Cabernet Sauvignon

Wow.  It had been some years since tasting this Cuvee and I don't remember it being this good.  Purple in color, opaque and  shimmering bright.  The nose is powerful with cassis, cedar, dark chocolate, and spice.  Full bodied.  Great balance and energy.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is young but delicious.  Almost, but quite, jammy.  Flavors of cassis, chocolate with underlying char and spice.  Deep.  Long finish.  This is drinking well but will develop.  Drink over the next twenty to twenty five years.  It was great with a Portobello Napoleon dish and will work well with most meats,

This was a new wine for me.  Ghost Block has a great story.  About 8 million years ago, it was on a mountain top above Stags Leap in the Vaca Mountains.  The Mountain collapsed and fell over on its side so although the vineyard sits on the valley floor it is geologically the same as those on the tops of the  mountain.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has a bit of volatile acidity on it.  For my tastes it is just enough to raise the aromatics.

Wow.  Great showing.  This is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Verdot, and 8% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is great.  Cassis, cedar, spice, tobacco and slight char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great texture.  On the palate, this is deep.  Flavors of cassis, tobacco, slight earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is delicious and open.  It will evolve more over the next twenty to thirty years but not sure it gets better.  This would be classic with Lamb but was great with some cheeses as well.  

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the four best barrels in the cellar.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep and interesting.  Aromas of cassis, black olives, spice and slight earthiness.  Full bodied.  Wonderful concentrated plush texture.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, ash and char.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Still young, this is drinking quite well with a bit of air.

This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is open and awesome.  Cassis, black cherries, interesting black olive note, fresh tobacco, plums, spice and char.  Probably more.  Wow.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is getting close to mature but still five or more years from really being there.  Cassis, black cherries, tobacco and spice.  Deep and complex.  Long finish.  This will drink well for another twenty to twenty five years.  It would of course be great with

Always a pleasure to drink Schrader which is of course, made by one of the top winemakers anywhere, Thomas Rivers Brown.  This wine has been compared to Haut Brion (possibly my favorite wine from Bordeaux) and the comparison is apt.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, blueberries, "gravel", ash, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Slick but plush texture.  Medium to firm tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Cassis, blueberries and underlying gravel/char.  Long finish.  This will get better but no harm opening now.  Drink over the next fifteen to twenty years.  Grea

Great to revisit this.  First tasted in December, 2002 (notes are on this site) and it has improved a bit but it can still get better.  This wine is made by Andy Erikson and from vineyards on Atlas Peak and Soda Canyon.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is powerful and open with cassis, cedar, blueberries, chocolate, char.  Lush texture.  Firm tannins (the wine  had not been open long).  Great balance.  On the palate, cassis, cedar, charred earth and spice.  Long finish but already performing great.

It was great to try this bottle at age 10.  The grapes are grown in the heart of the historic To Kalon vineyard although for legal reasons, they can't put that on the label.  Just gorgeous!  The bottle was opened and allowed to breather for 13 hours prior to serving but not decanted.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is deep and complex with cassis, cigar box, dust, spice and warm earth.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is young but open (the advantage of old vines on the valley floor).  Complex and layered.  Cassis, spice, ear

This is a blend of the three single vineyard wines that Vida Valiente releases.  The winery was formed with a charitable arm and its Foundation supports lower income students going to Stanford who lack the financial resources.  One hundred dollars from every bottle sold goes to support this Foundation.  The winemaker, Sam Kaplan, identifies particular barrels to achieve his goal for this wine.  This is the first vintage and like all of their wines, it lists 14.8% abv on the label.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is tight but opens to cassis, dark chocolate, s

This is from the  home vineyard of Vita Valiente.  The vineyard was planted in 2018 at the base of  Glass Mountain in St. Helena.  Beautifully packaged with an etched in paper label.  Decanted for about four hours.  14.8% abv.