Louis M. Martini Monte Rosso Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma Valley, USA

路易斯馬提尼蒙特羅索園赤霞珠紅葡萄酒

點擊次數：14553

This year’s tiny production of 530 cases was due to a drought during the growing season. Fashioned from a final blend of 96.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.8% Cabernet Franc, and the rest Petit Verdot, the dense, full-bodied 2006 is slightly more monolithic than some of its siblings, but it is loaded with fruit and earthiness. The distinctive foresty, gravelly, sandy, loamy soil characteristics appear to be a consistent component of the Monte Rosso Cabernets. Lots of black currant, sweet kirsch, roasted herb, licorice and vanilla are also found in this 2006. It should drink nicely for another 15-25 years.

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso (primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot) boasts an opaque ruby/purple hue along with a St.-Estephe-like earthy scent intermixed with notes of black currants, licorice, tobacco leaf, and cedar. Full-bodied and dense with a boatload of tannin, it will benefit from 4-5 years of bottle age, and keep for three decades or more. Readers should not forget the two terrific bargains in the Louis M. Martini portfolio that I reviewed in issue #186, the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (90 points; $27) and the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma (90 points; $17). Following is the rest of their strong portfolio, with the top wines perhaps the finest Cabernets that have emerged from this winery since the 1950s and early 1960s. The Gallo family, which owns the Martini label, possesses one of Sonoma’s iconic vineyards, Monte Rosso, from which they fashion three exceptional wines.Tel. (800) 321-WINE

Young and fruity, offering an explosion of jammy cherries, blackberries and currants. Oak adds a framework of wood tannins that join grapeskin tannins to provide astringency and bite. Immature, and the question is ageability. Hold until 2013, but longterm prospects seem risky, given a certain raisiny superripeness. ——S.H.(12/1/2010)—— 89