Wine of the Week: 2007 Spring Mountain "Elivette"

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. - Aristotle

 
I had a chance to sample this wine, just a few weeks ago, while at work. I know poor me, the first time I sampled a wine from this producer, it was just last year, during the Wine Bloggers Conference in Oregon, someone had generously uncorked several high-value labels from the Napa Valley. It was however the 2002 "Elivette" which really caught my eye, a wine that I thought was epic.

This is the kind of wine, you give as a gift to impress friends, or to celebrate special events in your own life, a wine to share with others. It's not a wine, at least for me that would be part of my "everyday drinker" category of wines. After all, I'm no Warren Buffet, with a disposable income, the size of the garden variety third world country. No disrespect, but if you can afford to drink this kind of juice on a regular basis, hey more power to you. I'd do the same if I could.

Now that said; this wine is predominantly a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, with Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot. And in a word it's a master-piece. You really can't wine much better than this, and their 2007 effort is rock solid great. This wine is one spectacular ride to tasty-town; one where you'll be quite sad once the last drop has fell from the bottle.

Even though this bottle I had sampled [then spit] had been opened the day before, never decanted, [but I'd recommend decanting] jostled here and there, from one wine-shop to another, and it still over-delivered. Nothing but silk, lush but not ripe, structured but not rigid, this wine is like a painting, it takes time for it to evolve in the glass. It could still easily go another 10 years, if you wanted to lay a few down. This wine had unbelievable depth and elegance, like so few wines do. So yes, in this case this wine is well worth the price of admission.

The wine sells for a Benjamin or more, just about any place you go. Honestly there's not much of the 2007 vintage, but I'd grab as many as your bank account will allow. I scored this wine 96 points, one of the highest scores I've ever given a wine.

I've only been by the winery a couple times, I've been to a couple of their neighbors Vineyard 7 & 8 and Fantesca, so I think on my next trip to Spring Mountain, I'll have to make sure I drop by and say hello.

On your next trip to the Napa Valley you should make a point to discover the wonderful Mountain appellations like Spring Mountain, and their neighboring Diamond Mountain and of course what would a mountain-top experience be like without making an appointment with a few producers on Howell Mountain. Give these AVA's a swirl the next time you find yourself in the area, it will be hard to go back to the wineries who dwell in the valley.

Again these are days, where you wish you didn't have to spit. Until next time folks, sip long and prosper cheers!