Winemaker Notes
The concentration of this vintage means the wine comes across as more fruit driven than in past years, although the savory notes and dried-herb quality we associate particularly with Clone 7 are still readily apparent. The wine is a pure expression of black fruits, minus the tsunami of tannin one might expect from a vintage this inky dark. The finish is seemingly endless.
The 2015 Pulido~Walker Cabernet Sauvignon from Melanson Vineyard will be drinkable early on, as the naturally more concentrated fruit from a smaller harvest makes the wine more accessible. Still, there is no lack of backbone beneath the surface. Like previous vintages, the 2015 Melanson will not fade over time, but will continue to be a long ager, revealing more of its character as the years progress. We’ve come to believe ten years is the minimum this wine will benefit from resting in bottle, to evolve an ever more savory, black walnut quality, express its tannins, and develop an intellectually interesting complexity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From a site on Pritchard Hill, just across from Colgin, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard is an incredible wine that flirts with perfection. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged 20 months in 80% new French oak, this beauty offers a saturated purple color as well as heavenly notes of purple fruits, white flowers, coffee beans, and building, undeniable minerality. Full-bodied, perfectly balanced and layered, with an incredible mix of elegance and richness, it’s a tour de force from winemaker Thomas Brown that will keep for 2-3 decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 20 months in French oak, 90% new, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard Pritchard Hill has a deep purple-black color and a rock star nose of black currant cordial, dark chocolate, black forest cake and licorice with touches of charcoal, Chinese five spice, potpourri and black soil. Full-boded, concentrated and completely seducing in the mouth, the palate offers bold, beautiful black fruit and exotic spice layers, framed by velvety tannins, finishing very long and perfumed.
Rating: 97+
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
St. Helena is in the heart of the Napa Valley, nestled between Calistoga to the north and Rutherford on its southern border. On its western side, the Mayacamas Mountains guard it from the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean; to its east stand the Vaca Mountains. In conjunction, these mountain ranges serve to lock in summer daytime heat. But in the evening, cool air from the San Pablo Bay funnels up through the valley, creating very chilly nights. It isn’t uncommon for temperatures to drop 50 degrees, a shift that promotes a balance of sugar ripeness and acidity in wine grapes.
St. Helena contains a plethora of different soil types in a small area, which have been enhanced over centuries by rain runoff from both mountain ranges. Its vineyards cover a variety of terrain, spreading across the bucolic valley floor and its benchlands.
These ideal topographic and climatic growing conditions easily caught the attention of early winemaking pioneers. In fact, St. Helena is the birthplace of Napa Valley’s commercial wine industry. Dr. Crane founded his cellar in 1859, David Fulton in 1860 and Charles Krug in 1861.
Today there are no less than 400 separate vineyards planted within the 12,000 acres that make up the St. Helena appellation.
Revered most for its red wines based on Bordeaux varieties, namely Cabernet Sauvignon, the St. Helena appellation is also a source of superior Syrah, Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc.