We’ve been consuming some really good, older California Cabernet Sauvignon and French Bordeaux wines lately. These wines can be incredible when one is able to demonstrate self-restraint and hold onto them. We are talking about wines are made to age vice more recent trends to make them consumable young.
Going shopping in our own collection, my husband dug out this well-aged Cabernet Sauvignon from the Santa Cruz Mountains. At 21 years old, it was deemed “old enough to drink” by Mr. H. This wine has sparked a whole conversation about a Decanting Monterey Wine Pod excursion to that region in the near future. What’s your favorite winery from the Santa Cruz Mountains? Where else should we go? Please leave me a comment!
About Mount Eden: “Mount Eden Vineyards is a small historic wine estate perched at 2000 feet overlooking Silicon Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation, about 50 miles south of San Francisco. Founded in 1945, it is recognized as one of the original “boutique” California winery properties, focusing on small lots of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Mount Eden’s lineage of estate bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is the longest in California. Planted in austere, infertile Franciscan shale on a cool, exposed mountaintop, these low-yielding estate vineyards have consistently produced world-class wines for over a half-century. In 2007 Mount Eden acquired an additional 55 acre wine estate in the Saratoga foothills, which was christened Domaine Eden…”
About Mount Eden Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: “The heritage of Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon dates back to the 1890s, when the famed viticulturist Emmett Rixford of Woodside, California, obtained selected cuttings from Chateau Margaux in Bordeaux, France. Rixford planted his famous La Questa Vineyard with these selections, in the same proportions as found at Margaux.
“In the late 1940s Martin Ray planted his first Cabernet vineyard with cuttings from the La Questa Vineyard. The present-day Estate Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted in the early 1980s using cuttings taken from these vines. Yields are low, typically one to two tons per acre. Soils are very thin (1-12 inches), with a dominant base of Franciscan shale. The climate is cool, especially for Cabernet, and influenced by the vineyard’s altitude and its proximity to San Francisco bay and the Pacific Ocean. The vines are trellised in a modern fashion, which allows for a more uniform ripening. The vineyard also contains small blocks of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.”
2001 Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains, $118 (release: $35) (#631*)
About the 2001 Vintage: “Followers of California Cabernet vintages have by now heard the good news about the 2001 vintage. Full crop levels, superb moderate weather, no rain at harvest, ideal picking, and so it was on this mountaintop.”
Wine Enthusiast – 90 points: “This ageable wine is young and tannic now, with an astringent finish. Cherry and blackberry stuffing is down there for the long haul. Best after 2010 and beyond.” 6/2005
My Review: Very dark in color. Bell pepper and mellow on the nose. Medium weight with a smooth palate. Upon opening, some bell pepper and cherry on the plate with a touch of ash on the finish. By day 2, darker berries and smoke on the palate with dark cherry flavors on the finish. February 2022
Visiting Mount Eden (from their website): “Located up a remote two-mile private road, Mount Eden is delighted to offer tasting by appointment…Seated on our veranda with beautiful views of the Santa Clara Valley, you will taste three of our highly rated wines.” Weekdays only for 6 or fewer guests – see reservation information here.
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