2011 Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Napa/Sonoma
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Tasting notes
Pride's 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon its terrific. Grilled herbs, tobacco, leather and smoke wrap around a core of expressive dark, hillside-inflected fruit. Given the challenges of the year, the 2011 can only be described as an unqualified success. I would prefer to enjoy the 2011 over the next few years, while the fruit remains succulent.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is outstanding. A blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, it was aged 20 months in 40% new French oak, and there are nearly 5,200 cases. A strong effort in this vintage, it boasts ripe black raspberry and blackcurrant fruit intermixed with underbrush and dusty, loamy soil characteristics. The complex aromatics are followed by a beautifully poised, pure, medium to full-bodied Cabernet with silky tannins and a precocious, lush personality. It can be drunk now and over the next decade.
(a 62/38 blend of the two counties; also includes 5% merlot and 3% petit verdot): Bright, moderately saturated red-ruby. Cassis, licorice, tobacco and tea on the varietally expressive nose. A step up in intensity and density from the merlot, with good vinosity giving the berry, pepper and herb flavors a sappy quality. Boasts a better integration of acids and tannins than the merlot. The crop level was very low here due to windy conditions that resulted in shatter during the flowering.