Mount Eden Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
(Santa Cruz Mountains, California) - [DM 95] [VM 94] [WA 94] [WE 93] [W&S 92]

About the Winery:

Located in the mountains above Saratoga. Mount Eden Vineyards was founded in 1945, although its history goes back much further: Native Burgundian Paul Masson arrived in California in 1878, established a winery, planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with cuttings obtained from his Burgundian pal Louis Latour, and pioneered the production of sparkling wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains. But then came prohibition to ruin it all. Then came the legend Martin Ray in 1943 to buy Masson's wine company and plant those cuttings in what is now the Mount Eden Estate, sitting 2,000 feet overlooking Saratoga and the entire Bay Area. He also planted Cabernet Sauvignon with cuttings from Chateau Margaux.

Today, the Mount Eden wines show the same amazing qualities found in many of the 1er and Grand Crus of Burgundy; minerality, complexity, ripe orchard fruit, but restrained use of new oak.

Notes from the Winemaker:
Release Date: Fall 2019

All of our vineyards are surrounded by wildlands which makes Santa Cruz Mountain wines so intriguing and unique. The wines subtly pick up these special aromas and flavors from this proximity. Essential oils from the native flora blow into the vineyard and in a minuscule way, attach to the fruit and leaves. This only happens in small isolated mountain vineyards.

In my 38 years making wine on this mountaintop, I have never seen such a low yielding Cabernet vintage. Averaging at best one-half ton per acre, it was confounding.

While there is not much of it, it is certainly delicious—a classic nose of cassis with the added complexity of plum, bay and earthy sage. On the palate, there is concentration without heaviness, flavors of currant, raspberry, oak and earth—which speaks to our surrounding forest.

Total Production: 758 cases

Tech Notes:

• Yield: 1 ton per acre
• Harvest: September 16th-23rd
• Numbers @ Harvest: 23.5° Brix, 3.43 pH, 6.0 grams acidity
• Cepage: 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc & 1% Petit Verdot
• Barrel Regimen: French & American; 100% new; aged 24 months in barrel
• Bottling: August 2017; no fining or filtration
• Alcohol: 14%

95 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"The rocky minerality of the region shows from first sniff through to the lengthy finish. The earthiness is beautifully offset by fleshy red and black fruit, with spice-infused cherry, bittersweet chocolate, espresso and vanilla notes. For all its youthful intensity, the palate is remarkably fresh and bright." - (08 Jul 2018)

94 Points - Vinous Media:
"Mount Eden's Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the hidden gems, not just in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but in wine more broadly. The 2015 is bold, deep and pungent, with striking fruit density and tons of aromatic nuance. Jeffrey Patterson told me he had never seen such a tiny crop. Some vines produced no fruit at all. As a result, the 2015 was aged entirely in new oak, all of which it handles very well. The balance of savory Cabernet aromatics, fruit and structure is already terrific, and will only improve with more time in bottle." - Antonio Galloni (Oct 2019)

94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is a success given the challenges: a stressed, end-of-drought vintage with a challenging fruit set that resulted in a 50% drop in production. The nose is intense and earth-driven, with aromas of compacted earth, forest floor, gravel and iodine coming to the foreground immediately. The palate is classically proportioned with good concentration, a lovely spine of acidity and fine-grained, blooming tannins. While exchanging a bit of the drying, complex intensity found in a more easy-going harvest for a damp, earthy rusticity, a vintage like this shows the strength of the Cabernet from this property. Drinking Window: 2022-2040." -Matthew Luczy (Apr 2024)

93 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"This is savory style of Cab from a mountainside site, starting with aromas of roast beef, crushed asphalt and dark seared elderberry fruits. Black plum and more elderberry show on the sip, but the focus of the smoothed out tannic profile is showcasing rocky soil-driven flavors, with hints of olive and charred meat toward the finish." - Matt Kettmann (10/1/2019)

92 Points - Wine & Spirits:
"Jeffrey Patterson manages generations of vines at Mount Eden, tracing their lineage to 19th-century cuttings, purported taken at Château Margaux. His vineyard, at an elevation of 1,800 feet on an east-faxing slope, produced a vibrant 2015, cool and sleek in its flavors of red and black fruit skin. The wine’s zesty energy seems to awaken with air, driving the texture and flavor through a lovely finish (728 cases)." -J.G. (Dec 2019)