Review: Wines of Baldacci, 2015 Vintage

It’s always a treat to taste wines from Napa’s Baldacci — but to receive some well-aged offerings makes for an extra special evening. While 2021 is a more representative current vintage for these cabernet releases, the winery recently released a collection of 2015 vintage offerings from its cellars, showcasing how a decade of age can alter the experience in the glass. Here’s a look at this trilogy of Baldacci’s most prized cabs.

2015 Baldacci Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Brenda’s Vineyard Review

The intensely heavy bottle — one of the weightiest I can remember — cues you in to the fact that this is premium cab not to be trifled with. The vintage date — a full 10 years in the past — only amplifies that. What awaits you upon popping the cork is a luxe experience that demands your full attention. A classic Napa expression of well-integrated currants, plums, vanilla, and milk chocolate, the wine drinks like a supple yet lively dessert writ small, folding in subtle notes of anise and graphite, returning to late-game hints of boysenberry and cherry. Quite a journey and well worth your time. A / $180

2015 Baldacci Ruppert Review

“Ruppert 2015” is all you’ll see on the front label of this wine unless you squint: “Baldacci” appears in birdseed type in the gold-inked crest. The wine is a 100% cabernet sauvignon from Coombsville, and it’s as lush as the Brenda’s Vineyard bottling above, perhaps even more powerful with its aggressive notes of fully extracted, black fruit and a surprisingly lively note of figs, followed by tobacco and loads of chocolate. The wine is approachable right away but never soft or flabby, punching hard into its varietal character and coming up with nothing but bright, layered fruit and a latent reprise of floral notes. Arguably the best wine in this collection. A / $150

2015 Baldacci Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Review

Boldly tannic, this wine still feels surprisingly tight and youthful despite its 10 year old age statement. Notes of dark chocolate and tarry earth dominate, making room for intense notes of extracted currants as it develops. The finish takes an herbal turn, gently minty with elements of rosemary and sage visible, before delving back into that dense, macerated fruit for a reprising finish. A- / $125

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