2014 Nicholas Allen Carte Blanche Cabernet Sauvignon
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Another tour de force is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon which checks in as 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, most of which is from the Missouri Hopper vineyard. Aged 20 months in 100% new French oak, this beauty boasts a saturated purple color to go with notes of crème de cassis, white chocolate, white flowers, and graphite. Deep, full-bodied, with great intensity, it needs 4-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two decades. Carte Blanche is run by Nicolas Allen and was founded in 2007. The estate worked with the talented Luc Morlet up through 2014 before bringing on board Helen Keplinger. Her 2014s are brilliant wines… and the 2015s are even better!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is composed of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon from Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper vineyard with 6% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. It offers up notions of crushed blackberries, warm blueberries and dried herbs with suggestions of cedar, Marmite toast and unsmoked cigar. Medium to full-bodied with impressive concentration and a rock-solid backbone of firm, grainy tannins, the palate delivers mouth-filling black and blue fruit with a lively kick on the long, earthy finish. 400 cases were made.
A totally striking wine, Carte Blanche's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is every bit as good from bottle as it was from barrel. Black cherry, graphite, earthiness, tobacco and licorice all give the wine its savory personality. Rich, voluptuous and racy, the 2014 offers superb depth in an opulent, flamboyant style that will be easy to enjoy with minimal cellaring.
Carte Blanche's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is impressive. Inky blue/black fruit, sage, mocha, black cherries, plums, lavender and cloves flesh out in a Cabernet that strikes a highly appealing stylistic middle ground that captures plenty of Napa Valley intensity with some of the restraint that is so typical of the year.