2008 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Critics reviews
Robert M. Parker, Wine Advocate #192 Dec 2010
Robert M. Parker, Wine Advocate #192 Dec 2010
About this WINE
Staglin Family Vineyard
They have fifty one acres of vineyard that are organically cultivated, and now the whole company runs solely on solar energy. Often when the weather is good, they produce more energy than is needed, and so is kindly shared with their neighbours.
There is a variety of other plants grown at the vineyard, such as olive trees, clover and sweet peas. Once they start to bud they are mown and turned over into the soil to provide natural fertiliser and nutrients for the vines to soak up. Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Sangiovese are examples of some of the grapes grown at the vineyard.
With such a tiny carbon footprint, the Staglins really do their upmost to protect the land and their crops.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate possesses a denser ruby/purple color, more structure and tannin, and hints of toasty oak intermixed with tobacco leaf, black currant and graphite. Slightly closed but very promising, it has a medium to full-bodied, youthful, pure style as well as a wonderful length and finish. Cellar it for several more years and drink it over the following two decades to 2030.
Robert M. Parker, Wine Advocate #192 Dec 2010
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