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eRobertParker #222 (Dec 2015) Review of 2012 Proprietary Red, Paradise Hills Vineyards

Review by Robert M. Parker Jr.

Rating: (95)


The 2012 Proprietary Red, which is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest mostly Merlot with tiny quantities of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, is truly great stuff. Inky, almost murky purple-colored, the wine offers up notes of camphor, spring flowers, black raspberries, blackberries and cassis as well as hints of chocolate and coffee. It is full- bodied, multi-dimensional, exuberant, boisterous and super-complex already. This is a big, flashy, superb wine to drink now as well as over the next 20-25 years. It is hard to believe that Claude Blankiet’s first vintage was 1999. Of course, this is a fabulous vineyard that also looks marvelous from the famous Route 29. This is pure Yountville AVA on the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas Mountains, just above the valley floor vineyard of Christian Moueix’s Dominus. Blankiet’s blends are made by Denis Malbec, who also works not too far away as the consultant for Kapcsandy. These wines often need time in bottle to show their character, and I thought the 2012s performed even better than they did from barrel. The 2013s look incredible as well. These may be Blankiet’s two greatest vintages to date, even eclipsing the 2001s and 2002s.

Drink 2016 – 2046

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