Sloan Proprietary Red 2009
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
Product Details
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Blend: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Sloan possesses lots of espresso roast, chocolate fudge, baking spice, cedarwood, incense, creme de cassis, blackberry and subtle smoke characteristics. Surprisingly soft tannins are atypical for this vintage, but they work well and frame this full-bodied, concentrated, multidimensional wine. One of the finest Sloans made to date, it can be drunk now or cellared for 25-30 years.
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James Suckling
This has the fresh blackcurrants and blackberries of the vintage with a lot of savory and some balsamic notes. Rich and concentrated but fresh and energetic with full, velvety tannins that make for a stunning balance. The finish has breathtaking freshness that kicks it way down the road. Drink or hold.
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Wine
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
The Rutherford sub-region of Napa Valley centers on the town of Rutherford and covers some of Napa Valley’s finest vineyard real estate, spanning from the Mayacamas in the west, to the Vaca Mountains on the other side of the valley.
Inside of the Rutherford AVA, bordering the Mayacamas, is a stretch of uplands called the Rutherford Bench. (These bench lands technically run the length of Oakville as well). Mountain runoff creates deep, well-drained, alluvial soils on the bench, giving vine roots plenty of reason to permeate deep into the ground. The result is wine with great structure and complexity.
Rutherford Cabernet Sauvingons and Bordeaux Blends garner substantial attention for their enticing fragrances of dusty earth and dried herbs, broad and juicy mid-palates and lush and fine-grained tannins. The sub-appellation claims some of the valley’s most prized vineyards today, namely Caymus, Rubicon and Beckstoffer Georges III.
It is also home to Napa’s most influential and historic personalities. Thomas Rutherford, responsible for the appellation's name, made serious investments here in grape growing and wine production between the years of 1850 to 1880. Gustave Niebaum purchased a large swath of land and completed his winery in 1887, calling it “Inglenook.” Today this remains the oldest bonded winery in California. Georges Latour founded Beaulieu Vineyard in 1900, making it the oldest continuous winery in the state. Latour also hired the famous enologist, André Tchelistcheff, a man credited for single-handedly defining the modern Napa winemaking style.