Vice Versa Wines
2010 Le Petit Vice Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon •Stagecoach and Dr. Crane
California: Napa Valley
Mission Briefing
Codename:Left to your own Vices
What do you get when you combine some of the most sought-after Cabernet grapes from some of the most exclusive vineyard sources (Las Piedras, Dr. Crane, Stagecoach, Max and San Savino) in the world? Well, you get some very nice grapes. Add the winemaking wizardry of the legendary Paul Hobbs and Patrice Breton to the melange, and you end up with an extraordinary wine.
Today’s 2010 Le Petit Vice Cabernet Sauvignon is an incredibly wonderful, elegant and delightful wine! This wine is the best premium Cabernet Sauvignon that we have showcased this year.
This remarkable and delicious wine exudes elegance. With concentrated fruit on the palate, a lush nose and a plush mouthfeel, this is the sort of wine that one could take a very long time discussing while enjoying.
Decant for at least 30 minutes and you will be rewarded with a softer, more flavorful and more elegant experience.
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Absolutely gorgeous, with rich garnet hues from the dark heart of the wine right out to the fine ring of ruby at the edge. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Bold, dark and elegant fruit of black cherry, blackberry, blueberry, plum, cassis and sweet tobacco out in front. As the wine breathes, it opens to reveal follow-on aromas of cocoa and lavender. |
| Taste: | Extraordinarily delicious and mouth coating, with flavors of blackberry, black cherry and cassis. As the wine opens, flavors soften - and new flavors of sweet tobacco, subtle cedar and sweet spice appear. |
| Finish: | Very long with flavors that persist all over the mouth. When combined with a great meal or some fine confectioner’s chocolate, the finish seems even longer. |
| Pairing: | A fine dark chocolate is a delightful pairing, but for a real treat, enjoy this wine with lamb chops with an olive tapenade. The winery insider recommends truffled goat cheese and Toscana Salami. |
What the Winery Says
Le Petit Vice 2010 is already showing immense promise with beautiful and complex aromas and intense flavors suggesting red and blue berries, sweet spices, coconut and Valrhona chocolate. Extraordinary balance, superb weight and silky tannins. Delicious.
- Consulting Winemaker
- Paul Hobbs
- Appellation
- Napa Valley, California
- Varietal Composition
- 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cooperage
- 23 months in French oak barrels
- ABV
- 15.2%
About the Winery
In October 2001, I left my career as a software entrepreneur and followed the call of my passion to Napa Valley. The results, thanks to mother nature and an extraordinary group of people including winemaker Shawn Johnson, talented vineyard managers and the rest of my team, are already shining with promise. Everyone involved is highly focused, dedicated and passionate.
I strive to make distinctive, pure, concentrated and balanced wines that proudly express their origins. I believe in limited yet contrasting varietal and vineyard blending, stressing the vines to achieve low yields for maximum flavors, harvesting only when total physiological ripeness is reached, indigenous yeast fermentation, no fining or filtration and limiting new oak to optimal levels. The rest is just hard work and tender loving care.
Winemaker Shawn Johnson
Shawn’s talent is well known in Napa Valley, where he is recognized as a rising star. He worked under the tutelage of Mark Herold at Merus, Kobalt and The Vineyardist between 2006 and 2012.
In 2001 he began working in sales at Cottonwood Canyon Winery in Santa Maria, but quickly discovered a fascination for winemaking and moved to Napa Valley to work a harvest.
During the next 10 years he ascended from a young cellar worker to seasoned assistant for a few of the best winemakers and labels in the business. He combined the foundation of science with the sensory skills necessary for crafting a fine wine. In 2009 he started his own project, then began making wine for other labels.