“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”
This passage leapt to mind as I crammed my nose into this wine, and tasted it, and relevated on what it had to teach. The amount of dearth of fruit packed into an earthy substance shockingly quite removed from modern chubby instincts. Decanted vigorously. There’s a placid affectation of ripe fruit buried down deep, but the truth really comes from a hillside aura of flora and fauna the Napa Valley has somewhat removed itself from in the charge for 110-point wines the designer-jean OC set will gravitate to.
In the mouth, chalky relevance grips at all sides, clamoring for consequence in a funky multitude of flavors only true cab-fanatics will accept these days. At 15, it is only beginning to fight, the briary creek-side blackberry showing like a passage of scripture shallow minds will gloss over but carries depth the dedicated will interpret. Summitiously oily while delicately defined, a beauty of origin can-not be more perfectly imagined.
2008 PINE RIDGE Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 14.1
Stephen McConnell 