Mt. Brave 2015 Mount Veeder Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

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96 points - ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE - "Composed of 87.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec and 1.5% Petit Verdot, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder gives up notions of creme de cassis, violets, baker's chocolate, licorice and yeast extract with a touch of beef drippings. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully expressive, the palate gives lovely ripe tannins and great freshness, finishing long and earthy. 3,363 cases produced." 

94 points - ANTONIO GALLONI - "The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is another Mt. Brave wine that is going to need cellaring. The 2015 plays a big game, with huge fruit and equally imposing tannins. Deep, inky and ample, the 2015 is very hard to read today. That won't be an issue in a few years, but today, the Cabernet is a forbidding, young Mt. Veeder wine endowed with serious intensity in all of its dimensions."

HISTORY: Mt. Brave Vineyard sits high atop Mt. Veeder at an elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet. The estate, on the western flank of Napa Valley, is named for the native Wappo tribe who first called it home. Mt. Veeder has been planted to wine grapes since the early 1860s by such winemaking pioneers as Charles Krug, Agoston Haraszthy, Frederick Hess and William S. Keyes, and wines from Mt. Veeder achieved recognition as early as the Paris Exposition of 1900. The parcel that became Mt. Brave Vineyard, in the northern reaches of the Mt. Veeder American Viticultural Area (AVA), was originally purchased in 1841—before the Gold Rush and the Civil War.

VINEYARD: High-elevation winegrowing requires a painstaking, labor-intensive approach. Thin, rocky soils and steep slopes make water retention a challenge and erosion a threat, but the vines’ beneficial struggle produces tiny berries with unusually concentrated flavors. The high altitude keeps midday temperatures cooler than those in the valley below, while the position above the fog line gives grapes longer daily exposure to sunlight. This regularly extends the growing season into November, and the increased hang-time results in peak ripeness and full varietal complexity.

WINEMAKING: We hand-harvested grapes into lug boxes during cool morning hours, at an average Brix of 26.5°. The wine fermented in stainless steel and then underwent native malolactic fermentation in barrels to round acidity and softly integrate the vanillin character of French oak.

WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS: The 2012 growing season was near perfect, with ideal spring budbreak and warm, steady days balanced by cool nights. The steady weather continued into the fall, resulting in optimal ripening conditions at harvest. Our 2012 Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon opens with notes of blueberry, rose petals and violets, which are balanced by a cleansing minerality and silky tannins.