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Ode to Cab
Ode to Cab.
Or we can just call it a Love Letter to Cabernet Sauvignon.
As an oenophile, I always try to maintain my “grape neutrality”. I can never name my favorite type of wine, never mind favorite wine. If you will hard press me against the wall with this question, I might say that it is Rioja, but the reality is a lot more complex than that.
If you search through articles in this blog, you will find a full range of wine styles and grapes. There are many blogs out there that cover specific region(s) or specific types of wine – but when I started writing close to 15 years ago, I knew that I would not be able to do that. This blog is about wine appreciation – any wine. “Wine should give you pleasure” – and so this is what my writing is primarily after – sharing the joy, the pleasure of wine, no matter what is the pedigree. Wines made from little-known grapes – Bobal, Trepat, Kekfrankos, Romorantin by tiny producers can give you as much pleasure as first growth Bordeaux, cult California, or best super-Tuscans. The liquid in the glass matters, and the only opinion that matters is yours and only yours – you can not enjoy the critic’s 100 points in your mouth.
This is my approach – try any wine with an open mind, and always be ready to be pleasantly surprised – or even blown away for that matter. And yet there is something about Cabernet Sauvignon that makes my heart race, especially coming from the producer I know or have heard of. Listen, I’m doing my best to tell you the truth, even though the “thought spoken is a lie”. But the brain gets all excited when I’m opening a bottle of the familiar Cabernet Sauvignon because I already know how good it can be. Very different from the excitement of the possible taste of DRC, Petrus, or Quintarelly (I’m yet to taste either) – because with those I wouldn’t know what to expect. But I do know what to expect from the well-made Cabernet Sauvignon that is ready to drink.
Even with the wines I happily call the favorites, I can’t tell you what I’m expecting to taste. I can’t describe my expectations when tasting La Rioja Alta, Ken Wright Pinot Noir, or Loacker Corte Pavone Brunello di Montalcino. I expect that I will like those wines as I know the producers and had their wines many times before – but I can’t tell you my exact expectations of the aroma or the taste of the wine. With Cabernet Sauvignon, I have very precise expectations of the aroma and the taste for me to like the wine. If I do not find the cassis (black currant) on both nose and palate when the bottle says “Cabernet Sauvignon” on it, there is no way I will like the wine, no matter how good the wine is for anyone else. Eucalyptus, mint, and a good structure are also expected, but with this some variations are possible. But when the expectations are met… the Cabernet Sauvignon is nothing but a pure, hedonistic pleasure.
So yes, deep down, Cabernet Sauvignon might be the most favorite wine of all – I just hope I will remember it next time I’m asked about my favorite wine.
Now, truth be told, I had a good reason for all this rambling about the beauty of Cabernet Sauvignon. A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to conduct an accidental side-by-side tasting of the California Cabernet Sauvignon and the results were simply amazing.
With this tasting, we are taking a little trip. We will start in Northern California, where Barra of Mendocino is located. I wrote about their wines before, and now I have a few of the latest releases and I thought that Cabernet Sauvignon would be quite appropriate for the tasting.
Barra Cabernet Sauvignon was the leanest of 3, but still had a perfectly recognizable Cabernet Sauvignon profile:
2021 Barra Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Mendocino (14.5% ABV, $28, 18 months 30% new French oak, balance in neutral barrels)
Garnet
Eucalyptus, cherries, a hint of cassis
Eucalyptus, dark berries, cherries, cassis, well integrated tannins, perfect balance, medium-long finish.
8
Moving 80 miles southeast, we now arrive at the Flora Springs winery, located in the heart of the Napa Valley. Again, one of my favorite wineries in California, I wrote about their wines on multiple occasions.
The wine I had an opportunity to taste was a special holiday release. Flora Springs is big on the holiday celebration, so this bottle features etched gnomes, perfectly appropriate for the holidays. But it is what’s inside that counts, and this wine was nothing short of spectacular.
2019 Flora Springs Red Wine Blend Napa Valley (14.5% ABV, $95, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 months in 70% French and 30% American oak barrels)
Dark garnet
Cassis, mint, black tea, cassis is playing in and out – you can smell this wine forever. Cassis is prevalent, wow.
Burst of cassis at first, then tannins come in, offering some bitter notes around the otherwise perfect Cabernet core. A very powerful, delicious wine that needs time to soften up. Either decant for a few hours, or lose it in the cellar for 10 years. The winery says you can enjoy it through 2036 – I’m sure you can easily add another 20 years on top of that.
8/8+
Going back about 8 miles northwest, we now arrive at the Smith-Madrone, the winery located in the Spring Mountain district of Napa Valley. Smith-Madrone is yet another one of my favorite wineries, and the one I feel a bit guilty about as a writer. I wrote about Smith-Madrone wines on many occasions in this blog – 5 years ago, Smith-Madrone were my wines of choice to celebrate Thanksgiving; in 2019, Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon was my wine of the year. And I’m still yearning to write a post fully designated to the winery…
Nevertheless, Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon to me is one of the most textbook-proper, pure Cabernet Sauvignon wines there is. Not everyone would share my opinion – my sister-in-law with whom I was tasting these 3 Cabs, was preferring Flora Springs Cab, just for the sheer, unashamed beauty. But to me, a more subtle but very confident representation of the Cabernet Sauvignon by Smith-Madrone was just a perfection:
2019 Smith-Madrone Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District Napa Valley (14.3% ABV, $65, 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 18 months in 55% new French oak)
Brilliant dark ruby
A perfection. A textbook Cabernet Sauvignon cassis, pure, perfectly precise cassis. You can think of a bell pepper – I’m not sure it is there, but it comes to mind.
The palate is amazing – cassis, eucalyptus, perfect minerality, a touch of the pencil shavings, salivating acidity. This is an impeccably balanced wine built for aging. In 10 years, it will be insanely good. In 20 – … well, I don’t want to even think about waiting that long…
9-, pure and superb.
If you like Cabernet Sauvignon, either one of these 3 wines will make you happy – each one perfectly representing their terroir and the vision of the winemaker, and yet unquestionably perfectly representing maybe the most noble grape of all.
So now you know what my secret passion, secret true wine love is. What’s yours?
Cabernet Sauvignon Reflections on Cabernet Day
Once people realize I’m into wine, 9 times out of 10 someone likes to pop the question – “So, what is your favorite wine”? I really dread this question because I can never answer it, and people think I’m full of pretense.
First, I like wine. Maybe “love” is an even better word. For me, wine is an all-inclusive concept – all types, all regions, all grapes. As long as wine gives pleasure, that is all I need. So it is really hard to pick a favorite. And even if I try, my answer will be different every time – you know how sometimes you are asked to name a favorite book or a favorite movie as an answer to the security question for the new account setup? I always wonder – who can answer that, and then really remember what they said in the first place? I know that it is not me.
