California

Not surprisingly, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard is the least expressive of these wines. At the same time, so much of its appeal is in its tightly-coiled energy and tension. Cherry pit, smoke, blood orange, mint and spice open up with time in the glass, but the 2010 is clearly built for cellaring. The wine's brightness and focus are compelling, but the 2010 needs time.

-- Antonio Galloni 96 Antonio Galloni 2020 - 2050 $225.00 Oct 2015

Rating

(93 - 95)

Drink Date

2018 - 2031

Reviewed by

Antonio Galloni

Issue Date

31st Aug 2012

Source

202, The Wine Advocate

The 2011 Monte Bello (87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc) emerges from the glass with tobacco, grilled herbs, smoke, incense and plums melding together in this soft, beautifully textured Monte Bello. The 2011 is a wine of exceptional textural finesse. The 100% new oak is totally integrated. In 2011, Ridge used a total of 18 of a possible 24 lots for the final blend. The presence of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon is the highest since the 1980s. I expect the 2011 to be a relatively early drinking Monte Bello, but time will be the judge. Anticipated maturity: 2018-2031. (Not yet released) Indiana Jones and I have one thing in common – a fear of snakes. That is why every time I see the sign in the Ridge parking lot that reads “Beware of rattlesnakes,” I get a little uneasy. So it’s quickly into the tasting room for me. Winemaker Eric Baugher and his team have prepared a great tasting covering all of the Ridge classics, plus a few smaller-production bottlings I am tasting for the first time. This is a sublime set of new releases from one of this country’s greatest heritage wineries. It’s hard to know where to start, but the highlights are the 2009 Monte Bello, followed by the 2010, which will be released this year, plus some of the Zinfandels and Zinfandel-based wines. The 2010 harvest was not an easy one. The summer was very cold, as it was throughout California. Ridge was severely affected by August heat spikes that were crippling for Zinfandel. The wines that were bottled are the result of a severe selection of the best fruit that survived the heat. 

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Tasting Notes

Flirting with perfection, the 2012 Dominus is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Five thousand cases were produced, a relatively modest amount from this large vineyard’s big crop. Christian Moueix told me that there was plenty of heat in 2012, but there were no excessive hot spells that can plague Napa Valley vintners during the growing season and harvest. This wine’s opaque plum/purple color is accompanied by a beautiful nose of sweet crème de cassis, a touch of background oak (only 40% new oak is used), spice box, cedarwood, black cherries and a hint of spring flowers. The complex, intense aromatics are followed by a deep, opulent, multidimensional, full-bodied wine with not a hard edge to be found. Everything is seamlessly crafted in this beauty and the vintage’s abundant richness is well-displayed. This 2012 can be drunk in its exuberant youthfulness or cellared for another 20-25 years.

Shafer’s flagship wine, and one of the world’s greatest Cabernet Sauvignons, is the Hillside Select, which comes from the rocky, volcanic soils on hillsides above the winery. Vineyard production is small, and the wine an incredible example of Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in 100% new oak for 32 months and bottled unfiltered, this can generally be expected to be one of the top dozen or so Cabernet Sauvignons in virtually any vintage in Napa, and certainly possesses 25 to possibly 50 years of aging potential. The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is a perfect wine. It elicits more than a few “wows” when you smell the incredible notes of charcoal, graphite and subtle toast, buttressed and dominated by blackcurrant, blackberry and blueberry fruit. The purity of these fruits, the multidimensional mouthfeel, the seamless integration of acid, alcohol, tannin and wood are all flawless. The 2012 signature adds an extravagant opulence and density that is just mind-boggling, and the wine is a total hedonistic and intellectual turn-on already, although it has 30+ years of life ahead of it.

Score: 100 Robert Parker, Wine Advocate (227), October 2016

96

Release Price

NA

Drink Date

2020 - 2050

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

31st Dec 2015

Source

222, The Wine Advocate

The 2013 Ulysses is absolutely mind-boggling, as so many wines from this vintage are. Gorgeous blueberry and blackberry fruit, along with the telltale cassis and floral notes, jump from the glass. Again, this is Pauillac-like, with some cedar wood and subtle barrique smells. Again produced nearly all from Cabernet Sauvignon, the wine is full-bodied, powerful, rich and long, with slightly sweeter tannins than the 2012. Production in 2013 was 960 cases, and Moueix told me that the entire growing season averaged about two and half weeks ahead of schedule from bloom break to harvest. This is a prodigious effort and will certainly stand as the great Ulysses of the first trio to be released. I suspect it will be drinkable in 3-4 years and keep for 30 or more, given the Moueix track record.

Rating

95+

Release Price

$155

Drink Date

2018 - 2048

Reviewed by

 Robert M. Parker, Jr.

Issue Date

31st Dec 2015

Source

222, The Wine Advocate

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from the To Kalon Vineyard celebrates the 50th anniversary of the great Robert Mondavi and his extraordinary vision to create something special in the heart of Napa Valley. A beautifully polished wine, with a dense ruby/purple color, it is still tightly knit and showing high-quality oak. The wine is full-bodied and rich, with outstanding depth, ripeness and purity. There is plenty of backbone and tannin for 25-30 years of cellaring. The wine shows notes of chocolate and plenty of blackcurrant fruit and blackberry. This is a beauty and certainly a great reserve and worthy homage to the legendary Robert Mondavi. Give it another 2-4 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 30 years.

The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve comes across as quite restrained today, with most of its power lurking in the background. There is no shortage of depth or intensity, though. Hints of iron, smoke, leather and savory herbs open up gradually, but the 2013 needs at least a few years to uncoil and will drink well for another two decades or so beyond that. This is an especially refined expression of the famed To-Kalon vineyard.

-- Antonio Galloni 95 Antonio Galloni 2023 - 2043 $155.00 Oct 2015

A truly monumental wine, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is simply magnificent. A huge, energetic wine, the 2013 exudes richness, concentration and depth. Cool, mineral and savory notes meld into a core of intense dark fruit in a vertical, towering Cabernet Sauvignon endowed with superb purity and depth. This is the best showing yet from the 2013. (98+ Points)

Score: 98

Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media.com Maturity: 2023-203801 December 2016

The 2013 Le Désir is once again alluring. Le Désir is quite powerful and intense, but it also has fairly soft contours for the year. Dark cherry, plum, smoke, chocolate, mocha, licorice and cloves are all pushed forward. Energetic and explosive, the 2013 is going to need at least a few years in bottle to settle down, but it has plenty to offer. I tasted the 2013 from tank just prior to bottling.

-- Antonio Galloni (92-95) Antonio Galloni $390.00 Feb 2016