I am drinking a Napa cab made entirely from Spring Mountain fruit that comes in a shade under 30 bucks from the 2001 vintage. What’s not to love? And I can’t agree more with the winemaker:

“There are a lot of tannins and intensity in mountain fruit, and I think there is a tendency in mountain vineyards to over-extract,” explained Baxter. “We’re trying to develop a more balanced wine. The reward is producing a wine with intensity that is elegant and approachable. That’s what mountain fruit can give you when it’s reined in properly.”

Amen, brother.

This is the Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon. What a fantastic wine at a great price! I could definitely see people loving it or hating it, due to the high acidity and the fact that it’s not super mega-ripe and massively oaked. Over the course of the evening this wine kept changing and showing me all kinds of different flavors. I’m going to have to snag a few bottles and hide them away for a couple years.