2016 Melka Metisse Montbleau
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Tasting notes
Moving to Napa and from a tiny vineyard next to Spottswoode, the 2016 Metisse Jumping Goat Vineyard is a perfumed, elegant wine that offers Château Margaux-like elegance and complexity. Crème de cassis, black raspberries, violets, sandalwood, and a beautiful sense of gravelly minerality all give way to a full-bodied, seamless red that has fine tannins, the freshness and elegance of the vintage, and a great, great finish. A blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot, and the rest Merlot, aged 20 months in 80% new French oak, it’s a brilliant wine that flirts with perfection. It will keep for 30+ years.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A bold, exuberant wine, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Jumping Goat Vineyard Métisse is terrific. Super-ripe red cherry, plum, chocolate, new leather and spice are all pushed forward in this flamboyant, intense Cabernet Sauvignon. Exotic, racy and voluptuous to the core, the Jumping Goat beautifully expresses Philippe and Cherie Melka's style.
Made up of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 18 months in 85% new 225-liter French oak barrels, the 2016 Metisse Montbleau is very deep garnet-purple colored and opens with bold, brazen cassis, preserved plums and warm black cherries notes with nuances of Chinese five spice, Sichuan pepper, violets and cinnamon stick plus a waft of forest floor. Super intense with vibrant fruit on the full-bodied palate, it has beautiful tension and a firm, grainy texture, finishing very long on a mineral note. This should age amazingly! 125 cases produced, to be released in the spring of 2019.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Jumping Goat Vineyard Métisse is powerful, intense and also very raw today. Graphite, smoke, grilled herbs, bittersweet chocolate, tar, black cherry and plum give the wine much of its gravitas and pure virile darkness. The forbidding tannins need time to soften, but it is clearly early days for this wine.