2011 Rubissow Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder 750 ml

Of all of Napa's AVAs, none varies more widely than Mount Veeder when it comes to soil composition, exposure, and microclimate. If you spend a half day driving up and down these mountain roads, you discover sun-drenched perches where vineyard crews struggle to fend off blistering in hot vintages. Then, just around a bend, you'll find back-breaking cooler slopes where clusters fail to ripen fully in chilly summers.

In 2009, following introductions from a handful of America's most notable restaurateurs, we took our first drive toRubissow Vineyard. Everything that we'd been told about this magnificent 18.5-acre planting — set on a sunny, south-facing cutout, framed by redwoods and oak — was true. After trekking steep clay and sandstone hillsides with Peter, we returned to the family's modest tasting room. An hour later we fully understood why Tim Milos' Cabernet Sauvignon had charmed the pants off sommeliers at Charlie Trotter (Chicago), Tom Colicchio's Craft (L.A.), Blackbird and Boulevard (San Francisco), and Bobby Stuckey's Frasca in Boulder. 

Why have we, along with so many of the top chefs in country, fallen head over heels in love with this small cult winery on Mount Veeder? Sorry, but it's time to climb up on our soapbox again. 

We're fed up. There's a disturbing trend in Napa Valley. So many of the samples we're now tasting are almost Port-like. Seemingly drawn from desiccated fruit, where growers haven't taken the necessary steps to protect clusters from direct sun — or alternatively, have deliberately left bunches exposed, pushing for overripeness (really??) — these Cabernets are cloyingly sweet, clumsy, and ponderous. 

(OK, enough. We feel better now. We'll step back down.) 

Last week, during our third three-hour visit with Peter Rubissow and a vintage tasting now spanning eight years, we were once again reminded why this stunning single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has gained such a cult following among Mount Veeder enthusiasts. In 2004, as soon as Peter assumed operational control of the vineyard from his father George Rubissow and co-founder Tony Sargeant, he hired Tim Milos (Opus One, Stags Leap, Hidden Ridge). In each vintage from 2004-2011, Milos has put on quite a show, crafting ripe, richly textured Cabernet Sauvignons of great elegance and class, bottles that walk the line between Mount Veeder opulence and Pauillac refinement.

If the 2004, 2007, and 2009 were the most forward of our tasting, it would be the cooler-vintage 2005, 2010, and 2011 that were the greatest surprises. As Peter explained, "The hot years are most impressive in their youth, but it's in these drawn-out growing seasons where the vineyard really shines. For some, 2011 was challenging. AtRubissow, it was stellar." 

The 2011 Rubissow Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is brilliant dark-ruby. Enticing aromas of black raspberry, mocha, and sweet spice, gently tinged with new-wood cedar. Sweet, juicy, yet perfectly restrained on the attack, featuring a luscious mix of dark red berries, black cherry, and licorice. As always with this cult Cabernet Sauvignon, velour-like in texture and light on its feet. Sneaky tannins lurk in the background, arguing elegantly for 10-15 years of cellar slumber.