2007 Solari Cabernet Sauvignon
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Tasting notes
Dark red with ruby tones. Sexy if restrained aromas of blackberry, raspberry, tobacco and coffee, complicated by dusty soil tones and an obvious oak element. Then considerably more open in the mouth, offering highly complex, fine-grained flavors of raspberry, dusty herbs and chocolatey oak. At once creamy and light on its feet, this wonderfully savory wine boasts an utterly silky texture. Finishes energetic and suave, with relatively light, melting tannins and sneaky mounting length. My style of Cabernet. Happily, the wine's 10% Petit Verdot component (the two varieties were co-fermented) was not at all overripe in 2007. (ST)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Solari Reserve unfurls slowly in the glass to reveal youthful crushed black plums and blackberries on the nose with an undercurrent of menthol, dried herbs, forest floor, cassis and cedar chest plus a touch of roses. The big, rich, full-bodied palate delivers layer upon layer of black fruit preserves and savory flavors with a firm yet seductively velvety texture and just enough freshness, finishing very long and wonderfully decadent.
(14.7% alcohol): Bright medium ruby. Pungent scents of blackberry, cassis, minerals and bitter chocolate. A fruit bomb on the palate, showing a lovely restrained sweetness and a plush texture to its cassis, blackberry and licorice flavors. This wine comes across as sweeter than the basic Cabernet Sauvignon bottling, not to mention more pliant today. The purple fruit flavors are complemented by a note of bitter chocolate on the long, suavely tannic finish. Very sexy juice.
(co-fermented with 10% petit verdot) Saturated medium ruby. Currant, violet, licorice and bitter chocolate on the nose and palate. Lush, sweet and spicy, with excellent breadth; this really spreads out to coat the palate. Compared to the LMV Salon, this shows more mineral and menthol notes on the back end, and yet the tannins are more suave.