But then maybe I had not been honest with myself and I do have a favorite?
It is possible that I’m overthinking such a basic question. But as one of the philosophers said, “Thought spoken is a lie”. In our thoughts, there is a true answer. But every time we try to give it, it is only an approximation – and that’s why the answer to this “favorite” question can be different every time.
Celebration of the International Cabernet Day made me think about this most popular grape in the world and also made me realize – that Cabernet Sauvignon wine might actually be my favorite wine.
How do I mean it?
I’m trying to assess my almost subconscious reaction to hearing about the wine – someone mentions it, I get a promotional email, wine at a restaurant, etc. I believe my brain gives Cabernet Sauvignon preferential treatment, compared to any other wine (interestingly enough, Brunello might be another wine with a similar reaction).
Let me try to explain it better. Let’s say I hear the name Rioja. You know perfectly well that I love Rioja. But just mention of Rioja doesn’t get me excited – I need to know the producer because there is only a handful of producers I trust to offer the wine I will enjoy. A similar story will be with Syrah, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Riesling, Pinot Noir – I need to know the producer and the region, and then if I hear E. Guigal or M. Chapoutier, the Syrah all of a sudden becomes interesting.
This is not the same with Cabernet Sauvignon. Once I hear about Cabernet Sauvignon, I get instantly excited first, and then wonder about the producer, the region, and so on. I can’t explain this – this might be due to all the wine books I had read in the past. It might be due to the phenomenal encounters such as Vérité, Jordan, Smith-Madrone, Neyers, Kamen, Turley, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Revelry, Neyen, BV, Chateau Margaux and many, many, many others. I don’t know how this works, I’m just doing a bit of the self-searching and it seems to be that this is the case.
For today’s celebration, I decided to go with the 1999 Beaulieu Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford Napa Valley (13.8% ABV). Drinking this wine brought memories of visiting BV and tasting through the full lineup of wines, including Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cab and Cabernet Sauvignon clonal selections. Despite the 24 years of age, this wine was absolutely youthful and delicious – cassis and eucalyptus on the nose, more of the cassis and eucalyptus on the palate with the addition of cherries. Perfectly present texture, very enjoyable and easily noticeable tannins, perfectly balanced. This is the wine that puts a smile on your face (Drinkability: 8+/9-). Also, as I always maintain that well-made California Cabernet Sauvignon requires between 20 and 30 years of age to be fully enjoyed, and then I find a confirmation to that statement, so that puts another smile on my face.
Here, I said it – Cabernet Sauvignon might be my favorite wine.
But then remember – the thought spoken is a lie.
Daily Glass: Trial and Error, and Variety of Opinions
Drinking wine is complicated.
I guess I lost you right here and now.
Let’s try again.
Drinking wine is not complicated. Things preceding the wine getting into your glass are complicated. Deciding on the wine to buy, deciding on the wine to drink, deciding how long to keep the bottle before opening is complicated. Dealing with influences, both positive and negative is complicated. If you don’t see it that way – you are lucky. And if you do share my opinion, let me have your ear.
Today, let’s talk about influences. First, let’s take a look at the positive influences. A trusted friend said that the wine was amazing and you must try it. You visited your favorite, trusted wine store, and the salesperson recommended the wine. You saw a raving review for the wine on the website you already bought 10 excellent wines before. You obviously trust the recommendation and happily buy the wine. All is good, right?
Of course, all is good. Maybe not all, but almost all. What might not be good in such a beautiful picture? The expectations. Getting a recommendation from a trusted source sets your expectations. It sets them way, way too high. If your high expectations are not met upon the first sip that obviously creates disappointment. What was supposed to bring you instant joy is now making you upset. Your expectations now failed, and because it was a trusted source, it makes things even worse.
Before you get too upset, let’s think. Maybe the problem is not with the recommendation, but with the way you took it? This is wine, remember? Aeration, temperature, mood, food, environment – all affect the perceived taste of wine. Serve heavy red too cold, and the wine will become bitter. Serve it too hot, and you will be running away from the alcohol hit. Serve a 3 years old bottle of Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon without decanting, and I literally guarantee you pain and disappointment. In wine, these little things matter.
Case in point – 2019 Viña Cobos Felino Cabernet Sauvignon Mendoza (14% ABV, $6.98 ($22 original price), 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged for 8 months in oak barrels 10% new). A few months back, I got an email from Wine Exchange, with an offer no wine lover can resist – outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon which was originally priced at $22 and is now $6.98 as a black Friday promotion. I bought 6 bottles. A week or so later opened one and had a feeling of being duped – the wine didn’t show much of anything. I made a mental knot to remember that this was not the wine I can enjoy. Can you imagine my level of disappointment? Of course, at this price, nobody can really complain, but the disconnect between the trusted expert’s recommendation and the actual experience was too dramatic and definitely contributed to the feeling of disappointment.
Two weeks ago, I was looking for a bottle to open for a house guest and just came across this wine again – yeah, sometimes I suck as a host, I know. After my guest had a few glasses (I was not drinking that evening), I pumped the air out and put the bottle aside. The next evening, I was not looking forward to it, but I said I would just have a sip and then put the bottle aside to cook with. Wow. What a transformation. The wine was beautiful, it opened up, it had cassis, it had cherries, it was clean and succulent, exactly as the description promised. Do you see now what I’m talking about? The positive expectations were not met – I’m glad I didn’t stop at that moment of disappointment, but the overall experience could’ve turned out for the worst.
Now, let’s talk about the negative influence. When a trusted expert tells you that the bottle of wine is not good or that you will not like it – you listen. If this is the conversation in the wine shop before you buy the bottle, the outcome is clear – you would just not buy the bottle. And if you already own the bottle? Well, it is what it is then…
A few weeks ago, I spoke with my friend Zak (the wine store owner) who mentioned his recent experience with Peter Michael wine – he open a bottle of an older Peter Michael Sauvignon Blanc, and it was practically on the way out, actively developing tertiary aromas. A few days after this conversation, after a long day, I suddenly had an urge for a glass of white wine late in the evening. This doesn’t happen that often, but hey, obey your craving… After mindlessly pulling a few shelves in the wine cabinet, I came across the one with Peter Michael bottles. “Aha, this 2012 Peter Michael L’Après-Midi Estate Napa Valley (15.6% ABV, 95% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Semillon, 8 months in French oak) is probably gone already anyway, why don’t I open that”.
“Whoa” was my instant reaction upon the first sip. 10 years old white wine from California, with 15.6% ABV… You would definitely expect the wine to turn, and yet it was fresh, complex, exuberant, brimming with juicy whitestone fruit, plump vanilla, and fresh acidity. Could my low expectations contribute to the elevated enjoyment? This is always a possibility, but I’m not sure. The wine was not comparatively good, it was simply good on its own. What made my experience different from Zak’s? I have no idea – it is a mystery. And this mystery is what makes wine so much fun.
