Louis Martini Sonoma Cab '15

WINE TALK
1

Dark opaque purple.
Blueberries, chocolate, smoky oak, and tinge of booze aromas…
Very fleshy and round in the mouth. A refreshing shot of astringency pleasantly cuts through a slight murky sweetness. Kind of chunky. Open knit. Med-long finish.
89-90 pts.

2

Wonder if this ‘regular bottling’ would age well?

3

Todd, I don’t think so. Perhaps, it could ‘last’ a 3-5 years, but it doesn’t have the structure, in my opinion, to ‘age’ well.

4

I don’t think the 2015 Sonoma is going to age very well. To me, the wine seems too manufactured. Compared to the 2014s from Louis Martini (which all garnered big TWA scores), the 2015s are not in the same class.

I think they got lightning in a bottle for 2014 and they tried to replicate the scores through manipulation in 2015. Having had the Napa, Alexander Valley and Sonoma bottlings from 2014, the scores are not unwarranted IMHO. The '15s just aren’t in the same league. And as an aside, the prices went up quite a bit on the high score coattails.

5

and (a) tinge of booze aromas…

Wine note of the week. Well done, Barry. [thumbs-up.gif]

6

Manipulation? Gallo?? Say it ain’t so!

7

I know…

The ‘14s were just so good. I loaded up on all three including magnums. 2015 was such a step down.

8

Bill, I totally agree. This wine, while relatively enjoyable, has a Mega Purple ‘plastic’ quality to it. Depending upon what price one gets this for, there are plenty of more interesting red wines out there that challenge one’s palate more.

9

I always think this wine is worth the price point. With the mail in rebates usually around $9 in Minneapolis so for sure a crowd pleaser at that price point.

10

Had Martini’s 2014 Napa Cab bottling a few days ago, was very nice. Will skip the '15s.

11

John,
Yes, $9 is a great price. Unfortunately, I paid $17…

12

It was many years ago but I had some 68 and 73 bottlings that were still pretty vibrant, if not complex. There was a crazy amount of sediment though, almost like these were bottled from the dredges of a vat or something.

So at one point the wines could keep, but not sure if the vineyards or vinification is the same today.

13

I agree the 14s are very good and the prices were crazy. Picked up a bunch of the napa for around $19.

14

John,
Yes, $9 is a great price. Unfortunately, I paid $17…

Minneapolis is not the best wine market in the country but the wine under $30 we are very competitive. Total Wine talks a big game but most wine sales beat them.