N°10 Cabernet Sauvignon Reviews

Aging in new French oak delivered a round and supple wine focused on flavors of chocolate and graham crackers. With air, the wine turns savory, the honeyed richness converting into a beeswax tone. Balancing oak richness and Mediterranean-like tapenade notes, it’s a wine to decant for braised lamb with rosemary. 

While a heavy drape of oak scents masks this wine, its heady black-walnut-and-coconut richness slowly yields to edgier notes of shiso leaf, dark berries and purple flowers, with penetrating acidity. It all comes together in a dark, rich wine focused on what it means to be Napa Valley. 

A barrel sample of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon expected to age in 55% new French oak, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon No. 10 is deep garnet-purple in color and bursts from the glass with crème de cassis, blueberry pie, black raspberry, roses, wild thyme and black soil with nuances of fallen leaves and tobacco. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is elegantly crafted with a fine-grained texture and bags of crunchy black and blue fruit, finishing with impressive length and vibrancy. 

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon No. 10 is made of 100% Cabernet aged in 47% new French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. Deep garnet-purple in color, it gives up roasted nuts, mocha, black currants, warm plums and earthy sparks, plus notions of black olives and dried lavender with a waft of tobacco. Full-bodied, the palate is packed with spice-laced fruit, with plush, velvety tannins and great freshness, finishing long and layered.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon #10 is made in a more blockbuster, opulent style and delivers the goods in 2016. Its deep purple color is followed by massive amounts of crème de cassis, graphite, lead pencil, and earthy mineral-like aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied, straight-up loaded with fruit, has remarkable purity, and is perfectly balanced. This is a knockout bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon! Drink it over the coming 2-3 decades.

The 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon #10 is also full-bodied and is similar to the 2016, although just slightly less concentrated and powerful. Nevertheless, it has thrilling purity and is impeccably balanced.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 62% new French oak for 20 months, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon No. 10 is very deep purple-black in color with lovely espresso, baked plums, stewed cherries and crème de cassis with earthy notions plus hints of sandalwood and sautéed herbs. The palate is big, rich, bold and decadent with velvety tannins and wonderful freshness, finishing long and spicy with some meatiness coming through. 222 cases produced.

The 2015 No. 10 is one of the more polished wines in the range. The No. 10 isn't quite as flamboyant as some other wines in the range, but it more than makes up for that with its persistence and shapely feel. Sweet red cherry, pomegranate and bright floral notes are some of the signatures.

The very deep purple-black 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon No. 10, made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, has an earthy, savory nose with notes of truffles, dried herbs and black fruits. The full-bodied mouth is powerful, firm and chewy with a lively backbone and long earthy finish. 192 cases were made.

The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon No. 10 (a barrel sample of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon) is very deep purple-black colored with a nose of crème de cassis, chocolate box, beef drippings and black truffles with mocha, menthol and tapenade hints. Full-bodied, rich, firm, powerful and concentrated, this blockbuster of a Cabernet has fine-grained tannins and a long finish. 150 cases produced.

Notes of blackcurrants, smoked herbs, chocolate and gravely minerality emerge from the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #10, and it’s a full-bodied, opulent, blockbuster style wine that ticks all the right boxes. With awesome purity, fine, polished tannin, terrific concentration, and a great finish, it will benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 2+ decades.

Made as a counterpoint to the JCB #1, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB #10 shows the more powerful, concentrated, structured side to Cabernet. Blackcurrants, crème de cassis, vanilla bean, scorched earth, and a hint of background oak all emerge from this big, rich, opulent beauty. With fine tannin, full-bodied richness, and a surprisingly elegant, weightless texture, it’s a gorgeous 2015 that will benefit from short-term cellaring and keep for 25+ years.

Another majestic effort from Boisset is the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB No. 10. This is 90% Cabernet Sauvignon from Oakville and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine shows terrific floral notes intermixed with blackberry and blueberry fruit, blackcurrants as well, subtle earthiness, a full-bodied, multilayered mouthfeel and a terrific finish of close to 50 seconds. This is a stunner and there are 235 cases of this unfiltered classic. Drink it over the next ten or more years.

This broad-shouldered, full-bodied wine shocks and awes with its clove and black pepper notes that are as savory as a fine steak, with which it would pair brilliantly. Oak and tannin form a shield of power that girds the black fruit for further battle.

The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon JCB No. 10 is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, mostly from the westside of St. Helena. This wine spent 19 months in 50% new French oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. There are only 210 cases of it, but it is a sensational effort. With an inky black color, notes of blackberry, blueberry, cassis, licorice, graphite and incense. It is full-bodied, layered and a big, juicy, succulent mouthful of Cabernet Sauvignon to drink now and over the next 20+ years.

This is a massively dense, extracted and dry wine, entirely varietal and brooding in style. Tobacco and leather form its core, with the fruit elusive and pushed backward. Smoky oak penetrates the thick walls of tannin, forming a combustible, lengthy finish.  — V.B.

There are fewer than 100 cases of the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon JCN No. 10, a tannic, muscular, dense effort made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Clone 4. A backward, muscular wine built for long-term aging, it is more structured and masculine than most 2012s. It was difficult to evaluate because of its massive structure.