2008 Pine Ridge Fortis
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Tasting notes
(14.5% alcohol): Bright, full ruby. Mellow, inviting scents of musky dark berries, plum, mocha, coffee and smoky, nutty oak, with a faint whiff of reduction. Broad, full and sweet, displaying strong smoky oak and truffle notes but also plenty of sweet dark berry, licorice and menthol flavor. Offers a smooth texture but comes across as a bit smoky and reduced. Finishes with rather substantial, tongue-drying tannins and good length. The wine's slight rusticity is leavened by its sweetness.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A red with a solid core of ripe fruit that goes to tobacco and spice. Full with soft tannins and a long finish. Best after 2013.
The flagship 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Fortis (with a different label and a heavier bottle) has an opaque ruby/purple color and gorgeously sweet, concentrated black currant fruit with sweet cherry, plum, Asian spice, and some subtle oak. It is full-bodied and very graceful, with superb equilibrium and intensity. This is a terrific, very young but very promising, prodigious Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well for 20-25 years. Barrel samples of the 2009 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Stags Leap Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Fortis Cabernet Sauvignon all showed forward fruit, deep color, charming tannins, and perhaps less weight than the 2008s or 2007s, but lots of style and elegance. They will be drinkable early on and I am sure will put on additional weight during their upbringing in barrel. Tel. (800) 575-9777; Fax (707) 253-1493