Alta
2012 Oso Malo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon •Altra Napa Valley Vineyard
California: Napa Valley: Atlas Peak
Mission Briefing
Naughty Bear
Happy Sunday, and welcome to another Super Spy Sunday, dear Operative. Every Sunday, we feature an Elite level wine for your consideration - and I offer it up at 40-60% off.
We’re very excited about today’s wine. Rest assured that you’ll fall in love with this wine at first sniff. Sip it, and you’ll wish you had purchased more.
Today’s SSS selection is the rich, delicious, best-of-Napa Alta 2012 Oso Malo Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine is boldly aromatic. It leads with a rush of chocolate covered cherry, blackberry jam, fig, blueberry pie, sweet spice, subtle tobacco, licorice, subtle violet and black pepper.
Bold, juicy flavors rush onto the palate, with blackberry jam, blueberry pie, cassis, plum, violets, cassis, dark tobacco leaf, twigs, espresso bean, vanilla and darkly toasted oak.
This all leads to one of the most flavorful and extended finishes that we’ve experienced in recent memory.
The 10 acre estate where this wine hails from sits at 1650 feet of elevation, on the eastern slope of Atlas Peak - where other ultra luxury Cabs are born.
Be sure to stock up on this one. It is that good!
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Here’s what the wine press has to say:
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate - “The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Oso Malo offers attractive blueberry and mulberry fruit intermixed with floral undertones in its intense aromatics.
Savory berry fruit is noticeable on the palate, less earthiness than I expect in an Atlas Peak Cabernet, excellent purity and texture, and a medium to full-bodied mouthfeel. It is not a boisterous, exuberant or overly dramatic effort, but one that relies on restraint and finesse. Drink it over the next 6-7 years.”
Tasting Profile
Look: | Dark red and purple hues through a very dark heart. Extra tall legs start a steady march down the glass after a swirl. |
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Smell: | Chocolate covered cherry, blackberry jam, fig, blueberry pie, sweet spice, subtle tobacco, licorice, subtle violet and black pepper. |
Taste: | Blackberry jam, blueberry pie, cassis, plum, violets, cassis, dark tobacco leaf, twigs, espresso bean, vanilla and darkly toasted oak. |
Finish: | Plush, super elegant and insanely long, with crushed velvet tannins that very gradually dry the palate, starting on the tongue and spreading to the cheeks. |
Pairing: | Enjoy this terrifically elegant wine with your favorite grilled meats. How about a steak Chimmichuri or a nice pile of sliced New York strip with green peppercorn butter sauce?! |
What the Winery Says
- Winemaker
- Fred Oliai
- Varietal
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Composition
- 90% Cabernet Sauvignon
- ~
- 10% Merlot
- Vintage
- 2012
- Appellation
- Napa Valley, Atlas Peak
- Abv
- 14.4%
- pH
- 5.70 g/L
- TA
- 5.8 g/L
- Brix
- 26
- Harvest date
- October 12, 2012
- Aging
- 20 months
- Barrels
- 70% new French oak
- Bottling
- unfined, unfiltered
- Production
- 450 cases