2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Paradise Hills Vineyard

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Drinking Window

2016 - 2027

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This wine was tasted as part a complete retrospective going back to the debut 1999 vintage.

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On a whim, I asked Claude Blankiet what was the most difficult vintage he has yet faced in Napa Valley, figuring he'd say 2000 (1999 was his first commercial release). He named 2010 without hesitation. That's a wine to look at next year, but his comment should convey that this was a tricky growing season for much of Napa Valley. According to winemaker Denis Malbec, who took over here in early 2010, vintage 2009 was also a challenging season. "Waiting was the key, and a lot of people picked too early," in some cases because they were afraid of the heavy rain coming on October 12. "But we were able to make wines with precision and good ripe tannins." Malbec made the final 2009 blends with the team at Blankiet, and he even tweaked the 2008s shortly before bottling. He began using some press wine in 2008, as he felt it brought more volume and coated the wines' tannins.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer vitae aliquam odio. Aliquam purus diam, tempor et consectetur vitae, eleifend ac quam. Proin nec mauris ac odio iaculis semper. Integer posuere pharetra aliquet. Nullam tincidunt sagittis est in maximus. Donec sem orci, vulputate ac quam non, consectetur fermentum diam. In dignissim magna id orci dignissim convallis. Integer sit amet placerat dui. Aliquam pharetra ornare nulla at vulputate. Sed dictum, mi eget fringilla lacinia, nisl tortor condimentum mi, vitae ultrices quam diam ac neque. Donec hendrerit vulputate felis, fringilla varius massa.

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Claude Blankiet had brought in Denis Malbec to make his wines just a month before my visit, and the team was still finalizing the 2008s and deciding whether there would be a Rive Droite bottling. This sheltered vineyard above Dominus in Yountville has a microclimate of its own: the Blankiet 2006s were some of the stars of that vintage, while Claude Blankiet told me that he actually picked more dehydrated berries in 2007 and made somewhat more exotic wines. (Incidentally, Christian Moueix and his winemaker Tod Mostero similarly described their 2006s as classic in style.) The 2008 harvest here lasted from September 4 through the last day of the month, and Blankiet reported that there was "more uniformity of ripeness and less raisining" than in the previous year. Of course, he has a misting system in his vineyard to help manage heat spikes.

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