There you are – an account of indecisive winelover dealing with influences and preconceived notions.
But for some reason, I don’t think my situation is unique. I’m sure you got your own stories – do tell…
A Weekend in [Great] Wines
What is a great wine?
Does the wine made by a famous producer make it great? Does a high price make it great?
Wine should give you pleasure. Is there a measurable amount of pleasure to declare wine “great”? 5 units of pleasure? 25 units of pleasure?
Of course, “great” is a subjective definition. The infamous “the truth is in the eye of the beholder”. Every wine lover has their own way to declare wine great, and it is not just one way – there are many ways.
I love the harmony in the wine. The perfect balance of all the components. A unique flavor. A thought-provoking bouquet that makes you want to take a sip, and another sip, and try to understand. Or the wine which makes you disconnect from the world and all of its problems, and just get lost in your own thoughts. I also love the wine which perfectly matches your expectations.
I’m sure “expectations” is yet another loaded term, but if you are into the wine, for sure you have expectations when opening a bottle of wine. You expect to find freshly cut grass and maybe a proverbial “cat pee” on the bottle of Sancerre. I love gunflint on my young Chablis. I expect a good bottle of well-aged cold climate Chardonnay to show honey and apple notes. I want succulent cherries in my Brunello. And I need cassis in my Bordeaux, and gobs and gobs of cassis on my bottle of the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Don’t get me wrong – the wine can be great if it doesn’t match expectations at all, but this is the subject for another post.
That is what I want to talk about here – the wines matching expectations. The wines that were simply perfect. And a few others that were maybe not perfect, but still delicious.
The last Sunday was Father’s Day. I usually open a good bottle or a few in honor of the holiday, but this weekend of wines started a few days prior. My sister-in-law, who lives on Cape Cod, had her milestone birthday recently, and as she loves wine, I wanted to bring a few wines that would be worthy of a moment. She used to love California Pinot, but as of the last few years California Cabernet Sauvignon became the thing, so I grabbed a few bottles of Turley Estate Cabernet, which generally doesn’t disappoint. And of course, a few other bottles, as we had to drink something for 3 days, okay?
Before we got to the reds, there were whites. We started with 2020 Château Montet Blanc Bordeaux AOC (12% ABV, Sauvignon) which was a nice, middle-of-the-road, Bordeaux white wine, offering a hint of freshly cut grass and some Meyer lemons. We also opened a bottle of 2018 Alban Vineyards Viognier Edna Valley (14.9% ABV). It was nicely perfumy and complex on the nose, and quite big and powerful on the palate, with an interesting flavor that I could not discern – on overripe wild plum maybe. I tried this Viognier with the fresh oysters, but this was not necessarily a winning combination. Our last white was 2016 Turley The White Coat California (13.5% ABV, 40% Roussanne, 40% Grenache Blanc, 20% Vermentino) – a full-bodied, elegant white wine, plump and round on the palate, perfectly fresh and clean overall.
Summer asks for a Rosé, even though the weather was rather on the cool side – our choice of Rosé was 2021 Turley Zinfandel Rosé California (12% ABV), which was delicious. Strawberries and cranberries on the nose and on the palate, crisp, clean, refreshing – it had everything you want from Rosé.
And then there were reds. Some were more of the “placeholders”, the wines you open just to drink something before you get to the main program – as was 2021 Field Recordings Nouveau Edna Valley (12.9% ABV, Pinot Noir). Young, fresh, grapey, and tart, as you would expect from the Nouveau. We treated somewhat similarly 2018 Pedra Cancela Winemaker Selection Dão DOC (13% ABV, 40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Alfrocheiro, 30% Tinta Roriz), even though this is an excellent wine in its own right – dark fruit, cherries, nice minerality, medium body, fresh acidity, and overall good balance. 2016 Pedra Cancela was wine #7 on my Top 20 of 2020 list – I think I would prefer 2016 over 2018, but I need to try this wine again by itself and not “among others” before I will be able to form an opinion.
Next was the time for magic, so the bottle of 2012 Turley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14.1% ABV) was open. I have a long history with Turley Cabernet Sauvignon wines, ever since they debuted with the 2010 vintage – this post describes my perception of the 2010 vintage and also provides some details on my initially rocky relationship with this wine. The first 2 vintages were called “The Label”, becoming simply Turley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon starting from the 2012 vintage. The last time I tasted the 2012 Turley Cabernet Sauvignon was exactly two years ago – you can read the tasting notes here. These 2 years made a difference, and the wine was delicious from the get-go. Cassis on the nose and the palate, layered with soft tannins, generous and powerful. Upon opening, it was varietally correct and simply superb, worthy of a great wine designation.
You take a sip of wine, you think you discovered the perfection, and you are reveling in the happy state. Then you open another bottle, catch a whiff from the glass, take a sip, and wonder how the absolute happiness you experienced a second ago can be toppled? And yet this is exactly what happened when we opened the 2013 Turley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14.1% ABV). 2013 was almost the same as 2012 – except it was better refined, more elegant, cleaner. Cassis was beautifully pronounced supported by a touch of mint and a distant note of bell pepper. Perfectly on point, perfectly matching the expectations.
The next day I wanted to deviate a bit from the Bordeaux direction with 2015 AR PE PE Grumello Rocca de Piro Nebbiolo Valtellina Superiore DOCG (13% ABV). ARPEPE is an excellent producer in the Valtellina region in Italian Alps in Lombardy, crafting Nebbiolo wines. This wine had a beautiful vibrancy of the fresh cherries, not overripe, but just ripe enough, to offer an “unmistakably Italian” feeling on the first sip. Fresh, lip-smacking cherries, herbs, well-integrated but noticeable tannins – this wine offered a well-needed break from the power of California Cabernet Sauvignon. Unfortunately, a very short break as the bottle was gone in no time.
And then the story repeated itself. We opened 1998 Château Tournefeuille Lalande de Pomerol AOC (12.5% ABV, 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc), the wine I knew nothing about. I got this wine from Benchmark Wine Group a few years ago, for $30 or so. I simply got it based on the vintage and the price – the vintage is one of the few I try to collect, and the price was reasonable. First I was pleasantly surprised with the condition of the cork, which was intact – for a 24-year-old wine, this is not always the case. But then the whiff and the sip… Oh my… The precision of cassis was elevated on yet another level – don’t know how is that possible. The wine had pure, pristine cassis on the nose and the palate with a small addition of bell pepper and eucalyptus, a perfect round bouquet, a perfect balance of fruit, acidity, and tannins, just superb. After the first sip, I asked my sister-in-law what does she think about this wine by itself and in comparison with two of the previous bottles of Turley (we still had wine left there on the second day). She said that she really doesn’t want to make me upset, but she really likes it even more than the 2013 Turley Cab – and I’m fully agreeing with her. If I were to rate these 3 wines on my Drinkability scale, Turley 2012 would be an 8+, Turley 2013 is 9-/9, and the Château Tournefeuille is a solid 9 or maybe even 9+, and definitely a memorable experience.
It was not just the wine – the food and the views were quite good, despite somewhat gloomy weather during most of our visit. Local oysters were delicious. I had an opportunity to try the Swiss cheese called Tête de Moine, which also comes with its own special curler. The kabobs were delicious too. And the views of the ocean never get tiring.
We came back home on Sunday, to have Father’s day dinner with the kids. Of course, Father’s Day celebration requires a special bottle of wine. I was thinking about opening the 2005 Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Alexander Valley (13.5% ABV) for a while at this point, so I decided that the celebration gives me a good enough reason to pull the cork, which I did. The last time I had this exact wine was in 2018 when I brought a bottle for a special wine dinner in Singapore. At that time the wine showed as overly sweet. 4 years later, the wine lost all of its sweetness, and now was showing as a classic Cabernet Sauvignon with cassis on the palate, but somehow now the wine was showing very lean and underwhelming. I think the wine could’ve further improved over the next 5-10 years, but as this was my last bottle, now there will be someone else who will make the discovery. I had this wine with a special burger from Darien Butcher Shop – I had fried egg, fried onion, and bacon as flavor enhancers with the burger, so the wine didn’t stand a chance to show well, but at least it was not fighting with the food.
That concludes my story of a few great wines. What are great wines in your book?
American Pleasures #6: A Tale of Two Cabs
Wine should give you pleasure – there is no point in drinking the wine if it does not. Lately, I had a number of samples of American wines, that were the delicious standouts – one after another, making me even wonder if someone cursed my palate. I enjoyed all of those wines so much that I decided to designate a new series to them – the American Pleasures.
California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Magical words for any wine connoisseur. Out of more than 100 grape varieties used in wine production in California, I would safely bet that Cabernet Sauvignon clout exceeds that of Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, and even including Pinot Noir in this list is a stretch. Cabernet Sauvignon is The One of California wines (if you are willing to disprove this with actual numbers, I will be happy to publish a correction, but until someone will step forward, this stands as unquestionable truth).
While we can agree that California Cabernet Sauvignon is an object of craving for uncounted many, it also should be recognized as an object of controversy. How do I mean it? Easy. There are probably 50 or so producers whose wines are impossible to get, due to both availability and pricing – you have to be on the mailing list with a waiting list stretching for 20 years or so, and once you get there you should be willing to pay $500++ per bottle of wine you will need to wait for another 10-15 years to enjoy. Alternatively, you need to be prepared to pay an upward of $500 per bottle and scour the internet daily looking for those special bottles.
On the flip side, you can join most of us walking into the wine store asking (begging?) for a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon under $20, trying not to notice the poorly hidden smirk on the face of the salesperson, who knows that we are on the quest for the impossible. If you like Cabernet Sauvignon and not buying those wines from your expense account, I’m sure you can relate to the experience firsthand. Even $50 per bottle doesn’t come with any guarantees. But – that number gives us hope. Yes, folks, it is possible to find a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon under $50. Let’s talk about it.
Lots of my wine learning and discoveries are linked to unimitable wine educator Kevin Zraly and his Windows on the World Wine School. I remember one of the lessons where we were talking about California Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the wines was particularly good, and I remember Kevin remarking that the wine was produced by Louis M Martini, who doesn’t charge nearly enough for the quality of the wines they produce. That reference got engraved in my memory literally forever, and Louis M Martini became somewhat of the safe bet when looking for reasonably priced and consistent California Cabernet Sauvignon.
Louis M Martiny winery was founded in 1922 when Prohibition was already in full swing. It was actually known as L.M. Martini Grape Products Company and was focused on the production of sacramental wines and concentrate for home winemaking. In 1933, expecting that Prohibition will end, the new winery building was constructed north of the town of Napa. This was the actual beginning of the Louis M Martini winery and pioneering role of the Martini family in the Californian wine industry, helping to establish Napa Valley Vintners Association in 1943, being one of the first to use wind machines to prevent frost in the vineyards, and being one of the first to bottle varietal Merlot in 1970.
Louis M Martini offers a substantial range of wines today, going way beyond standard Sonoma and Napa Cabernet Sauvignon offerings, including Cabernet Sauvignon from some of the best regions in Napa Valley such as Stagecoach Vineyard and Howell Mountain, as well as a number of Merlot, Malbec, Petite Sirah, and Zinfandel wines – unfortunately, most of those are priced well beyond the $50 we are talking about today. Sill, there is Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which can be found at around $15, and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon around $35. The Napa Valley bottling I tasted was simply outstanding with or without any regard to the price:
2016 Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (15.1% ABV, $40)
Garnet
Cassis, eucalyptus, baking spices
Roll of your tongue smooth, velvety, fresh cassis, perfectly ripe fruit but over, firm structure, long finish.
8+/9-, excellent, classic California Cabernet Sauvignon
If Louis M Martini can be called an iconic winery, then our next winery can be only referred to as the most iconic winery in Napa Valley. Charles Krug winery, established in 1861 in Napa Valley by Prussian immigrant Charles Krug was the very first winery in Napa Valley, the 540 acres estate which Charles Krug received via marriage. In 1943, an immigrant family from Italy, Mondavi, purchased the Charles Krug estate which had been run by the family now in 4th generation.
Charles Krug winery also offers a good number of wines, including Chardonnay, Malbec, Merlot, Zinfandel, and others, with Cabernet Sauvignon still being a flagship offering, including clonal selections (one of the Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon wines is called X Clone as it is produced as a blend of 10 Cabernet Sauvignon clones). I always wanted to try the Charles Krug wines, and finally, I was able to do so:
2017 Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14.1% ABV, $39, 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Petite Sirah)
Dark garnet
Blueberry, blueberry jam, dark chocolate, pipe tobacco
A touch of nutmeg and cloves, much crispier on the second day, firm tannins, firm structure, good acidity.
8-/8, definite improvement on the second day.
Comparing these two Cabernet Sauvignon wines, Louis M Martini was a perfect pop and pour example, which is ultra rare among California Cabernet Sauvignon, where Charles Krug bottling definitely needed time.
Here you are, my friends. If you are looking for a good bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon under $50, there is still hope!
Seeking Cabernet
Now, this is frustrating.
At the recent dinner with friends at Knife Pleat restaurant (amazing food!), I assumed my role of designated Wine Guy and was going through 20+ pages of the wine list. 1970 Solar di Samaniego Rioja Gran Reserva caught my eye – at $200, it represented an amazing value for a 51-year-old wine. After confirming with the Somm that the wine is still well drinkable, only more delicate than powerful, I had to wriggle an approval for spending $200 on a bottle (I was not paying).
After the wine made it into the glasses, it appeared that everyone was really enjoying the nose, which was complex and spectacular. The first sip of the wine, served at the cellar temperature, was met with more than subdued enthusiasm – let’s be honest here, it was rather a sigh of disappointment. There was nothing wrong with the wine, but it was well closed and at least needed the time to open up.
After a few attempts to enjoy the wine, my friend asked “can you recommend any big, round, smooth, and velvety wines”? It turns out a few years back when she just arrived in Irvine, she got a bottle of wine at the local store. The wine was on sale for about $20 a bottle, and all she remembers was Cabernet Sauvignon and that she really enjoyed the wine – but she has no idea about the producer, the vintage, or any other essential elements.
Have you been in a situation where a simple question can lead to literally complete paralysis while trying to answer it? This might be a situation where your knowledge becomes your big handicap, as you try to hastily dissect the complexity of such a simple question.
Basically, the question asks “can I recommend an amazingly good California Cabernet Sauvignon at a reasonable price to someone who is not a wine aficionado, but just want to occasionally enjoy a good glass of wine?” – how easy this should be to answer for the Wine Guy? For yours truly Wine Guy, not so easy.
Good California Cabernet Sauvignon might be one of the best pleasures on Earth. I’m talking about the wine which unequivocally extorts “oh my god” from the red wine lover after the first sip. Of course, this is a simple idea – but not so simple to provide a recommendation. We need to take into account price, availability, and readiness to drink. BV Georges de Latour Private Reserve might be amazing with proper age, but with the price of $100+ per bottle and pretty much undrinkable upon release, this is not the wine I can recommend. The same story would be with Kamen, one of the most amazing Cabernet Sauvignon wines I ever tasted. Textbook, Turley, or Waterstone would offer more reasonably priced options (under $50), but still, I don’t know how amazing these wines are upon release. Suggesting non-winos to decant will not work. Asking them to keep the wine in the cellar until it reaches perfection will not be received very well. That leaves us with only one option – we need to find a Cabernet Sauvignon which is delicious upon release.
In an attempt to rehabilitate me after (almost) an epic failure at the restaurant, I decided to look for the simplest solution – the wines from Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s wines rarely disappoint; they are light on the wallet and don’t require cellaring or decanting to be enjoyed.
Trader Joe’s offers a good selection of Cabernet Sauvignon wines. Choosing the wines was a combination of prior experience and just good-looking labels – Justin makes outstanding wines in Paso Robles; you can’t go wrong with or beat the prices of the Bogle wines); I had MOONX wines before, and have good memories of them.
Here are the Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Trader Joe’s I offered to my friend to taste (notes are mine, of course):
2018 Paso Dragon Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles (13.5% ABV, $6.99)
Garnet
sage, blackberries, red and black fruit
Blackberries, herbs, medium body, clean acidity, nice finish with a touch of pepper
7+, a bit too weak for the Cab, but easy to drink wine. Can’t really identify as Cabernet Sauvignon.
2018 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles (14.5% ABV, $24.95)
Ruby
A touch of eucalyptus and mint, blackberries; second day – earthy and complex, a hint of gunflint.
A distant hint of cassis and tobacco
Second day: Classic cab is coming through, cassis and mint, clean acidity, crisp tannins.
8/8+, this wine needs at least 5, better yet 10+ years in the cellar to shine.
2018 Boggle Cabernet Sauvignon California (14.5% ABV, $7.99)
Light garnet
Bell peppers, a hint of cassis
Blackberry preserve with tobacco and a touch of coffee. More herbaceous than anything else.
7+, it is a drinkable wine, but might be the least Cabernet of the group.
2019 Moonx Cabernet Sauvignon California (13% ABV, $6.99)
Garnet
A touch of cassis, berries compote, a hint of bell pepper
Lodi fruit presentation, a hint of cinnamon, warm spices, sweet tobacco, berries preserve, a touch of fresh tannins, medium finish.
8-, easy to drink, good balance, pleasant, great QPR.
My friend’s favorite on the first day was Paso Dragon. MOONX was a favorite on the second day. She declared Justin “not bad” on the second day. And she was unmoved by Bogle on either day.
From my point of view, only Justin was worthy of Cabernet Sauvignon designation – give it time, and it will be a spectacular one. MOONX was very good too, but it didn’t necessarily scream Cabernet Sauvignon. We need to remember though that my friend’s love and desire for Cabernet is simply based on the good prior experience with the wine named Cabernet Sauvignon, but was that a classic Cab nobody would ever know.
There you go, my friends. Let’s go on the quest to find the best, varietally correct Cabernet Sauvignon, perfectly drinkable upon release, at a price that leaves 401k intact. Ready to offer recommendations? Be my guest…
Daily Glass: The More I Drink, The Less I Understand?
Wine is an enigma.
But you already know that.
The wine had been a serious object of obsession for more than 20 years for me. I went through multiple education programs. Read an uncounted number of wine books and articles. Most importantly, drunk a lot of wine – from the bottles, from the barrels, the juice of freshly harvested grapes and the juice which only had been fermented for a few days. Two days old wine and 80 years old wine. I taste roughly thousands of wines every year (with the help of trade tastings). Yes, the wine is an object of obsession. And yet, I would never say that I figured it out, that I fully understand it.
Wine is an enigma.
The curse of wine is rather simple – until the cork is pulled (or unscrewed), you don’t know what to expect. A lot of wine bottles look ultimately attractive outside – bottle’s shape and weight play an important role, and then you got the label which, when properly done, is an ultimate seduction device. But once the cork is out, it is only the content that matters – and here we learn that not all the beauty from outside can be found on the inside. The worst part? Until the first sip, we have no way of knowing what we will find, even if we tasted and loved the wine before! Sadly, this is a classic case of any investment prospectus disclaimer – “past performance is no guarantee of the future results”. It is quite possible that you tasted and loved the wine before – nevertheless, every new bottle is a perfect screw up (or a beautiful surprise) opportunity. The wine is an enigma.
Back in 2014, I tasted 2011 Michel Chapoutier Tournon Mathilda Shiraz Victoria, Australia (13% ABV, $14.99) and was blown away by the beautiful purity of that Shiraz. The wine had a clean, herbs-driven profile full of freshly ground pepper – you really had to taste it to believe it. I was so impressed with that wine that it became wine #4 on my Top Dozen list in 2014. I got 6 bottles or so (at $14.99, a great QPR) and was slowly enjoying it over the years. But not always. I remember trying to impress a friend with this wine when I found it available in a restaurant in Florida by the glass. That simply did not work – the wine was flabby and mostly insipid. Then I had opened a bottle last year, only to be able to say “what just happened???”. The wine had just some single note fruit, no pepper, limited acidity, and in a word, was not fun. I was further put down with this wine last year after tasting the current vintage release at the trade tasting – that wine was insipid, cherry cough medicine style.
When I pulled my last bottle from the shelf a few days ago, the thought was – yeah, whatever, let’s just free up some space. Unscrew, pour, sip – oh, my, everything was back as when I fell in love with this wine – fresh pepper, sage, rosemary, intensely herbal with tasteful addition of ripe black plum – as wow wine as it can be. Don’t ask me for explanations or theories – as I said, the more I drink, the less I understand.
Wine is an enigma.
The second story is less unusual, but still in line with what we are talking about here. I got the 2009 Tallulah MD1 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14.1% ABV, $75) after reading the skillfully crafted sales pitch by the folks at Benchmark Wine Company. What’s not to like there? Excellent winemaker, Mike Drash; beautiful label, great story of naming the wine after winemaker’s daughter, and maybe most importantly, the cult grape from the cult region – Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. The first experience with the wine was at the “ohh” level – tight, closed, by all means not ready. The next time I had the same wine was back in 2014, it fared better – I gave it 8- rating, but mostly for the potential, not so much for the actual pleasure delivered by the wine back then.
Looking for the wine to drink last Saturday with the steak (looking for the wine is a physical process of moving the shelves of the wine fridges in and out – I don’t have any record-keeping in place), I saw the bottle top with the characteristic “T” on it. Similar to the wine we discussed before, the thought was “well, why not – I need to free some space anyway”. The first sip solicited an instant “oh, wow” – a Cabernet perfection in the glass, vibrant cassis, eucalyptus, touch of cherries, sweet oak, perfect mid-palate weight, clean acidity, impeccable balance – the wine Napa Valley is so famous for was right there – in my glass.
While working on this post I looked for my previous notes on this wine, and I only found a short reference in the post about “Month in wines”, written precisely 5 years ago, in February of 2014. To my big surprise, in that post, I found the following line: “…definitely needed more time, let’s say, at least 5 years…” – the fact that I randomly pulled this MD1 bottle exactly 5 years after and the wine evolved beautifully – well, I guess, this is just a happenstance…
Wine is an enigma.
But that what makes it an ultimate fun.
Trader Joe’s Wines – Values and More Values
The wine aisles of Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite places to visit when I travel. Where I live, in Connecticut, Trader Joe’s stores are only allowed to sell beer. Trader Joe’s stores are known for their great selection and great prices, and that is true for everything Trader Joe’s sells – including the wine. Thus any Trader Joe’s store which sells wine is an opportunity to visit a toy store for adults, which I definitely can’t miss.
This time around I ventured into the Trader Joe’s in Costa Mesa in California. Usually, the “wine” selection in Trader Joe’s in California goes way beyond just wine – scotch, bourbon, tequila, cognac, and more. At the store in Costa Mesa I was particularly impressed with Mezcal selection – would love to bring some home, but you know how business travel is nowadays – does the bottle worth a trouble of checking in the luggage?
So yes, wine it is. When buying wine at Trader Joe’s during my business trips, I always approach it in a simple way – I’m looking for value. Here is $20, let’s get as many bottles as possible with the $20, and let’s see how they will fare. Truth be told, I rarely manage to stay under $20, but still, I make an effort to be as close as possible to that $20 budget (before taxes, of course).
How does $23.45 sound next to the $20 budget? In absolute terms – I’m over the budget by 17%. In relative terms, 5 bottles of wine for $23.45? If the wine even half drinkable, it is not a bad deal, would you agree? I think so. Oh yes, and I also cheated a bit. Don’t worry, I didn’t cheat anyone in particular, it is this story which has a few flaws, so please allow me to explain.
First, I saw an attractive bottle, unusual shape, attractive label, $9.99, the wine called “Susumaniello” from Puglia – something I never saw before. I was planning to visit my close friends later that day, so I thought that this bottle looked good enough to bring with me (wanna call me a cheap bustard? please, be my guest). But -Trader Joe’s was having a little tasting (they always do for food – I guess they also do it for wine where the wine is sold – for sure in California) – and this exact bottle of wine was offered for tasting. So I did have a sip of 2016 Ruggero di Bardo Susumaniello Puglia IGP ($9.99) – it had a medium body, restrained profile with mostly cherry notes on the palate. To my delight, it appeared that behind the cool label was also a new rare, indigenous grape I never had before – Susumaniello, a nice addition to the collection (I really need to iupdate my “grape counter” on the page).
The wine was good, but I already tasted it, so I needed a different idea for the wine to bring to dinner, so I settled for 2012 Château Roudier Montague-Saint-Emilion (13% ABV, $12.99), which happened to be a classic Bordeaux – well, maybe not so classic but more of modern variation – warm fruit and spices on the nose, black currant on the palate, soft tannins, round, velvety – an excellent Bordeaux for the price. It also paired very well with Korean short ribs (Bulgogi) we had for dinner. Drinkability: 7+/8-, very good overall.
From here on, here are my tasting notes for the five wines I was able to play with over the next few days – these are the wines I paid $23.45 for.
2016 Joseph Händler Riesling Pfalz (9.5% ABV, $4.99) – straw pale color. Nose at first muted, literally nonexistent, then opening up into white flowers, touch of honey and candied peach. Clean acidity, lemon, candied lemon, crisp, good minerality, not over the top. Drinkability: 8-, and incredible value at $4.99. Just wow. I know Rieslings can be inexpensive, but this is a whole lot of German Riesling for the price.
Simpler Wines Too Uncanny Red Wine Blend Australia (13.8% ABV, $2.99/375 ml can) – this wine had no vintage indication, so I guess we should consider it to be a non-vintage. Dark ruby color. Fresh fruity nose, young berries, then herbaceous undertones show up. Very good acidity on the palate, blackberries, cherries, mint, surprisingly balanced and very easy to drink. A bit of an alcohol burn, but still wow. 7+/8-, yet another excellent value. Nicely drinkable on the second day from the open can.
2016 Union Wine Co Underwood Pinot Noir Oregon (13% ABV, $4.99) – as you can see in the picture, the only place where I found a year specified was on the bottom of the can. Is that really vintage indication? I have no idea, but I will consider it to be so.
Ruby color. Mushrooms and smoke on the nose, touch of cherries. Sweet cherries on the palate, nice minerality, good acidity, medium body, good balance, touch of tart raspberries, hint of black pepper. Very nice overall. Drinkability: 8-, impressive.
2016 Nero Marone Edizione Privata Italy (14% ABV, $6.99) dark ruby color. Restrained nose, herbal, not much fruit. A hint of raspberries, tart cherries on the palate, minerality, medium body, good acidity. Interesting, not bad but a bit underwhelming in the amount of fruit. Drinkability: 7+, might be more of a food wine.
2017 Viñas Chileans Rosario Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva Valle Central Chile (13% ABV, $3.49) – a classic Chilean cab, a touch of green bell pepper, soft blueberries and blackberries, medium body, easy to drink from the get-go. Nicely paired with grilled snapper. Drinkability: 7+, truly lots of wine for the money.
Here you are, my friends – another successful encounter with the Trader Joe’s wines. The Riesling was my favorite, but really, all the wines were good and an amazing value. What are your latest value wines discoveries? Can you beat the Pfalz Riesling at $4.99? Cheers!
Usual Grapes, Unusual Places – The Oenophile Games
I love blind tastings. I’m talking about totally non-intimidating blind tasting, done in the relaxed atmosphere, where the goal is only to have fun – in other words, not when it is part of the test. The blind tasting as part of the test is really not fun – as Kirsten the Armchair Sommelier eloquently put it in a tweet “Nothing intimidates quite like a brown paper bag!!” – as a WSET diploma candidate, I’m sure she knows what she is talking about first hand.
So I’m talking about fun blind tasting here. Blind tasting removes all sources of bias, as only minimal information is available about the wine you are about to taste, depending on the theme of the tasting, and you can’t be influenced by the pretty label, by the big name or by the well-known place (ahh, this is the wine from Napa, it is definitely better than this one from New Jersey, right?). You are one on one with the liquid in the wine glass, and your only goal is to decide whether you like the wine or not and whether you like it more than the one you had before, or if you still like it more than the one which you had after. Of course, you can make things a lot more interesting by trying to guess the grape, the origin, the vintage and whatever else you would desire, but the beauty of the informal blind tasting is that you free to do as much or as little as you want.
The best accompaniments for the wine are good food and a good company. We started wine dinners with the blind tastings with friends more than 7 years ago. Our first blind tasting was about Pinot Noir, then we had one about Sparkling wines (the thought of this one still gives me shivers as it was utterly confusing), also Chardonnay, Mourvedre, Barolo and many, many others. We decide on the theme, set the rules (how many bottles, price limits or not, what wines can be considered, what wines will not fit and so on). The bottles are put in the brown bags, the numbers are randomly assigned to the bags, the wines are poured and off we go. We usually try to figure out group’s favorite, which sometimes easy, and sometimes it is not. The results are always most unexpected, and everybody gets a chance to say “I can’t believe it”.
The theme for this tasting was “usual grapes, unusual places“. Today, the mainstream grapes are totally international. Cabernet Sauvignon wines are produced in Bordeaux, in Napa Valley, in New York, in Argentina, Virginia, South Africa, Chile, Italy, Czech Republic and other hundreds of places. Same is true about Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Grenache – and even Tempranillo and Sangiovese are not an exception. Now the question is – can we still recognize Cabernet Sauvignon from Uruguay as Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir from the Czech Republic as Pinot Noir?
To play the game, the group of 10 wines was assembled. I couldn’t make up my mind on what to bring literally until the day before the tasting – kept changing my preferences. Nevertheless, we got together, the table was set and the wines were poured. As everybody was set on bringing the red wines, I decided to make things more interesting and brought two of the white wines to start the tasting with. Here are my notes and guesses on the 10 wines we tasted (obviously I knew what I’m tasting in the first two whites):
Wine 1 – beautiful nose, honeysuckle, tropical fruit, restrained palate, green, touch of pepper, contrast with the nose, interesting
Wine 2 – beautiful nose, plump, velvety, beautifully soft, silky smooth, outstanding, vanilla, delicious.
Wine 3 – typical Bordeaux blend on the nose. Tremendous salinity on the palate. Then acidity. Bordeaux blend from NJ. After 30 minutes – Barbera?
Wine 4 – Grenache nose, smoke and tobacco on the palate. My guess is Rhone varietal, but most likely Grenache
Wine 5 – Rutherford dust on the nose, touch of black currant, chipotle on the palate, herbal, unusual, very nice. Bordeaux varietal. Going for Carmenere.
Wine 6 – beautiful nose, Bordeaux-style, lots of smoke on the nose. Somewhat sweet on the palate. Core Bordeaux? or Syrah blend? Cab Franc dominant blend.
Wine 7 – smoke, dark fruit, beautiful tannins, cherries, beautiful. Bordeaux blend? Somewhat of extreme tannins.
Wine 8 – muted nose, mint, anise, Rutherford dust. Good acidity, soft, round. Bordeaux varietal?
Wine 9 – fresh, open, clean vanilla, dark fruit, excellent. Bordeaux varietal?
Wine 10 – beautiful nose, but a bit astringent. Interesting. Bordeaux varietal?
Before the wines can be revealed, we had to figure out group’s favorite. Everybody was allowed to vote for one of the two white wines, and then two votes for the favorites among 8 reds. Here are our votes (out of 8 people):
Wine 1 – 4
Wine 2 – 4
Wine 3 – 2
Wine 4 – 0
Wine 5 – 0
Wine 6 – 6
Wine 7 – 5
Wine 8 – 2
Wine 9 – 0
Wine 10 – 1
As you can tell, both whites fared equally well with the group clearly splitting the decision. Also for the reds, there was a clear winner and a clear runner-up, with the rest of the wines not faring that well – wine number 6 was preferred by the most, and wine number 7 was the second favorite. Now, the most anticipated part of the blind tasting – the reveal:
Wine 1: 2016 Onward Petillant Naturel Malvasia Blanca Suisun Valley, CA (12.6% ABV)
Wine 2: 2007 Krupp Brothers Black Bart Marsanne Stagecoach Vineyard Napa Valley (14% ABV)
Wine 3: 2004 Bodegas Carrau Vilasar Nebbiolo Uruguay (13.5% ABV, 100% Nebbiolo)
Wine 4: 2014 Chateau Famaey Malbec Cahors AOC (12.5% ABV, 100% Malbec)
Wine 5: Changyu Cabernet Sauvignon China (Cabernet Sauvignon?)
Wine 6: 2012 Caduceus La Corgtigiane Oneste New Mexico (13.5% ABV, 50% Barbera, 50% Merlot)
Wine 7: 2014 McManis Barbera Jamie Lynn Vineyard California (13.5% ABV, 100% Barbera)
Wine 8: 2015 Cantele Primitivo Salento IGT (13.5% ABV, 100% Primitivo)
Wine 9: 2014 Macedon Pinot Noir Macedonia (13.5% ABV, 100% Pinot Noir)
Wine 10: 2014 Agnus Merlot Serra Gaúcha Brazil (14% ABV, 100% Merlot)
Let’s look at these results. First, let me talk about the wines I contributed for the tasting. For the whites, they were both excellent – I got this Onward Petillant Naturel Malvasia Blanca from Jeff The Drunken Cyclist as part of our Secret Santa fun, and the wine was delicious. The second white, Krupp Brothers Marsanne was a rare closeout score a few years back. Sadly, it was my last bottle, but the wine needs to be drunk, so I’m glad I had it in a good company – I consider that to be one of the best California white wines, for sure for my palate. Now, the red which I brought was another story – it was the Changyu from China, for which I terrorized my Chinese-speaking friend trying to ensure that it was Cabernet Sauvignon and trying to figure out the vintage or ABV (fail). Well, the worst part was that many people not just disliked it, they literally hated it – and I had other reds from Changyu while in China with much higher success. Oh well.
The winning wine Caduceus La Corgtigiane Oneste was made out of the New Mexico grapes by the winery located in Arizona, with one of the grapes being Barbera – talk about rare and unusual. McManis Barbera, second favorite, was also quite unexpected – but looking at my notes and having tasted few of the California Barbera wines, I made a wrong guess with somewhat right descriptors. As you can tell, almost everything tasted to me like a Bordeaux blend – clearly, I don’t do well in the blind tastings, but one way or the other, this was lots of fun! And just think of the range of wines we tasted – Malvasia Blanca, Marsanne and Barbera from California, Nebbiolo from Uruguay, Merlot from Brazil, Pinot Noir from Macedonia, Cabernet Sauvignon from China, Merlot and Barbera from New Mexico – wow. The Malbec and Primitivo didn’t really belong on one side – but then on another side they kind of fit the bill too as Malbec from France is literally unknown to the wine consumers, and Primitivo is pretty much in the same boat, for sure in the USA. All in all, we clearly accomplished our goal of tasting usual grapes from unusual places.
Then, of course, there was food – lots and lots of delicious food, which everybody contributed to – I will just give you a quick overview in pictures, and that really only a fraction of what we had (at some point you get tired of constantly taking pictures of food…
We also drunk more wine, and this one was a standout. An unassuming California blend from Marietta in Sonoma – NV Marietta California Old Vine Red Lot Number Twenty. This is non-vintage, field blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and Gamay, now, wait for it … which should be about 40 years old??? Current wine is called Lot Number 66, so if this was the Lot number 20, then we are simply making an assumption here… The wine was delicious – yes, it was mature, so showed the layer of delicious dried fruit and ripe plums – but it still had a perfect amount of acidity for everyone to say “wow”. I plan to write to the winery, so hopefully will be able to figure out the age of this wine, but this was clearly another amazing example of California wines which can age – and patience well rewarded.
Great fun and great learning experience, hands down. For anyone who is into the wine, the blind tasting is an endless source of enjoyment. If you love wine and never participated in the blind tasting, you really should fix it – get your friends together and have fun! If you need any “logistical support”, please reach out – will be very happy to help.
Ahh, and by the way, there is something even more intimidating than a paper bag – a black glass. But then your friends may start hating you, so tread gently. Have fun, my friends. Cheers!
Daily Glass: Monday Night Escapades
Is there a special wine fitting every day of the week? I would guess that for many, Friday and Saturday are considered special nights, as it’s the weekend, and people think of drinking something better (higher end). Sunday is still the weekend, so the higher calling might still be in order.
But what about Monday? Does your choice of wine for Monday depend on your general outlook on life? “I love Mondays” … said not that many people, but isn’t it great that it is the first day of the week and we have the whole new week ahead of us, with lots of things to do, places to visit and people to meet? I guess one’s personal take on Mondays does depend on one’s take on life, so I will leave it for you to ponder at and if you have any words of wisdom to share, please do so after the beep … err in the comments section below.
I have two wine-related experiences from Monday which I want to share. First, I finally got to open the Field Recording’s Can Club shipment. What’s a big deal, you ask?
Field Recordings is one of the most innovative wineries I know. Small winery in Paso Robles, California, a brainchild of Andrew Jones, a vigneron, who started his career as a grape grower, first and foremost. Ever since I tried his Fiction Red, I became a passionate fan and I’m religiously following everything Filed Recordings does.
A few years ago, Field Recordings started experimenting with the wine in the can. Going beyond just the wine in the can, they also finishing their wines with the beer hops which creates truly a different experience. As soon as the “Can Club” was opened, I joined it. The wines were always good, but the shipments themselves went through a number of changes in the format, and pretty much every shipment had some little (and different) issues associated with them. Until now.
Once I opened the box, my very first reaction was “wow”. In my humble opinion, Field Recordings, under their Alloy Works brand, achieved perfection in the packaging of the canned wine. Simple, elegant, sturdy, economical, easy to handle – unpacking this shipment was absolutely a delightful experience. Ask any oenophile, the first thing which gets everyone excited is the opening of those boxes. With this delivery, Field Recordings Can Club achieved shipping nirvana – I hope they will continue it moving forward.
I can’t tell you much about the wines, as they needed to get chilled and went straight into the fridge; I can only mention that this shipment included 2 cans each of Weissland, sparkling dry hopped Chardonnay; Martian Galaxy – a dry-hopped, sparkling rose, a blend of Gamay and Mourvedre Martian Vineyard in Los Alamos; and Sangria, a blend of freshest, cold-pressed juice cocktail of cranberry, blood orange and lemon from Yes Cocktail Company mixed with Zinfandel from Old Potrero Vineyard. I don’t know about you, but I’m very excited to try these wines – and will report on the experience afterward.
Now, let’s talk about that Monday night wine. Outside of special events, I never know in advance what am I going to open. Deciding on the bottle of wine is somewhat of a frustrating experience (first world problems, I know). Numerous bottles get touched and looked at, then rejected for a myriad of reasons. Finally, one is pulled out – usually for no other reason than “oh well, maybe this will do”. This time around the bottle happened to be Turley Cabernet Sauvignon called The Label.
Turley is not known as the Cabernet Sauvignon powerhouse – it is a coveted and well sought-after Zinfandel producer for the most. A few years ago, Turley finally got into the Cabernet Sauvignon wines and produced the wine which was called “The Label” – named after the words of Larry Turley, the proprietor at Turley Winery, who always said that Cabernet Sauvignon drinkers simply “drink the label”.
I don’t know if this should be considered funny or strange, but it appears that 2011 Turley The Label already was my choice of Monday wine – almost 4 years ago, in January of 2014 (here is the post). I really loved the wine then, but it evolved much further this time around. From the get-go, this 2011 Turley The Label Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (13.4% ABV) showed a beautiful medley of the succulent berries, both on the nose and the palate – blackberries, blueberries, and black currant, tastefully accompanied by mint and eucalyptus and supported by clean acidity (Drinkability: 9-). It was reminiscent of a perfect Turley Zinfandel, fresh and playful – with a character of its own. Last time I said I want to taste this wine in 10 years. After almost four we are going in the right direction – I should have one more bottle somewhere so I will have to be careful to avoid any Monday blues prompts to open this wine until its due time.
What is your perfect Monday wine? Cheers!
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Talk-A-Vino 