Archive for the ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ Category
Long Shadows Pirouette 2004
Posted by Shea in $60+, Cabernet Sauvignon, Very Good, Washington Wine on September 14th, 2009
Long Shadows was founded by Allen Shoup, former CEO of Chateau St. Michelle. Shoup has been building some pretty amazing projects in washington since the late 70’s, including the Antinori project ‘Col Solare’ and the Eroica riesling joint project between St. Michelle and Dr. Loosen. Building on this concept, Shoup founded Long Shadows, a ‘virtual winery’ dedicated to bringing some of the best winemakers from around the world to make wines from Washington grapes. Challenging each winemaker to build on his/her expertise and explore the potential of Washington fruit is, in my opinion, not only a brilliant idea, but a fantastic way to help bring recognition to the state, which is already growing more and more in the consumer’s eye.
Pirouette is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend created by Agustin Huneeus, Sr. of Quintessa (and formerly, Mount Veeder, Concha y Toro, and Estancia among others) and Philippe Mekka who has made wine for Seavy, Quintessa, and Lail among others. The wine is made with fruit from several small vineyards including cabernet sauvignon from Wahluke Slope and Sagemoor’s nearly 40 year old vines, and petit verdot from dionysus vineyard. The final blend included cab, merlot, petit verdot, and syrah.
On the nose I got blackberry, cherry, cedar smoke, and some baking spices. The palate was big and rich and certainly spoke of the winemakers’ Napa backgrounds: caramel, plum, fig, cedar smoke and cherry. For me this wine is a bit too manipulated and sweet, reminding me of a high end Mollydooker wine. For some, that is a blessing, however, and many would assuredly love this blend. For my part, I did appreciate the wine’s wonderful fullness and ripeness, and its distinctive style: fruit forward, silky, creamy, while elegant.
Very Good+
~$80 at BCLDB
Seavy Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
Posted by Shea in $60+, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Excellent on September 9th, 2009
This bottle, one of the biggest scares I had in my heat-exposed wine collection, also turned out to be one of the best cabernets I’ve had from California in quite some time. I sought this wine out and brought it back from California for a special occasion, but ended up drinking it right after finding my damaged wine. Popping a great bottle on a normal or crappy day is highly underrated! For me this was much more impressive than the 1986 Dunn Cab I had a few months ago because it was more integrated and seemed to hold together a lot better on the palate.
With this wine I found a nice confluence of Bordeaux-like aromas of graphite and mineral and great California fruit such as cassis and cherry on the nose. Under all of this was a touch of mintyness. The palate was extremely smooth and elegant, with tons of black currant. What struck me most about the wine was its purity and expression, a phenomenal feat for a 13 year old cabernet from Napa, many of which do start losing some of their aromatics with that much age. A beautifully structured wine proceeding from a very enticing attack to a full and multi-layered mid-palate and a velvety silk-like finish. This was tasting absolutely brilliant when I opened it but it had the tannins and the fruit to last a few more years.
Excellent to Excellent+
$80 at North Berkeley Wine Merchants
Darioush Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Posted by Shea in $60+, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Excellent on September 1st, 2009
Darioush has one of the most over-the-top buildings in Napa Valley and has garnered a bit of a reputation as a happy-hour stop by. Despite this, they still make good wine. I have heard complaints that Darioush wines are over-oaked, but I can’t say I feel that is the case here. This was the first of my heat-damaged wines that I started opening this summer in hopes they were still alive, and this flavourful Napa cab happily drank fantastically.
The nose gave up spice, cherry, chocolate, and plum. The palate was supple and elegantly balanced with raspberry, black cherry, baking spice, violet and molten chocolate. The long finish also tasted like graphite and cedar-box. I loved the soft texture of the wine and the nice long drawn flavours, but the midpalate was a bit linear. This is a very fruit driven and fleshy wine, but it also has fine tannins and elegance. Really just a great flavourful and well integrated Napa cab.
Excellent
$115 at BCLDB
John Glaetzer ‘John’s Blend’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Posted by Shea in $40-$60, Australian Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Very Good on July 19th, 2009
You don’t see too many wines from the Langhorne Creek region of Southern Australia over here in Canada, but I find myself often impressed with the lesser known regions. That said, Langhorne Creek fruit apparently forms the basis for most Wolf Blass wines and is known for its soft and mellow character. In fact, John Glaetzer is the winemaker that put Wolf Blass on the map internationally, and has now set up this project making some pretty fantastic stuff.
The nose on this has tremendous eucalyptus and cedar notes with layers of chocolate and cassis. Indeed, it is a classic aromatic profile for Aussie cabs – but so pure and expressive. The palate is, temptingly, very chocolate-forward in a fondue-like way with cassis, licorice, cedar, and eucalyptus rounding out this full, clean and texturally soft wine. With good balance of flavour and a big, full, delineated structure, this cab is well worth its price. Simply, an extremely enjoyable wine.
Very Good+ to Excellent
$40 at Taphouse Liquor Store
An Indelicate Aparatif: Dunn Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1986
Posted by Shea in $60+, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Very Good on May 13th, 2009
Day 2 of the celebration, which in fact must be divided into two posts: what glorious times these are. I have been saving this bottle for several months for this specific occasion. Dunn is one of the most respected producers of age worthy Cabernet in the Napa Valley, producing a bottling from grapes at the Valley floor as well as the famous Howell Mountain wine. This is the Napa version of the wine, which I picked up at K&L – I could not help but jump at the chance to try a 20 year old wine from Napa by one of the few producers able to produce a product worthy of such age.
B.R. Cohn Olive Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
Posted by Shea in $30-$40, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Excellent on April 29th, 2009
B.R. Cohn doesn’t get a lot of press. Sitting in the relatively unpopulated southern Sonoma Valley, Cohn quietly makes stellar Cabernet and outstanding olive oil, both for reasonable prices. Luckily for me when I first came to San Francisco K&L had a huge selection of vintage bottles of Cohn’s estate cab, which is one of the most refined in Sonoma in my opinion.
The nose on this beautiful Cabernet was rich and redolent of licorice, plum and dried figs. There was a tremendous depth of aroma here and an intensity suggestive of thick tar. The palate really got into the secondary and tertiary flavours, with tar, tobacco, and cigar box rolling over each other as the palate developed. Still, this had a distinctly warm-climate approach with a lot of fruit concentration and depth of fig, plum and dried black cherries. Amazingly, while many wines might simply be described as herbal, here I could cleanly detect distinct herbs such as thyme and sage. The mid-palate was also undergirded by a touch of earth. This is a stellar Cabernet and at a price that belies its complexity.
Excellent to Excellent+
$40 at K&L
Terra Valentine Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Posted by Shea in $30-$40, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Very Good on April 15th, 2009
Spring Mountain is one of the ‘prestige’ AVAs in Napa Valley. It’s rare to find a Cabernet from here that costs less than $50. Mostly, that prestige is well earned, especially for those who appreciate big tannic cabs replete with sun and intensity. Enter Terra Valentine, a lesser known producer who has started to make strides towards some very promising wines at very inviting prices.
The colour of this wine could might best be described as utterly blackened juice. The mountain fruit is in clear evidence with the massive nose of brambly cassis, alcohol, twizzlers, and mocha. The palate is filled with flavour, but avoids going over the top. Frankly I was expecting a lot less balance than what came forth. But be prepared, this is supremely new world: caramel toffees, black currant jam and vanilla make this unctuous and hedonistic. With a strong and built mid-palate, the wine also does not dissapoint with its tremendous and lengthy finish. My only real complaint (and one that lowers the rating one notch) is that this is a bit ‘hot’, or overly alcoholic, which I imagine would dissipate with decanting. Say what you will, this is a great price for a very high quality cab that exhibits true Spring Mountain characteristics.
Very Good+
$33 at K&L
Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon / Tempranillo 2006
Posted by Shea in $20 and under, Cabernet Sauvignon, Spanish Wine, Tempranillo, Very Good on March 22nd, 2009
I will be off for “Spring Break” in a few moments, which will result in my absence from the blogosphere for a few days – but I thought a tasty good value wine was the appropriate send off given that I have some serious notes to write up when I return for a recent trip to Napa and the Rhone Rangers tasting.
Another small production wine, this time from Navarra, Spain. Very earthy on the nose with some blackberry and other berry notes. The nose is reminiscent of the myriad odours one unearthed when digging in one’s childhood backyard garden.
The palate was spicy, full bodied, but yet subtle with a soft mouthfeel, but grippy tannins on the late mid-palate and finish. This is a pretty fantastic value of a wine, and another score for Vintage Berkeley.
Very Good+
$19 at Vintage Berkeley
A Day in Napa: St. Clement
Posted by Shea in Bordeaux Blends, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa on February 11th, 2009
After our little excursion to Cakebread and Nickel & Nickel my friend and I decided to hold our breath and fit in one more winery before lunch. This particular winery I chose due to a nice writeup from Joe in Montreal. St. Clement purchases all their fruit, but has very long term contracts that have given them access to some of the finest blocks in the Valley. It helps that their tasting room is both cute and has an amazing view:
View from the terrace:
What struck me about St. Clement was its tendency to not shy away from roughness and terroir in their wines at the expense of silky texture and sweet fruit. We were lucky enough to happen upon a cellar sale, and so got to taste some older vintages and rare bottlings.
We started with an Oroppas flight, beginning with the 2000 Oroppoas Cab blend, 
which had a rich and brambly palate with balanced acidity and a nice cedar character. The nose (doing this note in reverse) was cherry-like and peperry and very full and complex – in fact, entrancing. This was a very complex wine with incredible layering and depth. Poured from a magnum. Excellent. $150 ($105 on sale) for the magnum.
Up next was the 2001 Oroppas, which was less complex than th 2000, but was also more subtle with a smooth berry palate and a touch of toast. Somewhat of a mocha component here too. I found this very elegant, in fact much more so than the 2000, with a great level of finesse throughout the palate. Very Good+. $150 ($105 on sale) for the magnum.
The last of the Oroppas vertical was the 2002 Oroppas, which had a distinctly minty nose. Spicy blackberry predominated on the palate. Flavourful, but in relation to the 2000 and 2001, which each fulfilled a niche (power and layering vs. finesse and elegance) the 2002 was a bit of an ugly duck – but a tasty one at that! Very Good+. $150 ($105 on sale) for the magnum.
The universe must have been on our side that day because we were also treated to a mini-vertical of the Howell Mountain cabs, starting with the 2000 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. Intense earthyness, cassis, and eucalyptus were forward on the nose and palate. A very structured and well made cab, but lacking the layering of the 2000 Oroppas, and not drinking quite as well as any of the Oroppas in my opinion. But Howell Mountain cabs often need time. Very Good. $180 for the magnum.
Our mini vertical finished with the 2002 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, which was a HUGE powerhouse of a cab, with chewy and tight blackberry fruit. The tasting note suggested cola and plum spice, but right now the tannins are so massive on this beast that it is honestly hard to fully appreciate. Give this time and I’m sure it’ll be phenomenal. Very Good+. $180 for the magnum.
The Cab dominant tasting was luckily punctuated with two other varietal wines, the first being the 2006 Abbott’s Vineyard Chardonnay, which had a very dominant nose of banana and rich tropical fruit. In fact, the banana was so dominant that it overwhelmed most everything else. If you like a creamy lactic banana vibe, then you will also dig this wine. Personally I hoped for a little more complexity, which maybe would develop with time. Very Good. $?.
The last wine I tasted also happened to be the one I picked up: the 2002 Progeny Syrah, which was built like a Northern Rhone syrah with a massive palate that I would describe as intensely meaty and brambly. However, this also had a nice California fruit component that balanced the imensity of the textural elements of the syrah: cloves, spices, chocolate, and massive dark fruit. Wonderful structure and integration – this is an awesome California syrah, and atypical for what you usually get around here. Very small production. Excellent. $80 ($60 on sale).
After St. Clement we had a pretty quick, but tasty, lunch, which was followed by perhaps one of the greatest tasting experiences I have ever had. But that’s for the next post…
A Day in Napa: Cakebread
Posted by Shea in Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa on February 10th, 2009
After lounging in the sun at Nickel and Nickel we took a short trip two doors down to Cakebread – also hosting a long lineup of Cabs for tasting – for a direct comparison. As a lesson in winemaking, the two styles were fundamentally different, despite both originating from the imagination of Napa Valley icons. These types of experiences speak to the diversity of California wine making, which often gets ignored or dismissed by certain ‘anti-Parker’ types. And, while I remain unconvinced of the bad rap given to California and its wines, I think Cakebread exemplifies the approach to Napa winemaking that many seem to deplore. I, on the other hand, did not have quite so negative a reaction.
