Louis Martini Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
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Nestled in the majestic Mayacamas Mountain range nearly 1,000 feet above the Sonoma Valley, is a vineyard that has been producing award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon for three generations. Owned by the Louis M. Martini winery since 1938, the Monte Rosso vineyard (named "Monte Rosso" or "Red Mountain" for its rich, red volcanic soils) is a steep and rugged mountain vineyard with a desirable western exposure that produces wines with a unique sense of terroir.
The Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon is a hand crafted wine sourced from the best vineyard blocks within Monte Rosso. This is a full-bodied wine revealing a dark ruby/purple color, and showcasing an opulent nose of dark berries, licorice, black currants, cherries and tobacco. Flavors of ripe plum with undertones of earthiness and spice, and dried fruit evolve into a rich, long, lingering finish that is impressively structured. It is a perfect complement to warm, earthy dishes, game and red meat such as wild boar, venison and grilled filet mignon.
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Wine Enthusiast
Gone are the big, hard tannins that used to mark Cabs from this vineyard. The '05 is soft and smooth, allowing the lush black and red cherry, currant, licorice, teriaki beef and smoky cedar flavors to shine. This wine should develop nicely over the next decade.
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Wine Spectator
A ripe, racy style, with zesty wild raspberry, black cherry and berry fruit that's intense, full-bodied, sleek and focused, ending with a long, layered finish. Drink now through 2016.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The gorgeous 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso Vineyard (which has some of northern California’s oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines) displays abundant aromas of loamy soil, cedarwood, creme de cassis, black cherries, unsmoked cigar tobacco, and spice box. This dark ruby/purple-tinged, elegant, full-bodied 2005 reveals excellent equilibrium among all its component parts. Although still reserved and restrained, it is weighty in the mouth. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 25+ years.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Complex, rooty, briary, loamy and curranty from first sniff, this big and rich wine impresses for its outspoken but surprisingly composed blending of parts. It is full on the palate, high in ripeness, given to a spicy bent yet fully fruited and well-focused in varietal character. It is, in short, the best Cabernet to be produced from this famous hillside vineyard in years, and if it does not demand long aging, it is nevertheless likely to reward a half dozen or more years of patience.
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While Sonoma County is acclaimed—and rightfully so—for its Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Zinfandels, it also produces exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Of the region’s 18 American Viticultural Areas, only a handful produce top-notch Cabernet Sauvignon. These appellations include Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Sonoma Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignons made in these appellations can offer a complex array of aromas and flavors. Fruit notes such as blackberry, blackcurrant, cassis, black cherry and raspberry often are accompanied by hints of graphite, dusty earth, cigar box, toast and vanilla. The varietal has a rich history in Sonoma, and some of these Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet-based blends rival the best from Napa Valley.