2017 Rubicon Estate Inglenook 'Rubicon' Red 1.5L Magnum, Rutherford, USA
Inglenook
2017 Rubicon Estate Inglenook 'Rubicon' Red 1.5L Magnum, Rutherford, USA
Decanter scored this 2017 Rubicon 98 points, and James Suckling scored it 95 points!
Decanter found it powerful and concentrated, black cherry and raspberry leaf at the core, then licorice, chocolate, and cassis stretching out while the tannins keep the Cabernet in focus.
James Suckling tasted "ripe fruit, berry and currant, with spice, tobacco, and cedar." The glass is full, creamy, and fresh, and the length stays.
What do Decanter and James Suckling both find in the glass when Philippe Bascaules draws this Rubicon off the Rutherford Bench Gustave Niebaum began in 1879?
"The bench still makes the wine."
This is the 1.5L Magnum. The winery price is $580, and ShopWineSlash has the bottle at $300, which is 48% off that price.
The bottle is only $300. Add it.
Twelve bottles ship free in the lower 48. Hawaii and Alaska ship on the zone rate.
The Dream of Inglenook. The winery's own film.
The chateau on the bench
Gustave Niebaum began the estate in 1879 and set a chateau on the Rutherford Bench. Francis and Eleanor Coppola took the property in 1975. Rubicon takes its name from the river Caesar crossed in 49 B.C., a step that is not walked back, and Coppola wanted a Bordeaux-styled grand wine from this ground. Production of that wine began in 1978.
Philippe Bascaules directs the winemaking. The fruit is organically farmed, drawn from Cohn, Gio, Creek, Apple, Lower Cask, Walnut, La Lomita, and Lower Garden. The estate today holds more than 1,700 contiguous acres, with nearly 235 acres of vineyard.
The house is stone, with a cupola over the roof, dormers along the wing, and a hedge at the lawn. The bench under that house still makes the wine.
Rain, then a long French oak rest
Winter and spring put nearly 50 inches of rain on the bench. Bloom and fruit set came through cleanly. Merlot was picked on August 31. Cabernet Sauvignon began on September 5, and Cabernet Franc finished the harvest on September 28. The year kept its acidity and its freshness.
The blend is 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Franc. It spent 18 months in French oak, 75% of those barrels new, and it was bottled in July 2019. Alcohol is 14.1%.
The wine opens wide, with the depth held under the surface. Raspberry, black cherry, and cassis sit in the red and black fruit, and the tannins are polished. Cassis and cocoa stay on the finish.
A tasting on the estate. The winery's own film. Francis Ford Coppola tastes the 2017 Rubicon.
Cherry, then a charred ribeye
Black cherry and cassis want a duck breast in a cherry sauce, the skin crisp and the middle still rosy. A grilled ribeye, charred at the crust and pink at the center, meets the cocoa and those polished tannins.
The estate sheet does not name a dish. These plates follow the fruit the wine already carries.
Duck with cherry sauce
Seared duck breast, sliced to a rosy middle, with whole cherries in a dark sauce.
Why it works: The cherry sauce sits where the black cherry and the cassis already are.
View Recipe for Duck with cherry sauce (opens in a new tab)
Grilled ribeye
One thick grilled steak, crosshatch marks on the crust, a pink center, and rosemary.
Why it works: The char and the pink center meet the cocoa and the polished tannin.
View Recipe for Grilled ribeye (opens in a new tab)Take the bottle home.
The bench still makes the wine.
Inglenook Rubicon from the Rutherford Bench, vintage 2017, in the 1.5L Magnum. The winery price is $580. The bottle is only $300. Add it.
