Saturday, January 22, 2011

2007 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve

After having  this at our Christmas Party back in December when someone at our table brought it, I figured it was time to pop one of our own.  That said, this is the second time we've had this wine.  Unfortunately, it didn't show nearly as well as the first time.

Picked up this bottle from the Class 6 on McGuire Air Force Base, the same place that one of my colleagues got the wine from for our party.  I actually purchased this on the same day as him, just and hour or so before he did.  That said, these provenance on the bottles should have been close to identical.  This has been stored since then in our cellar at a constant 55 degrees.

Popped and poured this tonight at Oliver-A Bistro in Bordentown, NJ with my in-laws.  Nice dark Napa garnet color in the glass.  The nose seemed much thinner than when we had this wine in December.  Some currants and cassis on the nose, with some sweet vanilla, jammy raspberry, herb, and baking spice.

On the palate, this seemed very thin again compared to last month, almost watered down which is a shame.  The last bottle we had showed some great complexity given it's youth, and this one seemed to be lacking in many different arena's.

The fruit profile just wasn't there, showing some thin dark black fruits of blackberry, blueberry, and some hints of raspberry.  There is a bit of sweet vanilla and spice as well.  Definitely a lighter wine than we had last month, and all around, it was just thin and lacking.  Even the tannins were not grippy or chewy like our last visit, and that was disappointing.  Bottle variation could very well be an issue here.

That said, this bottle was thin and boring, and we'll revisit it again in another 6 months to a year as it is super young.  I don't see why this wine won't age well for many years to come.  After all, we had the '00 and '01 a couple years ago, and they were absolutely delicious.  We'll see!  83 points.  Cheers!

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