2019 Latta Wines Gants de Suede

142 cs. made. $60/btl.

93 pts. Vinous | 92 pts. James Suckling

Welcome back "Gants de Suède"! This blend is 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Malbec all from Lawrence Vineyard in the newish Royal Slope AVA. The integration of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and 60% new French oak puncheons is seamless and ready for your consumption now or for many years to come. A dense blend wound with currant, clean leather, and tobacco from the Cab Sauv. Fruit density and full body from the Malbec. When tasting this wine from barrel the texture often reminded me of suede leather, the tannins are present and serious but polished and supple. This wine is squarely in the bold red category, pair with hearty meaty fare.

A note on the somewhat out-there name! I don't think the request was made on our first date but pretty soon after, my wife (I think mostly facetiously) wanted to know when I was going to name a wine after her. As I climb the barrel stacks, I taste and think about our wines through the months and years. How they are maturing and what they may become. For this wine, a suede textural note kept coming to my mind and each time brought me a smile as I thought of my wife. Swade, is my wife's nickname, born out of efficient collegiate brevity. Sara Wade > S.Wade > Swade. So these barrels kept making me think of her nickname and when we made it legal and married in 2017, I decided this was it, the fates wanted this wine to be hers. Naming it "The Fantastic Sara Wade" would have been a bit on the nose for her taste so a 1800's Parisian fashion craze for Swedish made gloves gave us the root for suede type leather and the name of this wine, Gants de Suède. This one is for you Sara Wade. Thank you all for putting up with this long-winded intro and, Sara, thank you for putting up with me. I love you. Enjoy the wine!