2009 Blankiet Estate Prince of Hearts Paradise Hills Vyd

The 2009 Prince of Hearts Paradise Hills Vineyard is a classy, refined wine graced with exquisite finesse. Red berries, flowers, licorice and sweet spices flesh out on the mid-palate. A totally impeccable, refined finish rounds things out in style. The 2009 continues to grow in the glass, which bodes very well for the future. In 2009 the blend is 70.6% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24.9% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 1.5% Petit Verdot. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. Claude and Katherine Blankiet have refined their approach over the last few years. Under the direction of Denis Malbec, the vines are now being farmed with the goal of keeping a more robust canopy in an effort to places less stress the vines than has been the case in the recent past. In the cellar, Malbec is focusing on longer macerations and gentler extractions. He is also aging the component wines separately for a longer period of time, as opposed to Michel Rolland's approach, which was to create the blends earlier. It will be fascinating to see what develops here. (12/ 2011)