Wine: 2012 Maloney Wines Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Elephant Mountain Vineyard
Estate: Maloney Wines
Vineyards: Elephant Mountain Vineyard
Location: Rattlesnake Hills AVA, Washington StateWinemaker: Joshua Maloney
Elevage: 20 months in 50% new French Oak (Dargau & Jaegle).
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Decant: Six hours, per recommendation of Josh.
Location: At home on 10/16/2015.
Tasting Note:
Color: Dark opaque red and is not cloudy at all
Nose/Smell: The nose has a light hint of cassis near the middle to end, and some chalk. Additionally as the wine aired a little longer (around hour 7 or 8) some cherry notes began to appear in the nose.
Palate/Taste: Within the palate there are some moderate plus rounded tannins, which lead to moderate and smooth finish. The smoothness in the mouthfeel most definitely came from the 6 hour decant that Josh recommended. I also tasted a little bit of cassis, and some smokiness at the end. Finish is long and can definitely benefit from cellaring.
Opinion: Overall I was impressed with the Single Vineyard Elephant Mountain Cabernet Sauvingon from Maloney. This definitely needed the 6 hour decant, which helped to mellow out and rounded out the tannins. As for longevity, it is a screw top bottle which I believe is supposed to slow down the aging of a wine compared to a cork. This leads me to believe that this wine has the drink dates of 2015 until 2025. If you have to try it now, use the 6+ hour decant and you will not regret it!
Dates: 2015 - 2025
Rating: 94
Price: $$ - $65.00
