Have I ever told you how much I love Santa Cruz Mountain Cabernet? Decadent amaretto cassis elderberry liqueur black cherry Tootsie-Pop but not in a way that I would typically make fun of something being cloying and overblown. There’s enough olive oil tapenade petrichor alienation that brings up raspy rusty dusty dry fruit while still offering platters of barbecue dripping with blood. Green and stalwart while still definitely ripe, a perfect spice flows out carrying straight over the tongue into serious fruit center and actually quite mellow tannins–okay let me rephrase that–they’re not mellow, they just assimilate well into the salty length of the fruit and the bright earthy finish. Does this make sense? Santa Cruz Mountain cabernets are not simple affairs and you best get on board.
2014 MARTIN RAY Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains California 14.9
Stephen McConnell 