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Taplin Cellars, “Terra 9” Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa Valley, United States 2008 (750mL)
$85.00
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Taplin Cellars, “Terra 9” Cabernet Sauvignon

Today’s wine melds the “old” and “new” Napa Valley in the most appealing way. Though it was founded only recently, Taplin Cellars isn’t your typical new-generation Cabernet producer: The Taplin family’s agricultural roots in the Napa Valley date back to the Gold Rush, and, having grown grapes in St. Helena for generations, they finally decided to put their name on some bottles (there’s already a Taplin Road in St. Helena, so it seemed only natural).
And in addition to being a wine of genuine heritage, today’s 2008 “Terra 9” Cabernet Sauvignon—just the second vintage produced under the Taplin label and sourced directly from their cellar library—makes a convincing case for the ageability of ‘modern’ Napa Cabernet. I suspect this wine was silky and seductive when it was first released, and it is even more so now, delivering not just a deep core of cassis and blackberry fruit but a slowly encroaching savory component that distinguishes a maturing red from a just-released one. Then there’s the price, which, given the kinds of wines this one is built to compete with, is eminently reasonable—I would expect to pay twice as much for an aged Cabernet of this quality, and I’d have to if there were a ‘bigger’ brand name on the label. We appreciate this wine both in spirit and letter, and you will, too—just a few hundred cases are made each year, and we managed to snag a small direct-from-the-cellar parcel to share with you today.
Ultimately, the most compelling reason to try this wine is its prime vineyard sourcing and flawless, luxurious, classic Napa Valley construction—but the Taplin Cellars story is an especially good one in a place where capital often trumps tradition. Proprietors Stephen and Bill Taplin trace their family roots in St. Helena to 1871 and their great-, great-grandfater, John Orange Taplin—a dairy farmer whose house on Taplin Road still stands (it’s owned by the Joseph Phelps winery). John Orange’s grandson, Albert, married into another prominent St. Helena farm family, the Lewellings, and the 28-acre tract they received as a wedding present represents the modern-day farm overseen by Stephen and Bill. It had been planted to walnuts but was first converted to vineyards in the 1970s by Stephen and Bill’s father, Ken; up until the foundation of the Taplin Cellars label, the grapes were sold to other producers, including Caymus and Bennett Lane.

The name “Terra 9” is taken from a description of the local soil attributed to Stephen and Bill’s great-grandfather, John Lewelling, who dubbed it nine parts rock and one part soil. Located within the St. Helena sub-AVA, the Taplin estate vineyard is indeed a classic ‘benchland’ terroir comprised of gravelly loam, and in 2008, a cool spell in the second half of September helped extend the growing season into mid-October. While plenty dense and concentrated—as is to be expected from “valley floor” Cabernet—there’s also a resonant chord of freshness in this wine that keeps it lithe and lifted close to a decade on. Comprised of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it was aged 28 months in 50% new French oak barrels, then spent another year in bottle before its original release. As noted above, our bottles came to us directly from Taplin’s cellars, and their perfect storage conditions are readily evident in the glass.

The 2008 “Terra 9” is a deep, nearly opaque crimson red with hints of garnet at the rim, and it is fascinating to sit with it and just smell it for a bit—it’s a crash-course on classic Napa Cabernet with some time in bottle. The primary fruit notes are still there, and abundant—blackberry, cassis, black currant—but so are a growing legion of secondary aromas, including tobacco, dried herbs, cacao nibs, violets, leather, anise, and humid earth. It is full-bodied but extremely poised and fine-grained on the palate, not chunky and chocolatey but instead satiny, luscious, and brightly perfumed. I found it both hedonistic and elegant, which may sound impossible, but wait until you see for yourself—this is what’s great about well-made Napa Cabernet, and the wine is in a sweet spot right now that I expect to continue for five-plus years to come. Decant it about a half-hour before serving in Bordeaux stems at 60 degrees, and pair it with a protein well-embellished with aromatics and maybe a wine reduction. There’s a tremendous amount of pleasure on offer here—don’t miss it!
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Country
United States
Region
Napa Valley
Sub-Region
United StatesSt. Helena
Soil
Gravelly Loam
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon 100%
Alcohol
14.5
OAK
50% New French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Bordeaux Stems
Drinking
Now-2028
Decanting
30 Minutes
Pairing
Beef Tenderloin w/ Shallot & Red Wine Reduction

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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