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Mount Brave Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, California, United StatesMt. Brave Vineyard sits high atop Mt. Veeder at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet on an area planted since the early 1860s. The estate, on the western flank of Napa Valley, is named for the native Wappos who first called it home. The mountain site is all about high elevation and thin, rocky soils that present many winegrowing challenges. Four cabernet clones (191, 4, 8, and 337) and three rootstocks (3309C, 101-14, and 1103P) combine to neutralise some of the issues in what is normally a slow moving, long, cool growing season above the fog line. Winemaker Chris Carpenter likes to say, “Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon is meant to show all that is Mt. Veeder without overt tannins.” In 2015 a cooling trend occurred during fruit set, lowering yields as much as 30 percent in some cases. Things turned around near the end of harvest as the small crop allowed for an earlier than usual finish. The quality of the fruit was so high they even added a little bit of petit verdot to the blend. In all, it spent 22 months in 75 percent new French oak. The blend is 87.5/5/3/3/1.5 cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petit verdot. It’s just a baby, full of exuberant blue and red fruits, spice and mineral notes. Balanced, earthy, savoury, restrained fruit with a brooding tannin background that will disperse over time, but for now cellar for at least a decade.Tasted: 06 February 2019Tasted by: Anthony GismondiPrices:| BC | $120.00 | 750ml | private wine shops |
| AB | $80.00 | 750ml | private wine shops |
Grape: Cabernet SauvignonCSPC: 272252
