2019 Ragtag Wine Co. Cabernet Sauvignon El Pomar District Paso Robles 750 ml

We got the first call on this superb Cabernet for one reason and one reason alone: Its vintners are loyal Wine Access members. 

They produced just a few barrels of the 2019 Ragtag Wine Co. El Pomar District Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine so exclusive they weren’t even selling it at the tasting room, except to a few VIPs. It isn’t just a single-vineyard wine—it’s a single-parcel wine, with every grape hand-harvested from the 3½-acre Block 6 of the Dos Robles Vineyard. 

While we were honored by the call, we ALWAYS allow our palates to make the verdict, and after our tasting panel spent just a minute with this blockbuster red—rich, full, round, and luscious—the decision was easy. This is one of the finest Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignons we’ve tasted—from what Vinous called the “excellent” 2019 vintage.

Winemaker Jeff Huskey—a rising star on the Paso Robles scene—told us he loves the way the vineyard managers at Dos Robles perfect the tiny details. They plant cover crops on every other row, for instance, which helps cool the vines, bolsters soil structure, and attracts beneficial insects. 

The 2019 growing season was noted for being long and mild: exactly the conditions Cabernet Sauvignon thrives in and reaches perfect ripeness. Vinous said the “Wines show distinct clarity and fine detail, with fresh fruit character and harmonious tannins.

At Ragtag, Huskey applied a vinification script familiar to many top Napa houses: open-top fermentation, a two-day cold soak to extract just the right amount of grip, malolactic fermentation for added plushness, and 17 months in barrels, 27% of it new American oak.