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2015 Sterling Vineyards Iridium Cabernet Sauvignon

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

December 10, 2023 - $92

Estimate

RATINGS

97James Suckling

Dark cherries, black plums, mulberries, granite, olives, graphite and lead pencil. Full-bodied with chewy and very structured, velvety tannins that melt together on the center palate. A very complete wine that maintains a great sense of poise and finesse, while packing a real punch of concentration. Very long on the finish.

93The Wine Advocate

...reveals crème de cassis, Black Forest cake and bay leaves with hints of incense, baking spices, Sichuan pepper and underbrush plus a touch of wood smoke. Medium to full-bodied with a firm, chewy structure and plenty of earthy layers, it finishes on a mineral note.

91Wine Spectator

A flashy style, with creamy plum, boysenberry and cherry flavors, laced with melted red licorice and mulling spice notes. Features just enough spine to stay together on the finish.

91Wine Enthusiast

Grippy and with a baked fruit quality, it tastes of plum, dried cherry and currant, with a soft rounded midpalate of leather, coffee and cedar. The finish continues to grip.

REGION

United States, California, Napa Valley

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

TYPE

Red Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.