Lot 332
2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Award Winner, Critics Challenge. Pretty red fruits and ripe plum backed with a rocky minerality and dark chocolate notes.
$25
Gorgeous, lovely, and pure describe my overall impression of the wine (not to mention the word “soul”, which I wrote in my tasting notes). The aromatics take a few minutes to unwind, and reveal pretty red fruits like currant and ripe plum backed with a rocky minerality and dark chocolate notes. The aromatics continue to grow in the glass and will in the bottle as well. However, it’s the palate that truly reveals what this wine is all about - beautifully textured and succulent, with lithe tannins and superbly integrated red and black fruits. While the wine achieves a rare sense of balance and harmony, there is solid fruit impact as well.
Style: Full, Smooth
Flavors: Chocolate, Currant, Mineral, Plum
Cam Confidential
Sourced from a $75/bottle producer with Hwy 29 frontage, the wine is is primarily upper-elevation Calistoga fruit grown about 750 feet off the valley floor. The other 20% of the overall blend is half Howell Mountain Cabernet and half Stagecoach Vineyard Cabernet. While we don’t know the exact oak regimen, we estimate about 35-40% new French oak on the wine.