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Uutiset
98 points Antonio Galloni
Once again, the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon pays homage to the 2007, but the aromas and flavors seems to be just a touch brighter, which might just be a function of the wine's age. A wine of remarkable precision, the 2009 is totally dialed in from start to finish. Layers of intensely sweet, perfumed fruit are woven together with remarkable elegance and sheer polish. Today, the 2009 isn't quite as radiant as it has been in the past, and seems headed for a stubborn phase. It is still striking, though. Even if a bit less exotic than the 2007, the two wines share a silkiness and overall sense of textural finesse. A translucent, weightless finish rounds things out in style. The 2009 is 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot. (AG) (12/2012)
97 points Wine Spectator
*Collectibles* A stunningly seamless effort, rich and elegant, this delivers perfumed currant-cassis aromas that are supple and graceful, building and gaining with subtle tannins, laced with loamy earth. A dash of black licorice marks the long finish. (8/2012)
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon (87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot) displays a slightly peppery nose, but ratchets up the level of concentration with pure black currant and black cherry fruit as well as licorice and lead pencil shavings. This beautiful, dense, full-bodied 2009 is exceptionally elegant, pure and seamless. Drink it over the next 20-25 years. (RP) (10/2013)
96 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Good bright ruby-red. Vibrant aromas of crushed cassis, ripe redcurrant, licorice, bitter chocolate, tobacco and spearmint. Smooth and impressively concentrated, with a hint of medicinal austerity to the flavors of black fruits, violet, bitter chocolate and menthol. Penetrating, gripping wine with great flavor intensity. Powerfully structured too, finishing with firm tannins and outstanding, slowly building, juicy length. The pH here is 3.8, according to estate manager Armand de Maigret, but the wine boasts outstanding lift. 96+ (ST) (5/2012)
Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
“First and foremost, I will be perpetuating the fresh, delicate style of wine that has been the Screaming Eagle hallmark since 1992. Across two winemakers before me (Heidi and Andy), that style has stayed remarkably consistent, which is part of the uniqueness of this ranch. The character of the vineyard really asserts itself. What will be new is the discovery of the young vine plots, and the ways that we can farm them individually to get the best site expression possible. It is a winemaker’s dream to be able to truly understand and manage a vineyard acre by acre and spend an enormous amount of time out there with the vines,” Nick Gislason, Winemaker.
One would not say that Screaming Eagle offers value versus price, but like Romanee-Conti it exists in another league. There is so little produced, with most of the production remaining in the US to be consumed domestically, that the global market clammers for whatever it can secure. Screaming Eagle is spectacular wine, a massive, fruit forward beast, with incredible dark fruits and power: it is a wonderful, special and breath-taking wine to drink.
Wine Information
“The 2009 reminds me most of 1997, where we also had a nice dry spring with less vigorous vines on vineyards, a moderate summer with few heat spikes, and good crop set as well that allowed for long hang-time during the mild autumn. The vintage was nearly picture perfect in the vineyard for our characteristic, fresh wine style.”
”The spring began with very few frosts (unlike 2008 which had many), and warm conditions, leading to healthy, balanced crop loads. Then, as the spring went on, conditions continued to be warm and dry, which served to naturally down-regulate the vine canopy vigor and bring the vineyard into a great balance between leaf and fruit development, requiring very little additional shoot training. As the summer came, and transitioned into the fall, we had warm conditions with far fewer high heat spikes (100+F) than in 2008, leading to great retention of freshness in the fruit, and floral, spicy, vibrant flavors very characteristic of a classic Screaming Eagle vintage. We harvested the Merlot during September 9-17, Cabernet Sauvignon from September 18 to October 10 and Cabernet Franc on October 1. The total amount of production was 750 cases.”
Nick Gislason, Winemaker – Screaming Eagle: