Lail Vineyards J. Daniel Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
(Napa Valley, California) - [WI 100] [JD 99] [WA 98+] [DM 98] [VM 96]

About the Winery:
Lail Vineyards was founded by Robin Daniel Lail who is as close as it gets to Napa Valley royalty, with a great-ancestor having founding Inglenook! After working as the personal assistant to her mentor, Robert Mondavi, for five years, Robin left in 1982 to co-found Dominus Estate with Christian Moueix. The following year she co-founded Merryvale Vineyards with Bill Harlan, serving as president for a decade, before finally launching on her eponymous venture, Lail Vineyards, with her two daughters in 1995. 

On top of that, Philippe Melka serves as winemaker. Melka has served as winemaking consultant for some of Napa’s most highly regarded properties -  Moone-Tsai, Brand, Hundred Acre, Dalle Valle, Bryant Family Vineyard, just to name a few!

About This Wine:
“J. Daniel Cuvée in vintage 2019 is a showstopper. Classic and intense aromas of blackberry jam, cassis and boysenberry puree lead to flavors that explode on the palate, with cascades of younthful black cherry, dark chocolate and black tea. This beauty is at the same time powerful and poised. It is seemingly endless on the finish, with gorgeous and fine tannins carrying it to a crescendo of lushness and generosity. It is seamless, pure and delicious." — Philippe Melka & Maayan Koschitzky, Winemakers

100 Points - The Wine Independent:
"Lail’s 2019 J. Daniel Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple in color. It needs a little shaking before it erupts with flamboyant notes of warm cassis, wild blueberries, and black raspberries, followed by an opulent undercurrent of jasmine tea, candied violets, and star anise, plus a touch of rose oil. The full-bodied palate is densely packed and multi-layered, featuring firm, velvety tannins and just enough freshness, finishing with incredible length and depth. drink 2026-2056." -Lisa Perrotti-Brown (3/22/23)

99 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvee is just about pure perfection and another example of Napa Valley magic. All Cabernet Sauvignon brought up in 80% new French oak, it offers an incredible bouquet of pure cassis and blackberry fruits as well as textbook Pauillac-like notes of graphite, tobacco, toasted spices, and chalky minerality. Rich, full-bodied, and powerful, it’s one of those wines that somehow marries incredible intensity and richness with no sensation of weight or heaviness, perfect balance, and a layered, multi-dimensional style that’s hard to describe. It shows more tannins and chocolaty oak with air and needs to be forgotten for 4-6 years, and it will be a 40+-year wine. It’s heavenly juice." (3/10/2022)

98+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Altogether much more serious than Lail's Blueprint bottling (and priced accordingly), the 2019 J. Daniel Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon comes primarily from the Vine Hill Ranch, Dutch Canyon (Heimark) and Steltzner Vineyards. Marked by deep, seductive scents of cassis and rich loam, accented by hints of cedar and dried sage, it's full-bodied, concentrated and rich, finishing long, velvety, seamless and elegant. Pretty special stuff.

Owner Robin Daniel Lail is the daughter of Inglenook heir John Daniel Jr., who was the great nephew of Gustave Niebaum. Lail partnered with Christian Moueix to start Dominus and with Bill Harlan to start Merryvale, so there is some serious Napa lineage behind this winery. Those other interests have since been sold, with her present energies devoted to Lail Vineyards and The Porto Protocol, a wine-industry organization that seeks to mitigate climate change. Lail met Philippe Melka when he was working at Dominus, and he has served as the consulting winemaker for Lail since the beginning. Drink 2023-2045." - Joe Czerwinski (10/6/22)

98 Points - Decanter:
"From Mole Hill Vineyard on Howell Mountain, Heimark in Calistoga, Vine Hill Ranch in Oakville and Steltzner in Stags Leap. Each site is vinified separately with racking every six months and blended for up to 12 months before bottling. Alluring black fruit aromas with dried herbs and cedar spice. Full-bodied with rich, decadent layers of blackberry and black cherry to pops of blue fruit all woven around rich spices supported by cedar-plank tannins. A lot of joy here. (Drink between 2022-2045)"

96 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Daniel Cuvée is a total knock-out. Deep, vertical and explosive, the 2019 possesses tremendous vertical intensity and tons of sheer class. Inky dark fruit, graphite cloves, licorice and sweet French oak infuse the 2019 with tremendous complexity to complement its sheer opulence. Vineyard sites are Vine Hill Ranch, Heimark, Steltzner and Mole Hill. The 2019 is one of the best editions ever." - Antonio Galloni (Jan 2022)

94 Points - James Suckling:
"This is a big wine with lots of richness and some warmth from the ripe fruit. Blackberries,boysenberries and spice with some pine needles. Full and chewy. Lots of tannin and structure keeps it all framed and in check. Really powerful. From vineyards in Calistoga, Howell Mountain, Oakville and Stag’s Leap. Mountain fruit coming through. Needs some bottle age to soften. Better after 2024." (Dec 2021)