2009 Nicholas Allen Carte Blanche Red
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Tasting notes
(a Right Bank style, with 47% merlot, 29% cabernet sauvignon, 19% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot): Good deep red-ruby. Reticent aromas of black cherry and red licorice. Fresh, tactile and chewy with extract, displaying good lift and acidity to its perfumed bright cherry flavor. Finishes long and aromatic, with suave tannins and subtle lingering perume. Very graceful wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Proprietary Red comes across as quite sumptuous. It lacks some of the classicism of the 2008. Instead, readers will find a wine loaded with dark red fruit, smoke, tar, incense and licorice. This is bigger than the 2008 but not quite as delineated. It makes up for that with gorgeous richness and balance. The 2009 is 47% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.
The 2009 Proprietary Red comes across as quite sumptuous. It lacks some of the classicism of the 2008. Instead, readers will find a wine loaded with dark red fruit, smoke, tar, incense and licorice. This is bigger than the 2008 but not quite as delineated. It makes up for that with gorgeous richness and balance. The 2009 is 47% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2024. Proprietor Nicholas Allen and winemaker Luc Morlet make these Bordeaux-inspired reds. The wines are vinified with natural yeasts and natural bacteria for the malolactic fermentations. The Proprietary Red is a Bordeaux right bank-modeled wine made with Cabernet Franc from To Kalon, Merlot from Newton on Spring Mountain and Cabernet Sauvignon from a vineyard in Calistoga. The Cabernet Sauvignon takes its inspiration from Bordeaux’s left bank. The first vintage for Carte Blanche is 2008. dj@carteblanchewine.com