Oakville

Beautiful wine.  It has just about reached maturity but still has plenty of life left.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  Great nose of cassis, cedar, graphite and char.  Full bodied.  Light to medium tannins.  Nice balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Flavors of cassis, chocolate, slight blueberries, spice and char.  Complex and deep.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another ten years before starting a slow decay.  It is great on its own and would work nicely with grilled meat dishes. 

When Turnbull launched in 1979 it was with the goal of producing excellent Cabernet Sauvignon. Of course, at the time there was a lot of excellent Cabernet in the market. But as many Napa Cabernets chose to make enormous and heavy-handed wines, Turnbull chose a different direction. The craftsmanship of this is an homage to Old-School Napa Cabernet - those wines not often made anymore that truly prized the plot of land and extolled the fruit over the use of high brix and lots of oak. So if you want to taste Cabernet the way it used to be, this will complement any occasion.

This is a blend of 76% Cabernet sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Franc from Napa.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is lovely with cassis, cedar, slight cigar box and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is young and delicious.  Flavors of cassis, spice, slight mocha and char.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and will work with most food (not seafood).  It should drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  

Another big name for Napa's past that probably doesn't get the attention it deserves compared to the "latest-greatest" but still provides a lot of quality.  This is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% Merlot.  Deep garnet in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, and spice (cloves?).  Full bodied.  Silky tannins.  Good balance.  On the palate, cassis, slight black cherries and spice.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own but is better with food.  This would be great with a Beef Stew.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.

Another great wine from Fait-Mail.  These wine get some buzz but deserve even more.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, slight graphite, cedar, spice and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy and balance.  On the palate, this is concentrated, intense and delicious.  Flavors of cassis, slight dark chocolate, spice and char.  Long finish.  This is still quite young and won't hit peak for at least a decade.  That said, it provides a lot of pleasure right now.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Fantastic on its own, this would work with big meat