Medium to full bodied - dark inky color - flavors of blackberry, black raspberry, and plum with tones of mocha, anise, tea and a hint of tobacco box with spicy chocolate, clove and vanilla on a moderate firm tannin finish. The 2007 follows the 2005 and 06 for three blockbuster releases in a row. They're a bit tight and slightly tart upon opening, they need an hour to settle and soften and will be even more approachable the second day. RM 91 points.
This is a product of winemaker Marco DiGuilio. According to the (rear) label, this vintage selection was blended from two exceptional barrel lots from 3 blocks of the Hidden Ridge Vineyard. Nicknamed, the "Impassable Mountain" because it took ten years to develop due to the 55% slope of the ridgetops. The Hidden Ridge Vineyards consist of 21 blocks of cabernet sauvignon in some of the most isolated areas of the Mayacamas Mountain Range along the Napa-Sonoma County line - located at 38 29'50.95 N, 122 34'09.40 W.
We tasted this wine since we just visited the area spending two days on Mt Veeder and one day on Diamond Mountain, along the ridge-tops. Those producer visits and tasting notes will continue to be posted as I pull them together. To that end, we tasted this wine against the Mt Veeder cabernet sauvignon 2006.
I discovered this wine at Morton's at Crystal City, Arlington, available by bottle or by the glass. Over the last year we've enjoyed the 05, 06 and now the '07 vintages there. We also picked up the '05 at BRIX in Napa and tasted at dinner during our Mt Veeder appellation trip which is and will be chronicled here. This was tasted at Morton's in Arlington Crystal City this week with steak dinner. The Hidden Ridge overpowered the Mt Veeder cabernet sauvignon '06.
