2016 Sutro Cabernet Sauvignon Warnecke Ranch Alexander Valley

Drinkable (and age-worthy) Alexander Valley Cab

2016 Sutro Cabernet Sauvignon Warnecke Ranch Alexander Valley

Like the vineyard-designate Merlot, the fruit for Sutro’s Cab also comes from Warnecke Ranch in the Alexander Valley. The bottling is 93 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with 7 percent Merlot, grown on 45-year-old, dry-farmed vines that yield tiny, concentrated berries. But this is not overripe wine, and its acidity clocks in at a remarkable 7.3 g/L.

Brilliant ruby color with a clear rim, the wine offers aromas suggesting black currant, blackberry, cedar, and tobacco. The palate is silken but the tannins are robust now, buttressing ripe red and black cherries. Rather than fruit-centric, the wine feels structured and savory, and its profound acidity and 29 months in French oak have set it up for long aging. I’d like to open this vintage again in 5, 10, 15 years — or more.

 

2016 Sutro Cabernet Sauvignon Warnecke Ranch Alexander Valley

14.9% abv | $50 (sample)

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