Tetra Prime Solum Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
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Wine
Enthusiast
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Dense indigo. Gobs of red and black fruit with hints of cedar and pipe tobacco wafting about. Immense flavors greet the palate, carried through on a long wave of chewy phenolic richness. Textbook power and finesses that can only be found in Napa Cab. Prime Solum matches beautifully with most hearty fare and pairs particularly well with beef.
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Wine Enthusiast
Tasted in early December, this Cabernet, which was blended with Merlot and Petit Verdot, was in a funny place in its evolution. It’s not exactly fresh and fruity, but it hasn't evolved to the complexity of an aged wine. You’ll find plenty of restrained blackberry, cherry, currant, violet, oak and tannic notes that require another 6–8 years to resolve and shine. Cellar Selection.
Other Vintages
2012-
Robert
Parker
This powerful, yet elegant effort was blended to perfection by winemaker Patrick Mahaney with the goal of highlighting the four Bordeaux varietals most loved by Bill – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot
Though historically, Bill has focused his wine-making endeavors on single vineyard, single variety wines – his passion for Bordeaux, more specifically the wines of Chateaux Lafite, Mouton Rothschild, and Latour (a zeal born in his travels to France) had inspired the desire to create a Napa Valley Bordeaux style blend – a wine of truly exceptional quality and character – but one he would not craft until the conditions were perfect.
2006 brought just such a vintage and Tetra was born. The name "Tetra" (meaning four, four parts, having four) was chosen to signify the four "noble" Bordeaux varieties other than Malbec selected for the blend and the four vineyards from which the varieties were being sourced.
One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.
Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.