A gorgeous wine. Just an unbelievably gorgeous wine. Absolutely perfect in all ways. Ruddy ruby, dense and dark, with a microscopic clear rim. Light sediment. Heady nose so richly perfumed, gobs of dirty ripe fruit, maraschino and honey, rich blackberry and cherry, beautiful oak vanilla and briary loam, leather and chocolate, but nothing slutty, not a speck of flab, just rich shocking fruit in a perfect polish at 10.
Tasting it eliminates all doubt it is a stunner. I’m in a bit of a shock, as this Alex–while not as easy to find as Martini’s Napa bottlings–is a fairly prominent super-market offering at better stores, and I know Bev-Mo carries it. Also, not expensive: typically around 30 bucks and WOW what a bargain. You just CAN’T stop smelling it, and when you finally taste it, everything falls into place. Full, succulent, dry fruit, the balance of which causes pause. Sweet and ripe, acid and tannin perfectly in place, the fruit SO PERFECT–just an amazing bottle of wine. If I were a scoring person (and don’t worry, I never will be), this is 100 points. EXACTLY where you want a 10YO California Cabernet: the shocking density of fruit carries the rasp of structure far past the finish, NEVER a sharp edge, not a single asterisk, there’s literally not a single flaw in this wine. Dusty and buttery, forest and volcano, brambly elegance and straight-up SEX in a bottle.
Wine like this are what dreams are made of. Almost speechless. And no, they don’t pay me. This is an orphan I just found in the cellar. Wish I had a couple cases.
2010 LOUIS M. MARTINI Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Sonoma Co. California 14.5
Stephen McConnell 