2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson
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Tasting notes
Produced from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon coming from Melanson Vineyard on Pritchard Hill, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard offers a deep garnet-purple color and delicate, slightly subdued black cherries and wild sage notions to begin, soon unfurling to show its multilayered glory: cassis, kirsch, lilacs and warm plums over forest floor, truffles, grilled meats and marmite toast nuances plus a hint of cardamom. Medium to full-bodied, solidly built and beautifully taut, it is packed with layered nuances and textured by superbly ripe, fine-grained tannins, finishing with great length with an invigorating lift. 210 cases were produced.
Critic scores
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
From a site in the same area as Colgin and vines planted in 1998, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard offers a rocking bouquet of chocolaty black and blue fruits, truffle, charcoal embers, and earthy nuances. This full-bodied beauty has a ripe, layered, seamless texture and is perfectly balanced. It’s another gem from the genius of Thomas Rivers Brown. It’s also worth pointing out that the farm at this site, which has lagged in the past, is now being handled by Josh Clark, who handles the farming for Outpost and Mending Wall.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Melanson Vineyard is extraordinary, and perhaps the best wine I have tasted from Pulido-Walker so far. In 2016, the Melanson is remarkably polished and delineated, with tremendous class and exceptional balance. Red and purplish berry fruit and floral notes open up in the glass, but it is the wine's exceptional polish that leaves the deepest impression. Quite frankly, the 2016 redefines what might be possible here. All of the Cabernets I tasted from Melanson this year show notable improvement now that Josh Clark is overseeing the farming, but none is more compelling than Pulido-Walker's wine.