2010 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
(40% from Rutherford, 40% from Pritchard Hill and 20% from Oakville): Good bright medium ruby. Black cherry, tobacco leaf, smoky herbs and hints of tar and licorice on the classic cabernet nose. Suave and fine-grained, offering a felicitous sugar/acid balance and very good grip to its deep black fruit and dark chocolate flavors. An element of violet lift suggests some cabernet franc but this is 100% sauvignon. Finishes with serious tannins and excellent length. Winemaker Celia Welch uses some whole berry fermentation, especially for the Pritchard Hill juice, to give her wine more buoyancy and pliancy of texture. This has turned out very well. (ST)
Critic scores
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Celia Welch is probably best known to readers for the wines she crafts for Scarecrow, Kelly Fleming, Keever, Lindstrom and others, but her own wines are every bit as compelling. Plums, mocha, espresso and pencil shavings all burst from the glass as the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon shows off its large-scaled, intense personality. With time in the glass, the 2010 becomes even richer, with endless layers of fruit that flesh out beautifully. This big, voluptuous wine is super-exciting from the very first taste.
Plums, mocha, espresso and pencil shavings all burst from the glass as the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon shows off its large-scaled, intense personality. With time in the glass, the 2010 becomes even richer, with endless layers of fruit that flesh out beautifully. This big, voluptuous wine is super-exciting from the very first taste. Anticipated maturity: 2015-2025. Celia Welch is probably best known to readers for the wines she crafts for Scarecrow, Kelly Fleming, Keever, Lindstrom and others, but her own wines are every bit as compelling. Tel. (707) 963-4523
Good deep bright ruby. Aromas of blackberry, licorice, minerals and spicecake. Fat, dense and sweet, with black fruit, spicy oak and chocolate flavors dominating. Not quite as complex or explosive today as the 2009 but finishes minerally, firm and long. Excellent potential here.