2015 Fidelitas 4040

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull 4040, 9/24/2018, (See more on Full Pull...)

  (Fidelitas 4040) Hello friends. Well-priced Red Mountain wine is a category we know our list members are interested in. We also know it isn’t easy to find examples in the $20s. Over the years, we’ve basically whittled it down to two wines each vintage: Cadence Coda and Fidelitas 4040. What’s so fascinating about offering these two is that they exist at very different locations along the stylistic spectrum, but each is expressive of Red Mountain in its own way.We went a little long on this Red Mountain stunner to get the TPU tag well down below the $32 release. Today, we start with 60 bottles. From the one and only Charlie Hoppes, who has been working vintages on Red Mountain for over 30 years, this is a cuvée of Cab (45%), Merlot (24%), Malbec (20%), Petit Verdot (9%) and Cabernet Franc (2%). It starts with a wildly expressive nose, but the palate is the masterpiece here—textural power and intensity abound. This wine lives up to its reputation as a polished, classy charmer, but still doesn’t shy away from touches of awesome leathery grip. This is an illustrious expression of Red Mountain’s generosity, expertly crafted by one of the masters.