What a joy to be able to taste Napa red that is both restrained and elegant in style, and which has the additional benefit of proper storage. The Cain team holds back a portion of most vintages and releases it with some age, when they believe the wine has "acquire[d] that soft patina from bottle age." While this is more expensive than acquiring the wine upon release, it still seems a very reasonable additional cost to obtain this wine in such good condition. Here, aromas are layered as if a combination of confectionary and herbalist have joined forces with notes of kirsch, dusty cocoa raspberry tea, lifted, minty mountain herbs and zesty citrus oils. The tannins have softened to the point where they taste as if they had been extracted from bramble berries instead of Cabernet Sauvignon and finish with a slightly dusty tone. The blend is Grapes 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 7% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot.
Cain Vineyards and Winery, Spring Mountain District – Napa Valley (California) 2009
By Andrew Holod