2022 Desire Lines Lichau Hill Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Our 2022 Lichau Hill Cabernet Sauvignon proves one of my favorite wine rules – look to cool sites in warm years. 2022 was a warm and dry year, which brings a degree of richness and generosity to an otherwise classically built wine. The vines at Lichau Hill are relatively old for Cabernet, having been planted in 1999, and must be deeply rooted for how little irrigation they require. They weathered the heat dome of 2022 without any trouble, which came well before the fruit was in the ripening window. Raspberry, rose petal, and cedar leap from the glass, while spice, tobacco, and cassis lend an exotic flair to this opulent, concentrated, and fresh Cabernet. I don’t think you’ll find more intensity under 14% alcohol than here (labeled 14%; 13.85% in reality). This wine makes the case that Lichau Hill Vineyard should be regarded as an iconic (and unmistakably distinctive) California Cabernet site.
As John Gilman said of our 2021 Lichau Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, “All of Cody Rasmussen’s wines which I have tasted for this issue of the newsletter are outstanding, but perhaps finding another completely old school example of Cabernet Sauvignon is the most exciting wine in his lineup, as they are all too few of them still made in California!”
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