Cabernet … It’s What They Do

by Richard Paul Hinkle
I am an optimist by inclination, and so I was quite taken by the tee-shirt that bespeaks the ultimate in unvarnished optimism: “I plan to live forever … so far, so good!”
Somehow that made me think of a winery acquisition a few years ago, when Gallo took Louis Martini into their broad fold. The initial fear, of course, was that the Martini history of excellent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon might be subsumed into Gallo in such a way that a family’s vinous identity might be lost.
Hasn’t happened. If anything, the reverse is in process at the winery founded by Michael Martini’s grandfather near Fresno in 1922 (and moved to St. Helena at the Repeal of Prohibition in 1933). For decades, especially under Michael’s late father Louis Peter Martini, the winery was known for skillfully blended Cabernets that were perfectly balanced when made, wines that aged elegantly for decades in bottle.
Born in 1949, the tall, rangy Harley-Davidson devotee (he rides a Springer Soft Tail) Michael Martini came home after a meteorology stint in the Air Force and time at UC Davis – he studied wine, of course – to quietly slide into the winemaker’s chair in the family business (sister Carolyn is also active at the winery). Michael brought in stainless steel tanks for the whites, small oak barrels for the reds, and began to pay close attention to the splendid vineyard sites the winery owned and operated, particularly the blanket of old vines draped across the Mayacamas range – the now more than century old Monte Rosso Vineyard.
Martini assesses the Gallo involvement as “Great! They’ve made our message simple: Martini is all about Cabernet. The sad thing is that we’ve dropped some of our old standbys, like Gewurztraminer and Folle Blanche. The good news is that I no longer have to worry about waste water problems and other administrative bothers. Now I get to focus my attention on Cabernet Sauvignon [over 95% of all production now]. That’s where Louis Martini fits into the Gallo fold. We’re all about Cabernet Sauvignon now. All they ask of me is to make the best Cabernet Sauvignon there is. I’ve got all the equipment I need, I’ve got a separate facility for experimental work, plus I get to draw from a wide range of new vineyard sources, which have been added to the already solid stable we have built over the years, led by our crown jewel over in Sonoma Valley, Monte Rosso – so far, so good.”
(A program note: The rock band, Private Reserve, that Michael has played lead guitar in for 19 years – it includes Ed Sbragia and George Bursick – will be featured on a Regents Mariner cruise, leaving May 16 from San Francisco to Alaska.)
Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Sonoma County ($17): Soft and fluid, with peppermint, blackberry, red currant and cassis fruit up front, and hints of coffee in the middle that push the softer fruit forward nicely. You’d like this with a Salisbury steak.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Alexander Valley Reserve ($35): The great thing about Cab from this region is that it is inherently soft, without the need for Merlot in the blend (though this wine does have a couple of percent each of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot for extra aroma and spice). The wine is forward with earthy tobacco, bright blueberry fruit, peppermint for spice, with just a hint of graham and vanilla oakiness to keep all of those exquisite elements from escaping. Some meat dish with mushrooms would be pretty darned good.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Napa Valley Reserve ($25): This one features black currant, violets and black cherry fruit, spiced with mocha and cassis notes that make you think of prime rib, rare and don’t stint on the mushrooms. (Okay, I like mushrooms.)
Zinfandel 2005 Sonoma Valley, Monte Rosso “Gnarly Vines” ($50): This wine is so special that it continues to rate high on the Martini wine chart, even though it’s not Cabernet. Still, the wine is suitably sensational, with pure black pepper spiciness and raspberry fruitiness, with that typical black walnut hint, that it is just the wine for smoked salmon. No mushrooms.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 Sonoma Valley, Monte Rosso ($85): The red clay of this vineyard is every bit as good for the Cabernet as it is for the Zinfandel, and this wine is an intense, mountain-grown bruiser, with violets and licorice, tobacco and dark chocolate, and tannin enough that you begin to think of green tea. A pork roast would do nicely here.
Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Napa Valley “Lot 1” ($100): Powerful black pepper, tobacco, green olive, blackberry and eucalyptus, with chewy-yet-fluid tannin. “Dad made the first of our ‘lot’ wines in 1968,” says Michael. “It was our designation for the best fruit we could find, be it from mountain or from valley floor vineyards. It is designed to be the equivalent of Beaulieu’s ‘Georges,’ Heitz’s Martha’s Vineyard. The backbone is there, but it has a certain elegance, too.” Prime rib for this beauty, with lots of horseradish and, yes, mushrooms.
The Louis M. Martini Winery is located at 254 South St. Helena Highway on the south side of town. The cozy, well-appointed tasting room is open daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone (800) 321-9463 (WINE). On the web, they are found at louismartini.com.
[Hinkle’s 8th wine book is Good Wine: The New Basics. Busy on books nine and ten, Hinkle can be found on the web at RichardPaulHinkle.com.]

Related Information

• Louis M. Martini Winery