2009 Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District
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Tasting notes
Medium ruby. Riper on the nose than the Tomahawk Vineyard Cabernet, with a blackberry aroma complicated by sexy Stags Leap soil tones. Chewy, tactile and rather plush, but with its dark berry, licorice and spice flavors enlivened by bright acidity and saline minerality. This intensely flavored wine finishes with serious, firm tannins and lingering dark berries and spices. There's something Old World about this intriguing Cabernet, which will probably be better still in a few years. This is a less expensive wine than the Tomahawk Vineyard bottling but I preferred it to that wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with enticing scents of raspberry jam, sweet herbs and spices. There is a centeredness and a poise to the 2009 that give the wine its sense of harmony and total balance. Sweet, floral notes reappear on the engaging finish. As good as this is today, it will only be better in another 2-3 years. This is another fabulous effort from Chimney Rock. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc.
The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with enticing scents of raspberry jam, sweet herbs and spices. There is a centeredness and a poise to the 2009 that give the wine its sense of harmony and total balance. Sweet, floral notes reappear on the engaging finish. As good as this is today, it will only be better in another 2-3 years. This is another fabulous effort from Chimney Rock. The blend is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Tel. (707) 257-2641
2% Cabernet Franc, 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot. Stainless-steel fermentation, aged 18 months in half new, half used French oak. 2009 has some of the lush approachability of the 2007 but has a structure that will allow for ageing. They had heat spikes, and then fell asleep to rain when the grapes were hanging, but she refused to pick grapes that were not ready. 'Everyone thought I was doomed, but the results haven't been quite as bad...' Aromas of dark blueberry and blackberry, with an overlay of dusty spice. A mouthful of plush fruit strapped in by agile tannins. Structure and movement. Fluid. Seamless oak. Long and persistent. Of all the wines in the vertical, this is the deepest, darkest, most intense. Not the most elegant, but certainly the most velvety and sumptuous. Finishes on a long sweet note of cassis. (TC)