Maitre de Chai - Cabernet Sauvignon Gala Mountain Vineyard 2021

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Producer	Maitre de Chai
Country	United States
Region	California
Subregion	Napa Valley
Varietal	Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage	2021
Sku	12017171
Size	750ml

 

CAC

96

V

96

When Marty and Alex first walked into this vineyard, they knew they HAD to work with this fruit even though working with Cabernet was never in the plan. Planted in 1992 on rocky volcanic bedrock on the slopes of Mt. George, about 1000ft above the floor of the Napa Valley—this is just high enough to get constant breezes from the San Pablo Bay. Converted to biodynamic farming from organic in 2018, this farmed by hand. A beautifully unique example of old school, “pre-prohibition” style mountain Cabernet.

The vines here produce very small clusters, which lend a really beautiful deep and saturated palate with a firm multi-dimensional tannin. The tannin hits up front at first, which alongside the volcanic terroir has us thinking of Etna, then continues up the side with fruit density like in Tuscany and finishes with a hard mineral toned and linear mid-palate. This is savage mountain wine that delivers and you can absolutely pull the cork now with great pleasure.

"The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Gala Vineyard is fabulous. It emerges from a terraced vineyard at 1,800 feet in elevation in Napa Valley, just above the Coombsville AVA. Rich, dark and beautifully structured, the 2021 possesses notable pedigree and character. Black cherry, plum, gravel, licorice, bay leaf and espresso all race across the palate. Readers who enjoy old-school Napa Cabernets will adore this. This wine, if sold in Napa Valley, would cost four to five times as much. Don't miss it!

I was super impressed with the wines I tasted from Maître de Chai. Marty Winters and Alex Pitts met as young chefs working in some of California’s most prestigious kitchens. Over the years, both of their career paths led to wine. Winters and Pitts founded Maître de Chai in 2012 and have quietly built their range since then. The wines draw from a number of sites across several appellations in northern California, all done in a style that emphasizes freshness and verve. As readers will discover, a number of wines in this lineup are truly compelling, most notably the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Gala Vineyard, which may very well be the single best value in Napa Valley Cabernet today." From 2022 Sonoma Preview: A First Look (Jan 2024) by Antonio Galloni