94 POINTS, PLATINUM MEDAL!
2021 SOMMELIER CHALLENGE WINE COMPETITION
Deep, dark and seductive! A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Sommelier Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition.
94-POINTS
One of my Top Three Cabernet's from 2018, this fantastic wine is sourced from high atop the Moon Mountain AVA. The altitude and volcanic soils create an ethereal mountain Cabernet Sauvignon with a complex array of flavors, a lithe structure and incredible balance and complexity. With 75% new French oak and a price point well over $100/bottle, its an incredible offer at $19/bottle, $228/case. If you like mountain fruit, do not miss this wine!
Moon Mountain is one of Sonoma's newest AVA's. It was carved out of the Valley of the Moon AVA where it made no sense to be included given that the area carved out stretches over some of the highest elevation vineyards sites on the North Coast. The new AVA houses many notable even legendary vineyards and is one of the great secret hot spots for Cabernet (not to mention Zinfandel) in both Napa and Sonoma Counties. The source vineyards combination of elevation and red volcanic soils have made it a legendary source for many a high-end red wine program.
Deep purple, almost opaque. Black cherry and creme de mure are lifted on an amalgam of crushed rock, blossom with a kiss of lavender and bergamot. Plum and iron emerge with air to create a beautifully complex and ethereal bouquet. The wine is tight on the palate (no surprise given it was bottled in November) and just beginning to stretch out. Linear and muscular on entry with firm, big-grained tannins carrying primary black and red fruits underpinned with vanilla. The finish is incredibly long, lingering, and quite pure but clearly this fantastic Cabernet is just beginning to unwind in the bottle.
81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 7% Petite Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc
100% Moon Mountain District
75% new French oak
14.9% alcohol
Bottled November 11th, 2020
600 cases available
