Vintage Reserve

Most of the grapes that make up our Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve wine come from the sections of Rhinefarm at its very highest elevations (150-400 feet) and are grown in a rocky, volcanic soil known as Rhyolite. Standing at 400 feet, as Rhinefarm stretches in the distance, you can see the light, volcanic rock (called tufa) that broke down over millions of years to form the soil.

When we began to plan the Vintage Reserve program more than 30 years ago, we first identified the very best blocks in our estate vineyard and paid extra special attention to those vines. We still care for them painstakingly today. No expense is spared in the farming of these blocks – just the very best berries from the best clusters from the best vines from the best rows from the best blocks are picked and pressed.

Only the highest quality grapes ever have a chance at making it into a Vintage Reserve barrel. The grapes are meticulously sorted using state-of-the-art equipment – you can feel the excitement on the days of harvest when the optical sorter is on the crushpad. There’s no doubt – something special is happening. With the aid of the sorter, our winemaking team selects only the finest grapes, those of the desired shape, color and size, to be pressed and fermented as potential Vintage Reserve.

It doesn’t stop when the wine goes into barrel. From these barrels, winemaker Joe Uhr selects the best ones to create a blend worthy of the Vintage Reserve label.

93 Points, Wine Spectator

“Richly fruited, with a broad, caressing wave of mulberry and blackberry preserves rolling through slowly, laced with black licorice and violet notes and coated with a warm, toasty edge on the finish, where an echo of warm earth keeps this honest.” – James Molesworth

95 Points, Wine Enthusiast

“This powerful, intense and firmly textured wine waves the flag for great Sonoma-grown Cabernet. It wraps fine-grained tannins around just-ripe black fruit flavors and tempting oak accents of cinnamon, char and clove. Not overly ripe, the wine shows great balance and should expect a long life. Best from 2028-2038.” — Jim Gordon