Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/97133
WINE NUMBER SEVEN Balance of Saintly and Sinful ST. SUP��RY 2008 ��lu, Napa Valley ($65) 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Malbec, 7% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot T he wow factor is in place here: A Europeanstyle, creamy-textured, amarone-like Bordeaux blend, simultaneous dry and very rich. Sourced from St. Sup��ry���s own Dollarhyde Vineyard and from their Rutherford vineyard at the base of Howell Mountain, with its dramatic soil expressions, the proprietary ��lu depicts a saint on the label, but is sinfully rich. ���I see blends as the highest or lowest expression from a winery,��� says winery representative Scott Tracy. ���I see ��lu as the highest.��� Only 8,000 cases are made by winemaker Michael Scholz, who has returned to the winery after a brief departure. Our Panel���s Notes: ���The French oak inluence strikes a velvet pose, while ruby garnet and dusty rose, dried red fruits and baked clay and sage make it deep and savory.��� ���Nichole Dishman Scott Tracy of St. Sup��ry ���Mushrooms and cedar spice play a role in adding complexity to blueberries and Winery. blackberries, but this wine is rich, rich and richer as it progresses, deepening with dark chocolate and pencil lead. It gradually pulls all of its parts together for spice, structure and great length.��� ���Ted Glennon WINE NUMBER EIGHT Balance of Sonoma���s ���09 Harvest , FERRARI-CARANO 2009 Tr��sor Alexander Valley ($50) 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 6% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc F errari-Carano is synonymous with Sonoma County, so no wonder their lagship Bordeaux blend takes the best of Dry Creek and Alexander Valley, incorporating all ive Bordelais varieties. We deem the 2009 vintage, just released in October, simply stunning. ���For us,��� says Tim McCarthy, Managing Director for Ferrari-Carano Winery, ���this vintage captures the best of what 2009 had to offer.��� The grapes were hand-harvested from dry-farmed, low-yielding vines primarily on the winery���s mountain vineyards. Individual lots were moved to barrels for malolactic fermentation, then blended and barrel aged in new and older French oak for 19 months. Our Panel���s Notes: ���A dense, black well of color with black fruit, vanilla and cedar aromatics. The mid-palate is complete and balanced���and one again, dense, with graphite and grilled meat, earth and stone.��� ���Jesse Becker ���Bordeaux varietals take a front seat showcasing sunshine and black fruit: this is deinitely New World. The fruit gets bigger with each sip, the palate grips and the grittiness dissipates, mellowing out well, with plenty of backbone.��� ���Haley Moore Tim McCarthy, Managing Director, Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery. december 2012 / the tasting panel / 105