Winemaker Notes

The 2019 vintage for the Ad Vivum blocks at Sleeping Lady gave us slightly below-average yields with fruit showing excellent balance, freshness and depth. From the very start, the 2019 has developed much like the exciting 2013 and 2016 vintages in Napa, particularly at Sleeping Lady. The 2019 Ad Vivum is already displaying considerable elegance, silky tannins, and a distinctly vibrant quality.Without a doubt, it was early budbreak and a long, relatively mild season that allowed for the development of outstanding fruit in this vintage.

Critical Acclaim

98pts Decanter
The personal project of winemaker Chris Phelps of Inglenook. Since his days at Dominus in the 1990s, he continues to show a deft hand with Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes are sourced entirely from the Sleeping Lady vineyard in Yountville. Seductively fresh, giving up earth, black fruit, dried thyme and brown baking spices with hints of tobacco. Full-bodied on entry, striking a lovely balance between saturated black and blue-toned fruit with savoury wild herbs, conifer and earth, just hinting at spearmint, and bolstered by fine-grained tannins and a firm acid backbone. Long, layered and cellarworthy.

750ml