Maroon Wines
2009 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon
California: Napa Valley
Mission Briefing
Just Drawn This Way
We have come to expect great things from today’s winery, and this wine does not disappoint in the least. In fact, it is the best that we have tasted from Maroon Vineyards.
Today’s Maroon Wines 2009 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant, delicious, bold wine with plenty of concentrated fruit and classic Napa mountainside character.
Very highly recommended, and drinking beautifully now, this young wine shows tremendous aging potential and we recommend that you lay several bottles down for the foreseeable future. Big, bold and full on the palate, this wine also has a softer more elegant side. This begins to show after some decanting or spirited swirling. As the wine opens, it reveals more authentic fruit, both on the nose and the palate. The feel, too, becomes softer, encouraging you to let big sips linger on the palate.
Pair with something hearty, like a black pepper-rubbed t-bone steak or braised short ribs.
At today’s price, this wine won’t last long. You have been warned…
Tasting Profile
| Look: | A dark burgundy really leads to plum colored edges. Tall, slow-moving, tightly spaced tears take a long time to emerge, before streaking down the glass wall. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Deeply aromatic with bold BlackBerry, smoky cherry, Sweetwoods, plum and green tobacco leaf. These set a top merge caramel, toasty oak and sweet spice. Aromas continue to evolve as you swirl the wine. |
| Taste: | Plump, right and concentrated with black cherry juice, braised plum, dark mixed cherry jam, dark spice, leather and black pepper. After the wine opens up a bit it reveals flint, sweetwood and dried earth. |
| Finish: | Long, elegant and filled with flavor, black and red fruits persist for a very long time, gradually giving way to earth and spice elements. At the tail end, a soft dryness is accompanied by a hint of graphite and dried earth. |
| Pairing: |
What the Winery Says
The Wine
This wine has spicy aromas of dark berries and floral tones laced with vanilla and mocha notes. On the palate, the wine has a deep rich texture which is framed by moderate tannins which give the wine lingering finish. The wine has a nice beam of acidity through the midpalate which brings the texture alive and will open this wine up for a wide range of food pairings.
The Bottom Line
The wine really opens up nicely after 30 minutes or so in the decanter, the aromas developing nicely and the texture softening a little around the edges.
Drink Upon Release through 2022
Wine Specs
Production: 1,772 cases
Appellation: Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley
Blend: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon 14% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol: 14.2%
TA: 0.57 g/100mL
pH: 3.78
About the Winery
Maroon Wines was founded by Paul Maroon in 2008. The focus of Maroon is usually on single varietal, single vineyard wines and their philosophy is to introduce as little winemaking manipulation as possible from the vineyard to the bottle.
Along with their “estate” vineyard, Maroon sources from a variety of premium vineyards in the valley and hand crafts a number of very small production wines from vineyard sources that may change from year to year. These wines are often only made available to their wine club and a select few others, like The Wine Spies.
The focus of Maroon is usually on single varietal, single vineyard wines. Winemaker Paul Maroon’s philosophy is to introduce as little winemaking manipulation as possible from the vineyard to the bottle.
Winemaker Paul Maroon
Paul Maroon became interested in winemaking over 40 years ago while as a young man helping his uncle make wine in Pennsylvania. After earning a college degree on the East Coast he came to California for his MBA. In the back of his mind he always knew that, for him, Napa Valley was the place to be.
Paul visited as often as possible throughout the years and finally, in 2000, looking to return to this agricultural roots, he realized his dream and relocated to the Napa Valley. He purchased property just north of the city of Napa and there he began his life as a vintner and has been growing grapes and making fine wines ever since.
For ten years Paul had a lucrative contract with Joseph Phelps to sell them the Cabernet Sauvignon from his Coombsville vineyard. These grapes were used in their Insignia blend. Before the contract ended, Paul made under two barrels of wine for himself and realized the quality of fruit his vineyard could achieve as a single varietal, single vineyard wine. As a result, his first commercial vintage of Maroon Wines came two years later in 2008.