Laurel Glen Counterpoint Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Doing a little research on the wine, I discovered that the Counterpoint Cabernet is rounded off with some Grand Cru quality Merlot from Pickberry vineyard. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the vineyard that made Ravenswood a household name.

​​Combining the fruit from the northeast slope of Sonoma Mountain with their own lauded estate (re-planted in the late 1960’s), gives this wine a ton of expression, complexity and distinction. It’s an unmistakably Sonoma Mountain, blessed with the iconic sweet, plush black fruit off the high elevation, cool-climate spot.

Unsurprisingly, I’m also not the only one who really likes this wine – Virginia Boone, longtime reviewer for Wine Enthusiast agreed with my assessment, giving the wine a 93-point score and labeling it “classically structured” and “vibrantly approachable”. San Francisco’s International Wine Competition took it a few steps further, finding this wine as their 96-point Double Gold Medal winner for the 2021 tasting.