Barrett & Barrett Wine
2010 Cabernet Sauvignon | Calistoga, Napa Valley
Barrett and Barrett, two renowned and distinct winemakers working together, finally, is really what this wine is all about. The result is a handcrafted, limited edition Napa Valley wine that reflects our two different, yet complementary, winemaking styles.
Bo is responsible for "farming for flavor" throughout the growing season. Bo's experience growing Cabernet in these Calistoga vineyards since 1973 draws upon decades of experience to get the grapes to their maximum potential for each harvest. Whether it’s a very hot vintage or a slow cool one, after 35 years Bo has probably seen it before and knows how to get the grapes ready for the vintage. Once we get into harvest, we pretty much agree on the style we are going for reflecting the weather and growing season.
WINEGROWING
The grapes for the 2010 B&B were selected from the vineyards at our Calistoga property that were planted in 1989. By now, we've been through enough cool seasons to have high confidence in this vineyard's proven performance in cool vintages. These very rocky volcanic soil vineyards on the southwest facing slopes of Mt. St. Helena in Calistoga are always some of the earliest Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen in the entire Napa Valley. Elsewhere, Napa saw such a cold summer that many growers resorted to stripping off all the leaves to get more sun on the fruit. Then, when the reliable Napa Valley late summer heat wave arrived, (as experience has shown it always does), their grapes got fried. Not ours though! Our grapes were appropriately covered, getting great color but no burn.
UPDATED TASTING NOTES
Tasted Feb 2023
The 2010 was an outlier among the vintages tasted, as it has evolved to be much more French in style – there is significantly more earthiness and less fruit here. The aroma presents some leathery brett along with notes of cedar, violet, oak, meatiness, and minerality. On the palate, it still has nice weight and texture and some muted cherry-berry character. We would recommend letting it evolve in the glass and revisiting a few times to see how it changes and what notes come forward. Of the wines we tasted, this seemed to age a bit quicker than the other vintages and is somewhat of an anomaly in the lineup. Very reminiscent of an older Bordeaux. Recommended to drink now
ORIGINAL TASTING NOTES
Tasted 11/29/13
From the first glance, you can tell this wine is something profound. It is extremely dark all the way to the edge of the glass, with a dense purple-red color. Powerful aromas of rich black fruits, berry and plum burst from the glass, layered with lots of mineral and cedar. Upon release the 2010 is huge on the palate, with massive spicy briar notes and mouth-filling texture. Initially it shows extremely intense cassis flavor, which expands, coats the mouth and goes on and on. This vineyard always expresses a spicy character (5 spice, cardamom, cedar) and in the 2010 it's incredibly concentrated. The finish is lengthy and persists with dark, opulent flavors of blackberry jam and licorice. The care we took in growing and making this wine is evident all the way through, from the distinctive vineyard character to the elegant winemaking reflecting the intensity of the 2010 vintage.
ACCOLADES
from Antonio Galloni:
97 POINTS
"Blackberry jam, black currants, pine, tar, menthol and licorice are some of the many aromas and flavors that take shape as the Barrett & Barrett 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon opens up. A picture perfect example of the vintage, the 2010 impresses for its imposing structure and phenomenal overall balance. The powerful, incisive tannins need time to soften, but this is nevertheless a super-impressive wine, even today."
Revisiting it a year later, he said: "The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon is drop-dead gorgeous, just as it was last year. A dark, sumptuous beauty, the 2010 bursts from the glass with super-ripe, racy fruit, tar, new leather and a melange of exotic spices. Firm tannins support a gorgeous finish in a structured, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon endowed with tons of power and pure elegance."
OTHER VINTAGES
Vertical Collection 2008-2019
Current Vintage: 2019
2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon
2015 Cabernet Sauvignon
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
2013 Cabernet Sauvignon
2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
2011 Cabernet Sauvignon
2009 Cabernet Sauvignon
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon