Cabernet Sauvignon

Every year Flora Springs produces holiday wines, this year with a beautiful etched bottle (and a three pack of three different holiday etchings and blends) featuring turtle doves. A cabernet dominate blend, this offers soft, bright fruit of black cherry, blackberry, huckleberry, boysenberry, with back notes of green tea leaf, sandalwood, Asian pear, vanilla, camp fire and light dusty mocha. 18 months of aging in French and American oak barrels rounds out the fruit. They don’t make much but it makes a unique gift. 230 cases. ORIGIN: Napa Valley. ALCOHOL: 14.2

This is another wine from the Michael Mondavi Family of wines.  This is the inaugural vintage of this wine sourced from various vineyards around Paso Robles.  It will be interesting to watch as they get a handle on what the vineyard has to offer.  That said, this first vintage is a very nice value in California Cabernet.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, char, spice and slight coffee note.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, cassis, plums and char.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This is nice on its own and will work with gr

Clearly made as nothing but an enjoyable glass of wine, which wine always should be, The Mill Keeper offers an incredibly viscous, smooth and velvety texture, leading to soft notes of blueberry, blackberry, and light mocha notes. In the background, vanilla, red raspberry, and Rainier cherries fill out the profile. What’s unusual about this wine is that it is pulled from multiple vintages and vineyard sites. The fruit is sourced mainly from vineyards in Napa and Sonoma that utilize sustainable management programs.

Shafer Hillside Select is truly an American First growth.  It has the production levels, the long history and the quality.  A great bottle of wine.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, slight blueberries, char, graphite and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the  palate, great texture.  Notes of cassis with graphite and char.  Deep and complex.  Long finish.  This is not yet at peak but getting there.  Delicious.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own, but this will work with hearty foods as well.  This would be perfect with brisket.  

It was great to try this wine again.  The last bottle about a year ago was stunning and so was this one.  The wine is opening up nicely if still young.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is excellent with cassis, blueberries, coffee grounds, spice and graphite.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Wonderful texture.  Lots of energy and great balance.  On the palate, cassis, coffee, blueberries and spice.  Long finish.

Tasted blind.  I guesses a 2017 Napa Cab with mountain fruit (Continuum?).  In a flight of 6 great wines, this was the one I was the most disappointed in after the label was revealed.  It is an outstanding wine, but with Latour, one expects more.  It is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon,  9% Merlot, with some Cabernet Franc and Petite Verdot as well.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  On the nose, cassis, some graphite, a bit of forest floor and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, Cassis, slight cedar/woodiness and char.  Long finish.  I believe this to be at least p

Served as part of a high end blind flight, this was perhaps my "worst" guess of the night.  Blind, I called a 2018 Solaia or Sassicaia.

Served blind, I got lucky and guessed 2017 Scarecrow.  This was more open and ready than I might have expected for 2012, which is why I guessed 2017.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar and clay.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is seamless.  So smooth.  Cassis with wet rocks/light earthiness.  Long finish.  This may still improve and will undoubtedly age more.  Drink over the next fifteen to twenty years.  Great on its own, this is a classic steak house wine.  

Tasted blind, I guessed 2004 Bordeaux (St.

Earthy tannins leads to blackberry, blueberry, plum, and violets. Made from mainly Carménère and Cabernet Sauvignon, there are small amounts of Syrah, Petite Verdot and Cabernet Franc in the mix. This has always been a solid wine for a very reasonable price. It deviates from much oak treatment and instead promotes the raw, earthy flavors of its organic vineyards. The aging consisted of 66% of the wine placed in French oak for 18 months, therefore the oak is supporting and not dominate. Nicely balanced this is a great go-to everyday drinking wine. ORIGIN: Apalta, Chile. ALCOHOL: 13.5%