Tor Kenward Tierra Roja Vineyard Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 (75cl, 15.1%)

A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville, Napa Valley, bottled at 15.1% ABV in a standard 750ml format. TOR Kenward Family Wines focuses on small-production, single-vineyard wines, and Tierra Roja Vineyard sits on a four-acre hillside on Oakville's eastern edge, where iron-rich red volcanic soils give the wine pronounced minerality and deep colour. Only 3,900 bottles of the 2019 vintage were produced. The nose opens with ripe red plums and Morello cherries, then violets, lavender and brown butter, with hints of pencil shavings, camphor and terra cotta dust. The palate is plush with blackcurrant pastilles and cassis, moving into milk chocolate, spearmint and iron-tinged minerality, with clearly defined tannins and flavours of new leather and dried flowers. The finish is long and layered, with fine-grained tannins carrying lead pencil, rosemary and sage, and an iron-rich, stony undertone.