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What We Say 2008 Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon
HIGH QPR ALERT:
Today’s wine delivers value, well in excess of its selling price, easily earning it today’s special QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Alert.
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Mission Codename: High Horse
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Return to Galante Vineyards in California’s beautiful Carmel Valley and procure an ample allotment their newest Red Rose Hill Cab for our Operatives
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Galante Vineyards
Wine Subject: 2008 Red Rose Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Greg Vita
Backgrounder: Our loyal Operatives know that we are huge fans of Galante wines. Whenever we can get our hands on their limited-production wines, we jump at the chance to feature them here. Today, we are proud to bring you Jack Galante’s exceptional new 2007 Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. This bright young wine is delicious and ready to enjoy now. Just be certain to buy a few bottles to lay down, and you’ll be rewarded! Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below to learn more about this superior Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Brilliant magenta hues, from the core of the wine, right out to its brilliant, glinting edge. When spun and held to the light, the magenta coloring takes on an iridescent quality. After the wine settles, tall, skinny, wine-stained legs move swiftly down the glass.
Smell – Lush and alive, this wine exudes black cherry, blackberry, leather, spice and fresh salad herbs. As the wine opens, dried meats, dark sweetwoods, strawberry and black pepper emerge.
Feel – Taught and medium-bodied if sampled right after opening. As the wine breathes, it really softens up, taking on a much more rounded feel. Grippy tannins and a balanced acidity provide the perfect framework from the fruit. A slow, spreading dryness moves from the center of the palate, radiating outward.
Taste – Dark fruit and red fruit of overripe blackberry, plum, black cherry, strawberry, red currant and Bing cherry are balanced against savory herbs, dark cocoa, espresso bean, dried violets, dusty spice and cracked pepper.
Finish – Long, juicy and flavor-filled with dark fruits giving way to red fruits. As the fruits fade, cocoa, espresso bean and spice persist for a long time.
Conclusion – This is the fourth time that The Wine Spies have featured a successive vintage of today’s special wine. We have to say, winemaker, Greg Vita, gets it so right – once again. Today’s 2008 Galante Vaneyards Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, from Jack Galante’s own Red Rose Hill vineyard, is a juicy, balanced, flavor-packed treat that will delight Galante fans and fans of big, juicy Cabs, in general. This is a vibrant, delicious wine with just the right amount of intrigue and complexity as to make it exciting and approachable. Pair with a spicy carne asada, fresh off the grill. Be sure to stock up. This wine is drinking beautifully now, but it will only continue to improve over the next several years.
Mission Report
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW
AGENT RED: As always, Jack, thank you so much for allowing us to showcase your wines for these last four-plus years. It has been a pleasure and an honor to get to know you and to have enjoyed your wines.
JACK: Thank you, Agent Red. We love that your Operatives love our wines so much! Tell me, though, when will I finally get my own Agent name?
RED: You have one, already! It’s [REDACTED], but be careful who you reveal this to… Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.
JACK: Our 2008 Red Rose Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 76% Cabernet and 8% each of Malbec, Merlot and Petite Sirah. This wine has a lovely aroma of toasted oak and bright flavors of raspberry and currant. age worthy and would easily do well in your cellar for the next 5 to 10 years.
RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?
JACK: I really enjoy this wine with lamb shanks or braised short ribs.
RED: In your opinion, what makes the Carmel Valley so special?
JACK: Our Carmel Valley Appellation in Monterey County is well known for its fabulous cabernet sauvignons. The region is marked with a big temperature variation in the growing season. Cold crisp nights and warm days make it extremely suitable as a wine growing region as harvest normally occurs in October and November.
RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?
JACK: We have been incredibly busy lately. We just finished bottling Dawn’s Dream wines (Dawn Galante started her own brand recently) as well as some of the wines of our custom crush customers. We are also going through the vineyards weeding and suckering. Lots of fun events at the winery are planned for the coming months as well.
RED: Thank you so much for your time. The Wine Spies remain loyal fans.
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of Galante Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Galante Vineyards
Cowboy Philosophy: “Never follow good wine with water…unless you’re out of good wine.”
About This Wine:
This fabulous Cabernet is a blend of 8% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 8% Petit Sirah and 76% Cabernet Sauvignon. One is immediately struck by the deep color of this wine which leads into an explosive mouth full of cherry and cassis. A good amount of vanilla flavors from the new French oak and chewy tannins round out this wine, lingering in a really long finish.
Bright, fresh and lively, our Red Rose Hill explodes with the characteristic cherry and berry flavors of our Carmel Valley vineyards. Delightful upon release, modest tannins provide the character that will allow this wine to age well over the next 7-12 years
About Our Winery:
At Galante Vineyards our philosophy is simple: grow the finest grapes possible and let the fruit express itself in the wine. Since all of our grapes are estate grown, each bottle of wine we produce embodies the characteristics of our unique region, exhibiting the natural flavors that are born from the land.
The Galante Family has a long history in the Monterey area. Owner Jack Galante’s great grandfather, J.F. Devendorf, was the founder of the town of Carmel. He later built the Pine Inn and the prestigious Highlands Inn. In 1969, Jack’s parents purchased a 700-acre cattle ranch in rustic Carmel Valley. While still maintaining a working cattle ranch, the Galantes, in 1983, began growing premium grapes on their property, specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1994, Jack Galante decided to build a winery and use some of his grapes to produce ultra-premium estate bottled wines. Today Galante is recognized as one of the premier Cabernet Sauvignon producers in Monterey County and all of California.
About Our Wine:
We produce very limited quantities of Estate Bottled 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from two single vineyards, Red Rose Hill and Blackjack Pasture. Our philosophy is to grow the finest grapes possible and let them speak for themselves through the wine. Several factors influence the quality of the grapes grown at our vineyards. Due to the extreme daily temperature variations in Cachagua (upper Carmel Valley), the growing season is very long with harvest normally occurring in mid October. This long “hang time” causes the grapes to ripen slowly, intensifying their rich berry flavors. We also thin the crop to an average of two tons per acre providing a low yield of very high quality grapes. We do not use pesticides or herbicides in the vineyards and only irrigate when needed. These methods, and others, combine to produce the highest quality grapes (see Vintner).Estate Wines, Galante Vineyards, California Wines
Our wine label is very special to us and reflects our roots and our efforts at Galante Vineyards. The image of the label is a photograph of real leather, hand-tooled by a California saddle maker with conchos in each corner designed by a local silversmith. The artwork for Red Rose Hill and Blackjack Pasture was created by world-renowned artist, G.H. Rothe. Our vineyard names are also meaningful; Blackjack Pasture is adjacent to the field where a favorite roping horse, Blackjack, spent the last of her 36 years. Red Rose Hill rises above a field of crimson rose bushes (just a small portion of our thousands of rose bushes), and Rancho Galante celebrates our beginnings as a cattle ranch, known as “Rancho Galante”. Even our back labels incorporate our cowboy image by including a special “Cowboy Philosophy” hand picked by owner Jack Galante.
