“If the sun refused to shine, I don’t mind, I don’t mind. If the mountains fell in the sea, let it be, it ain’t me. Got my own world to live through, and I ain’t gonna copy you.” - Jimi Hendrix, ‘Axis: Bold as Love’

If Six Was Nine is Maltus’ take on a varietal Napa Valley Cabernet. However, being from Bordeaux it’s difficult to live with just one variety! So a little Merlot is blended in to help the middle palate and Cabernet Franc to provide just that extra bit of lift. Since 2013 the grapes have been sourced from multiple great sites in Napa Valley, including Rutherford, where the expression of Cabernet Sauvignon reigns supreme.

Vinification is very similar to those wines that are made in France. After sorting – firstly by bunch and then, after the de-stemmer, grape by grape, a long cold soak before fermentation occurs. The wines undergo their malolactic fermentation in new and one or two-year French oak and are aged in the same oak. If Six Was Nine is is classic Cabernet Sauvignon from that variety’s Californian heart. As Robert Parker says about the wine “Time to turn on the music!”