the palate but has more oaky baking spice. Gentle but firm tannins slightly dry the palate. There’s a bit of heat on the finish that is fading with more time in the glass.

Obviously in a primary stage, but there’s dense and elegant wine wrapped underneath a bow. Approachable now with some air, but the best of this wine is a couple years out. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

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Hey, thanks for doing that and for posting the note. My first shipment just hit my storage spot. It’s tough in this place because you know these wines are too young (maybe not the zins and chards), but you kind of want a reference point before you keep buying the next several years.

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Thanks for the note but these 18’s need a few years!

At $44 for club members, it’s hard to think of a better buy in Napa cab. The whole line-up is excellent, with the Morisoli and the Holbrook Mitchell ($68 and $52 for members) being the standouts for me. All will benefit from time in the cellar, for sure.

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Agree with all the above. Wanted a reference point and will grab more of my allocation.

I’ve had a bottle of their Morisoli Zinfandel and it’s definitely ready right now. Thought it was good, but apparently my expectations were a little too high. Probably gonna have their NV bottle soon, but will age the Holbrook Mitchell, Morisoli, and Elyse Vineyard Cab’s. Great prices especially if you’re part of their Wine Club.

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Picked up our Elyse shipment at the tasting room last Friday. Garett tasted us through:

2019 C’est si Bon
2019 OV zin
2018 Morisoli zin
2018 DCV zin
2018 Korte zin
2019 Morisoli zin
2019 Le Corbeau Rhone
2018 Morisoli cab
2018 Napa Valley cab
2018 Holbrook-Mitchell cab
2019 “Kinote”? private label cab, essentially the same as Holbrook-Mitchell

Standouts were the 2018 Morisoli cab and the 2019 Kinote. All the zins except the 2019 OV (a new blend of the 3 zin vineyards) and the 2018 Korte seemed massive and will need time. Definitely looking forward to the 2019 Holbrook-Mitchell next year.

We also tasted the 2019 Addax SLH pinot and it was very good.

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Definitely a great place to visit, by the way. I think they poured 10-11 wines for us when we were there this fall, and were about to pour two more but, after an hour and a half, we had to regrettably depart for our next appointment. One special treat was a pour of the 1996 Morisoli zin, which was lovely. Also got to try some Addax (their Red Wine). We spent time with three members of the team, including Cheryl, and all were a delight. Great conversation about the wines, the history of the place, and where they’re headed. They were very generous with the wines and their time. It was one of the top visits of the trip. Highly recommended.

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Had some friends over last night, so I pulled the cork on the coravin’d bottle. Splash decant and back in the bottle to slow ox for a few hours.

This is so rich, dense, and lush. Oak is present though in balance, especially with extended airtime.

Need to get more. Fantastic for the money.

opened this btl this morning at 11am, just started sipping on it now (6 hrs later)
first thoughts-fwiw the bottle itself is like christian bale in the machinist. they clearly skimped on packing and focused on the juice. i like that actually. it’s what’s inside that counts :slight_smile:
nose is some new oak- im thinking gamba, taransaud, freres.
taste-sorta like ontogeny hooks up with a girl from bordeaux. little bit rustic for a bevan wine. but certainly some ripe blue fruit, flourless chocolate cake, and boysenberry. oak is less prominent, tannins are well managed. very good wine. kudos to rb, cheryl/josh and the elyse team for showing that you can put out some serious wine at this price point.

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100% agree.

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Thanks for your tasting note and I was planning to have the 2019 Caterwaul Napa Valley for Thanksgiving, but I don’t know if the shipment will arrive in time. My backup is the 2018 Elyse Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. Excited to try them both!

I’m gathering this is one 2018 I wouldn’t be wasting by opening young?

Not at all.

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one is going down as I type, and zero regrets. Decanted at 1:30, sipped around 5:30, open for biz and absolutely delish.

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Sorry for the thread drift, but anyone try the '18 Proprietary Red yet? No tasting notes on CT and I don’t subscribe to JD. Just ordered two bottles so curious what to expect.

Waiting on my bottle to ship. Planning to open it soon after arrival.

I look forward to reading your notes on that, David. I was hoping we might get to taste that one when we visited, but we didn’t get to it.

I’m pretty sure Garett poured us the '18 Proprietary Red, but that was after so many wines I honestly couldn’t recall anything about it later [cheers.gif]

Notes not ready yet, but the 2018 Elyse Proprietary Red is luscious. Reminds me a lot of the Bevan Ontogeny.

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