ANTICA | Napa Valley | Mountain Select | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016
cabernet sauvignon

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Today we are going to review a very interesting, single-varietal cabernet sauvignon wine from California‘s famous Napa Valley – Mountain Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 by Antica Napa Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is grown all over the world in a wide range of climates and regions and it can produce wines high in tannins and acidity, wines that can mature and develop for many years in the bottle. Cabernet Sauvignon is also a late ripening grape variety, which means that it is best suited to warm climates, where it can result in wines that can reach into realms of perfection. This particular wine is produced by the Antinori family, where the ‘Antica’ name originates from the words Antinori and California, and represents the family’s eternal desire to craft exceptional estate wines that are a true expression of terroir. Antinori family is well known for seeking out the undiscovered potential of terrior-driven wine regions all around the world, while staying true to tradition, culture and taste of their signature wines. That said, without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
concentration: deep | opaque
colour: ruby
clarity: bright | clear
hue/rim: ruby

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: blackcurrant | black plum | black cherry | blackberry | black raspberry
fruit character: ripe | overripe

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | sweet | earth
__spice: black pepper | nutmeg | cloves
__oak: roasted oakwood | sweet tobacco | liquorice | cinnamon | charred wood
__sweet: black mulberry jam | chocolate
__earth: black soil dust
__wood: new / medium+
aroma: primary | secondary

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: med(+)
alcohol: high
tannin: med(+)
__grip: ripe
body: round | medium+
balance: good
__dominant: alcohol
complexity: complex

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: ripe & overripe
non fruit: spice & oak
finish: med(+)
aftertaste: velvety & jammy

//Scoring
ANTICA | Napa Valley | Mountain Select | Cabernet Sauvignon | 2016
variety: cabernet sauvignon
country: USA
region: California | Napa Valley
rating: 93.5

//Conclusion
maturity: developing | on the rise
verdict: great | a must try
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This is definitely a great wine of USA and, with a total of 93.5 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is definitely one of the finest cabernet sauvignon wines we’ve tasted so far – a wine that needs just a bit more time in the bottle (2 to 3 years should suffice) before it will reach the summit of its prime form. The wine tastes rich, ripe and expressive, with an extracted fruit-forward and jammy profile and a touch of alcoholic warmth on the palate. It feels bold and complex, with a medium-plus body, crisp acidity and a ripe, fine-grained grip on the mouthfeel. The wine also displays some nuanced spicy notes, which forms a very rich and ripe finale, where the primary fruit is complemented nicely by the oak-infused flavours. Overall this is a blueprint warm climate cabernet sauvignon wine that is made in a classic new-world style, with a nuanced fruit-forward profile and lots of oaky-spicy notes. Enjoy!
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