2019 Ettore Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Signature, USA, California, Mendocino, Wine Review

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon made with organic grapes in Mendocino, California. Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose is classic with cassis, dust and graphite. Firm tannins. Full bodied. Good acidity. If you are looking for a big fruit bomb California Cab, this is not it. It is ripe with no green notes, but it is more of a classic, food friendly style. Cassis with slight graphite notes with an underlying earthiness. Nice finish. This drinks well on its own but is better with food. Of course a steak, but this would work really nicely with Roasted Root vegetables. Drink over the next seven to ten years.

Grade:

A-

Score:

Vintage:

2019

Current Price:

$52.00USD

Top 50 California Cabernet Sauvignons to Try Before You Quit Drinking (a non-dump bucket list if you will!)

In putting together a list of the top California Cabernets, there is sure to be some disagreement. I tried to include those wines that have a track record, the wineries still making great wines, those that seemed to have the commitment for the future and some personal favorites. I am sure I left some out. 1. Shafer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select – It’s always hard to name the number one wine. But this has a track record that’s very long. Even in less than stellar vintages, it is an outstanding wine. They just don’t seem to make a dud. My only complaint is the price at over $200 a bottle. But, in comparison to other Napa Cabs or elsewhere in the world, this is a fair price.

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Heidi Peterson Barrett: Napa's Wine Diva on Winemaking, La Sirena, and the Legacy of Screaming Eagle

Heidi Peterson Barrett As arguably the most celebrated, respected, envied, and in-demand winemaker in America today, Heidi Peterson Barrett is one of only a handful of winemakers who can legitimately lay claim to "superstar" status. Her wines at both Dalle Valle and Screaming Eagle resulted in multiple 100 point scores from Robert Parker (Parker himself dubbed her the "First Lady of Wine") and helped redefine both the meaning and value of "cult" wines. She rocked the wine world at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction as a 6-liter bottle of her 1992 Screaming Eagle sold for $500,000, in the process setting a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine (a vertical offering went for $650,000 at the 2001 Napa Valley Wine Auction). Heidi Peterson Barrett is currently winemaker for Amuse Bouche, Paradigm, Revana, Barbour, Lamborn, Fantesca, as well as her own label La Sirena . I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Heidi to talk about winemaking, her own La Sirena label, and the legacy of Screaming Eagle.

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Ten California Cabernet Sauvignons for the Money

California Cabernets are some of the best wines in the world. Unfortunately, the pricing on many of them has gotten quite exorbitant. There are a plethora of great wines for $100 or more. Even at the $75 mark, there is no shortage of outstanding wines. So, for purposes of this list, these are my favorite five California Cabernets priced at under $25 per bottle. In addition, I only chose wines that are very consistent from vintage to vintage. Finally, I have avoided rare and hard to find wines for this list.

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Which California Cabernet Sauvignons Deserve "First Growth" Status?

In 1855, the Exposition Universelle was held in Paris to showcase all that was good in France. Emperor Napoleon III requested the leading Bordeaux merchants to rank the best wines . The top wines were rated as First Growths. Over the years, many people in the rest of the world have discussed what wines from their country would be First Growths. I am often asked what I think the First Growths of California are. It is an interesting conversation with lots of room for debate.

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2018 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, USA, California, Wine Review

Vintage:

2018

Score:

Grade:

A-

Current Price:

$34.00USD

Certainly one of the more iconic names in Cabernet and in Napa. And, 2018 was a stellar vintage in Napa. This Cab proves you don't need to spend a ton of money to get a high quality Cab if you buy from good producers and in good vintages. Purple in color with some ruby hues, opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, cedar, spic and chocolate. Full bodied. On the palate, cassis, black raspberries and oak. This is young and the oak will integrate with time. It is ripe but not overdone. The bottle list 14.5% but some promotional information lists 15.1% abv. Firm tannins. Nice finish.

2019 Ettore Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Signature, USA, California, Mendocino, Wine Review

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Top 50 California Cabernet Sauvignons to Try Before You Quit Drinking (a non-dump bucket list if you will!)

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Ten California Cabernet Sauvignons for the Money

Which California Cabernet Sauvignons Deserve "First Growth" Status?

2018 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, USA, California, Wine Review