Winemaker Notes
The aromas of the 2009 Christopher's open with a vivid blue fruit note, expressing violet, cassis and blueberries alongside a wet slate character. The palate shows the warmth of the vintage with ripe fruit and immense textural generosity, but the site's 2,400 foot elevation comes through to balance that roundness with bracing flavors of rosemary and dried orange peel. All is held in check by Christopher's most compelling signature: firm, chalky tannins that draw the wine through a lengthy, mineral-laden finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet in color, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Christopher's Vineyard gives up evolving notes of Black Forest cake, baked blackcurrants, dried mulberries and fallen leaves with touches of leather, camphor, roasted nuts and dusty soil with a waft of pencil shavings. Full-bodied, concentrated and wonderfully layered in the mouth, it has firm, very fine-grained tannins and bold freshness, finishing very long and mineral laced. 360 cases were made.
-
Wine Enthusiast
A big, thick, massive Cabernet, impressive for sheer volume. Yet it’s very tannic and dry. Deep down inside is an intense core of concentrated blackberry essence, coated in smoky new oak. This feels dramatic and important, but nowhere near ready. Give it eight years in the cellar.
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.
Nearly a northern extension of Napa Valley, Alexander Valley starts just north of the small, Knights Valley, and is just a few minutes drive from the Napa town of Calistoga. It is Sonoma County’s hottest AVA. But the Russian River, which runs through the valley, creates cooler pockets and its soft, alluvial soil is ideal for grape growing, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. In fact, some believe that Alexander Valley Cabernets truly rival the best from Napa Valley and many of the heavy-hitter producers have largely invested here.
In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up over 50% of plantings, Merlot and old vine Zinfandel thrive here. Ample, fleshy Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc dominate white wine production. Some old-vine plantings of Grenache have also been discovered and more recent experiments with Sangiovese and Barbera show great promise.