Our Wines

 

Vertical One: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010

TWELVE BOTTLES: Two bottles each of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. A description of each vintage is available below under the individual years.

Vertical Two: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2012

TWELVE BOTTLES: Two bottles each of the 2006,2007,2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. A description of each vintage is available below under the individual years.

Vertical Three: Mystery Case

TWELVE BOTTLES: May include 2001, 2002, and 2004 as well as 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2012. When filling up the case, duplicates will be from the 2009, 2010, and 2012 vintages. A description of each vintage is available below under the individual years.

The 2012: PLUSH

You will notice there is no 2011 M Squared. I had to refuse the grapes due to excessive mold thus didn’t make one but what a comeback. The 2012 has everything you could want and in perfect harmony giving a very plush presentation.

Opulent and spicy this 2012 vintage at first whiff is intense cassis, almost jammy. As you spin the glass vanilla, white pepper, sandalwood and a hint of cinnamon join in with the fruit. The mouth feel is like velvet with a 40 second finish. Drinks well now but should age for decades.

The 2010: EXPANSIVE

This vintage paralleled the 2009 with normal cropping levels and a normal flower set. For these old vines that is about two tons per acre. Same cool growing season with heat towards the end to push the fruit along. The difference was we learned from the 2009 vintage and when we saw the rain coming we picked. This created an aroma profile a little redder than 2009 but the fruit was in great shape when we brought it in mid-October.

The initial aroma is quite spicy with cinnamon, white pepper and anise layered with dark chocolate, vanilla against a cassis ruby flavor. The finish is savory with a long, 35 second, even soft tannin. Should live 20 to 30 years.

The 2009: FOCUSED

Normal cropping levels with a cooler growing season left us wondering if they were going to get ripe. Then during September and October the heat came on and the grapes started to accelerate in veraison. We were thinking of picking in the middle of October when the first rains loomed on the horizon. This situation wasn’t unusual since we often get an inch or two of rain during harvest. Rain washes the dust off Cabernet and helps soften them for better extraction. However, this storm dropped 5 inches which caught us off guard. As soon as the vines had time to dry out we picked, about two weeks earlier than normal. This gave us a wine with a slightly tighter tannin structure yet it still has a very focused and concentrated aroma of cassis with a red fruit twist like the 2007.

Classic M Squared styling. Some of the oldest Cabernet Vines in California. Gravity flow vinification with a combination of submerged cap and punch down management at 28 days on the skins. This was followed by 42 months in new French oak 100%. Unfined. Three and a half years in bottle before release.

The 2008: LAYERED – Sold Out

The 2008 vintage had about a 30% crop reduction during the flowering period due to inclement weather. The result is that the vine put its energy into the remaining fruit, and I must admit, this vintage has layers in it that I haven’t previously seen.
The growing season was warm enough to set soft supple tannins in the mouth but the truly exciting feature is in the aromas. Black fruit and red fruit with a soft sandalwood background and a subtle hint of the Moroccan desert dust.
Classic M Squared styling. Some of the oldest Cabernet Vines in California. Gravity flow vinification with a combination of submerged cap and punch down management at 28 days on the skins. This was followed by 42 months in new French oak 100%. Unfined. Three and a half years in bottle before release.

The 2007: VIBRANT – Sold Out

Classic vintage. Cooler growing season then the 2006 thus a little more red fruit presence and no plum but a nose that has everything else. A bright wine with significant structure but still in the style of M Squared. It is not my intent to beat your gums up. Best descriptor for this wine is sexy.
Classic M Squared styling. Some of the oldest Cabernet Vines in California. Gravity flow vinification with a combination of submerged cap and punch down management at 28 days on the skins. This was followed by 42 months in new French oak 100%. Unfined. Three and a half years in bottle before release.

The 2006: RIPE – Sold Out

The 2006 was a very ripe year and the wine is showing deep black fruit flavors with soft round tannins. Very black cassis and plum in the aromas set in a spice of white pepper and ginger bread. Mouthwatering and mouth filling with a 30 second finish.
Classic M Squared styling. Some of the oldest Cabernet Vines in California. Gravity flow vinification with a combination of submerged cap and punch down management at 28 days on the skins. This was followed by 42 months in new French oak 100%. Unfined. Three and a half years in bottle before release.

M Squared: 2005 Supple – Sold Out

2005 M Squared Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon has a broad aromatic base of cassis, white chocolate, white pepper and violets. Warm with a hint of sandalwood this wine is very forthcoming and generous in the nose. The mouth doesn’t disappoint.

M Squared: 2004 – Sold Out

Dark purple in color this wine displays cedar, plum, anise, red peppercorn, cassis, caramel and a slight smokiness. The mouth is warm and oozes across the senses with the full flavors of the aroma and a gingerbread finish. The finish last about a minute and 15 seconds.

M Squared: 2003 – Sold Out

The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Monte Rosso Vineyard exhibits a dense ruby/purple color as well as a sweet, sumptuous nose of black cherries, loamy soil, cedar, earth, and spice. Full­bodied with elevated, but sweet tannin, it should drink well for 15­20 years. The personal project of Michael Martini, these are both impressive efforts from one of the oldest plots of Cabernet Sauvignon vines in northern California.

M Squared: 2002 – Sold Out

The dark ruby/plum-­hued, medium to full-­bodied 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Monte Rosso Vineyard offers up big, sweet aromas of red and black fruits, damp earth, and spice box. More evolved and complex than the 2003 (no doubt due to the extra year of bottle age), the 2002 exhibits a similar weight, but may be less long in the mouth. It is a beautiful, impressively made Cabernet Sauvignon with sweet tannins as well as attractive spice and earth characteristics. It, too, should be consumed over the next 15-­20 years. The personal project of Michael Martini, these are both impressive efforts from one of the oldest plots of Cabernet Sauvignon vines in northern California.

M Squared: 2001 – Sold Out

Cassis is always the fruit backbone of Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon. The layers bring in the terroir of red earth, herbaceous pepper with both black and white peppercorn. These are enhanced with another layer of cedar, smoke, vanilla and a hint of citrus from the wood.