Today’s Erba Mountainside Vineyards 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon hails from one of the finest vintages on record in the last 20 years. This 2007 is drinking just beautifully. In fact, the wine may still be hitting its peak. It shows no signs of tiring we believe that the wine has a good 7 to 10 years of cellar time left in it, before it starts to see any sort of decline. Even then, the wine will go on and on.

Erba Mountainside Vineyards is one of most popular wineries of these last 8 years of bringing you fine wines. We’re big fans. So is Robert Parker, Jr., who is enamored with this winery.

Erba’s winemaker, Denis Malbec, was literally born at Chateau Latour, and is ideally suited to Erba’s late release schedule that offers consumers the increasingly rare privilege of buying cellar conditioned wine in its prime, upon release. Perfectly aged Napa Valley Cabernet is tough to find, especially at such a reasonable price - don’t think twice!

About the vineyard:

Sharing a fence with the consistent 90+ point Pahlmeyer Vineyard’s Waters Ranch, the Erba vineyard possesses perfect attributes for a unique terroir. It features steep slopes at high elevations of 1100 to 1550 feet above sea level with very rocky volcanic soil.

The vineyard has a unique microclimate next to Atlas Peak. It is above the morning fog, which allows abundant sunshine throughout the day to ripen the grapes fully. Cooling westerly breezes come over the mountain ridge midday and in the late afternoon the mountain ridge shades from the hot afternoon sun.

The vineyard was developed into 14 blocks with a total of 20 acres planted. Each block has varying row direction and slope and therefore each block is harvested separately for optimum ripeness. Tight vineyard spacing was used to give the vines more competition to improve grape quality. Rootstock and varietal recommendations from Paul Skinner, PhD, matched the soil to the rootstock to keep vigor low and balanced. With much research the highest quality, low yielding clones were used including many of the ENTAV-INRA clones from France. All five Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec, as well as Syrah were planted. Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for approximately 70% of the vineyard plantings.

Here is what master sommelier Catherine Fallis has to say about this great wine:

97 points “A rare beauty, this evolved, complex Napa Cabernet from the exceptional 2007 vintage has notes of cherry cobbler, blackcurrant, raspberry jam, stewed tomato, forest floor, sautéed Crimini mushroom, kidney bean, cumin, cedar, vanilla, Maplewood smoke and potpourri. It is full, round, thick and mouth-coating, with earthy and fruity notes merging together nicely. The winning soft, supple texture is framed nicely if subtly by juicy acidity, and lavish oak barrel tannins only begin to show themselves on the long, flavorful finish. Kudos to the winery for taking the time to let this wine evolve and develop in house. Enjoy this new release now and for years to come.” - Planet Grape’s Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis, aka grape goddess®