Readers should be on the look-out for the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (which will be released in March, 2011). It is one of the great buys in Cabernet Sauvignon from northern California. Accessed from Gallo’s Frei Ranch, Barelli Creek, Monte Rosso and Sunnybrook vineyards, it is composed of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc, all aged in large tanks with wooden staves. Soft, round notes of plums, black cherry jam, licorice and roasted herbs soar from the glass of this perfumed Cabernet. This corpulent, plump, juicy, delicious, hedonistic effort should keep for up to a decade. The good news - 320,000 cases were produced and it came in at a mere 13.5% alcohol. (Released in March, 2011) This venerable winery can trace its origins back to 1900 when Louis Martini came to the United States from Genoa, Italy. After a long, distinguished winemaking history, the family sold the winery in 2002 to the Gallo family with whom they had been close friends for decades. Today’s wines may be the finest Louis Martini offerings since the classics they made in the fifties and sixties. The wines reviewed in this report represent an impressive line-up that includes some outrageous values. Moreover, readers should not forget Louis M. Martini’s three Napa Valley offerings that were reviewed in issue #192. Tel. (800) 321-WINE

A sound, everyday Cabernet, dry and smoothly tannic, with pleasant berry, herb and cedar flavors that finish a little sweet. ——S.H.(12/31/2011)—— 86