As we stepped into yet another barn-like structure, we were greeted with a selection of four very high end cabernets and a back-room white-wine adventure. As is Cakebread’s want, each of the wines was paired with a delectable cheese, with plates of charcutterie not far away. These guys understand that wine is made for food – perhaps due to Mrs. Cakebread’s credentials as a professional chef.
First off we tried the basic 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which is by far the best selling cab in Cakebread’s portfolio. Here we had a flavourful fruit blastmaster, with a massive punch but not a lot of depth. Black fruits and cherries predominate. I can’t help but feel that this is, nonetheless, overpriced. Very Good. $65.
The next three pours fulfilled a long unrequited desire of mine to taste Cakebread’s single vineyard Cabernets, beginning with the 2005 Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon which had very up front sweet fruit notes of cherry and black currant, and an almost syrupy texture. This wine is somewhat like getting punched in the face with oak and fruit. If you like that style, this will satisfy. If you are looking for subtlety, look elsewhere. Very Good. $106.
The 2005 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon had an added layer of complexity over the last two wines, with a nose of coffee, licorice and black fruits. Rich and sweet, there was yet a spring to the mid-palate that, as Martin described it, was like “turning on a lightbulb in my mouth”. The layering is more intricate than the last two wines, but don’t mistake this for something with old-world finesse. This is an up front smack you in the face Napa Cab. 15.5% abv. Very Good+. $106.
Our last dabble into the realm of single vineyard Cakebread led us to the 2005 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon with its nose of sweet fruit and massive palate of black and red fruits blended into a vanilla cocktail. I can best describe this wine as ‘tightly wound power’. Another blockbuster – but for this style I prefered the Vine Hill. Very Good. $106.
Before I go onto the whites, which are of a somewhat different ilk, I feel inclined to point out the contrast between the Nickel & Nickel style, with its restraint, structure and elegance and the Cakebread with its balls-to-the-wall uppercut powerhouse action (to use technical terms). This sort of contrast is what makes Napa such an interesting place, and a region of the world that is ultimately far more complex than those outside the US tend to recognize. That said, onto the whites…
We began the white wine tasting with the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, which had a honeyed and floral nose that was quite full bodied. The palate was all roundness and thickness with quince, and creamy oak-like notes. Rich and round this is the antithesis of a Sancerre. Would still pair well with a richly prepaired seafood dish. Very Good. $24.
Unto the Chards we then did go, beginning with the 2007 Napa Valley Chardonnay, which honestly had a fairly innocuous nose of standard tropical fruit and a standard well-balance new-world Chard palate. Nice, but lacking depth and personality. Certainly not worth the price. Good+ to Very Good. $39.
The 2006 Chardonnay Reserve from Carneros was a huge step up from the basic bottling. The nose emitted baking spices like nutmeg, with the palate opening the spice structure to include pineapple, kiwi and dragon fruit. While this had a creamy thick texture up front, there was a decent level of acidity on the back palate that kept this alive. Only 15% Malolactic fermentation kept the new-world opulence reasonable. Very Good to Very Good+. $55.
Last up we tasted the 2006 Rubaiyat, which is an intruiging blend of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Designed as a grab and go BBQ wine, this is actually quite a thoughtful blend with a nose very much like a cru beaujolais. The palate shows the zin very subtlely through a back-end peppery component that is sure to compliment red meats well. Other than the pepper this was all strawberry, barnyard and spice. Amazingly the zin and the pinot integrated perfectly. Very Good+ to Excellent. $32 available at the winery only.
A nice contrast to Nickel & Nickel, and a very interesting look into how my palate has developed over the past two years. I highly recommend periodic returns to once storied wines to reassess your palate. My final assessment is that Cakebread makes good wine, but that they typify how Napa can become over priced and over ripe, with fruit bomb smackdown wines that, while tasty, lack nuance. An educational experience nonetheless. And this was only the first half of the day!
