The seventh vintage ever bottled, the 2019 La Haute Cuvée is Cabernet Sauvignon-based with 3.5% Petit Verdot and 3.5% Merlot. Opening with a nose of pure, fresh and juicy black raspberries, dusty plum and dark cherry skin, hints of vanilla and brown baking spices loft with white and red flowers. Medium to full-bodied, the palate reveals a juicy and ripe mouthfeel, with balanced, succulent tannins that give way to an underlying dustiness. The wine continues to uncoil on the palate and shows a growing spiciness that winds its way across the focused, long-lingering, red-fruited finish, with persistent, mouth-watering acidity and fine-grained tannins. The wine rested for 27 months in 78% new oak, primarily French. 7,824 bottles produced.

The 2017 La Haute Cuvée marks the sixth vintage of Hedges Family Estate's first biodynamic wine and consists mostly of Cabernet Sauvignon with 5.26% Merlot. It boasts a dark, juicy fruited frame with a dusty core and elements of savory dried herbs that sway with a soft, oaky essence from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is focused and pure with a notion of worn leather and dusty lavender, with fine-grained tannins across the mid-palate. The wine ends with a delightful frame of dusty fruit on the finish, with a soft oaky edge that will continue to please for a decade. The wine rested for 25 months in 32% new oak, with 67% American and 33% French oak barrels used for this bottling. Only 5,280 bottles were made. Give it a try.

The first bottle was corked, but the second was better. The 2016 La Haute Cuvée is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot. The wine is a deep ruby color at the core, with soft purple highlights, and it shows a pleasing depth that is reticent of Red Mountain. The nose has a mix of French & American oak notes, with brown baking spices and sweet vanilla, as well as aromas of black cherry, dark plum and cassis. Full-bodied, the wine is rich in full on the palate with dark red fruits and a ferric mineral shine, revealing slightly tight and grippy tannins that should soften and improve in the cellar. 33,840 bottles were produced.

The 2015 La Haute Cuvée reveals rich aromas of cocoa, soil and dried red fruits that make for a promising beginning, but on the palate, it's firm, compressed and unyielding, with very assertive tannins. Time may be kind to it, but I suspect it will always be somewhat mouth-puckering.

The 2014 La Haute Cuvee is also 100% Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. It offers lots of spice box, new leather, blackcurrants and bramble notes in a medium to full-bodied, pure, beautifully polished and elegant style. This beauty has real class and is a great example of Red Mountain Cabernet. Bravo!