Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard 2015

JD98: The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is a blockbuster that does everything right, and I’m probably underrating this beauty. Incorporating a small amount of Petit Verdot and Malbec (which are always co-fermented), this deeply colored beauty gives up a massive bouquet of smoked black fruits, graphite, cassis, and tobacco leaf, with more minerality and black licorice with time in the glass. Possessing full-bodied richness, a mouthfilling decadence, sweet tannins, and a meaty, powerful style, count yourself lucky if you have any of this in the cellar. It will continue drinking beautifully for three decades or more.

VM97-100: The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Backus Vineyard is just as sensational as it has always been. Dark, sensual and totally beguiling, the 2015 has so much to offer. A wine of extreme richness and power, the 2015 is showing a bit more tannin and overall structure than it did a year ago. Black cherry jam, lavender, menthol, violet and graphite abound in this striking Cabernet Sauvignon. Time in the glass brings out a bit more floral character and redder tonalities of fruit that play off the wine's inherent richness very nicely. The 2015 is freakish in its intensity and totally alluring