2009 Freemark Abbey Cabernet

Freemark Abbey has been a noted producer in Napa Valley for a long time. Their wines have not achieved cult wine status, but they consistently deliver a drinkable bottle of wine. They have resisted the urge to balloon in size or with respect to multiple labels. I was dining at a restaurant tonight and after a quick look at the wine list decided that this wine was a relative bargain compared to the inflated prices for a selection of $15 wines or the alternative at $125 plus. I do not usually do reviews from when I am out, but this wine was a superb complement to the meal that I had which was a New York strip so thought I would write it up.

This is not a "special" wine. It is a solid Napa Valley Cab. It hits in the usual places strongly. It starts with fruit, it has a nice not exceptional finish, and it worked very well with the food that I had tonight. It is a dark burgundy color and has a muted nose with a pencil lead finish. The Berries lead the flavor on the fruit and finish through to the end. I would not run out tomorrow and buy a case of this, as it can be found in any number of Napa Cabernets, but I would say that is is a good food wine.

WS 87  RP not rated

WR

2009 Francis Coppola Eleanor

Dark, dark Cabernet Syrah blend with both Sonoma and Napa grapes. Coppola's wife is the name sake  and inspiration for the wine which is definitely a cut above their higher volume brands. I like most of their wine. Very approachable drinkable wines, good with food and with a wide range of styles. Completely consistent with the Italian tradition.

The Eleanor as noted is as dark red. The fruit jumps out of the glass on the nose and reminds you of the big fruit bomb Australian Syrahs. While it is a bold on the nose and has very generous fruit, it is also very well balanced. I wish it had a bit more tannins as I think it would give it more weight. Nonetheless, it is a very nice wine, one that is quite enjoyable to drink right now and should drink well for several years. 

A worthy name sake.

WS 93

WR

2005 Kapcsandy "State Lane" Cabernet Beltramo's 4th of 6

This wine was good. It was well made, showed as very young, which it is and seems like it would have a long life. The fruit was strong blackberry and cherry, with quite a lot of pucker on the finish. The tannins will die back and this wine will be very good. All the same, at $180 a bottle I really could only be a big fan if someone else was paying.

Kapcsandy on the web. They have a cool crest.

3rd place of 6.

WR

2005 Araujo Cabernet Beltramo's 3rd of 6

During the tasting I was standing and chatting with a husband and wife who were tasting. The husband was not really taken with any wine but this one, and even though the price of this wine was noted at $265 a bottle it was the one wine in the tasting that he said he would consider buying. The others, nice to good, but not worth the triple digit, or near prices.

He was right.

Araujo Estate is a Napa cult wine. The prices are high, it is very hard to get unless you are already on the mailing list.

This wine was marvellously balanced. The fruit was luscious. The tannins sweet and round. The finish was long and delightful. The nose was hints of plum, berries and vanilla. I have not had any of these previously, but have read that vanilla is a flavor that predominates. I have to say it again lush and balanced. Truly an outstanding wine today and I would suspect for many years to come.

Clear and convincing 1st of 6.

WR

2006 Lewis Reserve Cabernet

Went to a K&L tasting of Lewis wines, this will be one of four notes from the tasting.

This was a great fruit forward Cab with a very strong tannin finish. The tannins were very powerful, so there was quite a bit of pucker power, but they also had enough sweetness and following on the lovely fruit, made a nice glass. This Cab is big and bold and I think be a real treat in another 5-7 years, when some of the tannin bite will have smoothed out, but the fruit will still be very vital. The color of this wine is also a marvel, it is inky black, with almost no translucence, and that was the case even with a small one ounce pour.

K&L has tastings in the Redwood City store on Friday evenings and Saturdays. This tasting included the Lewis's, Randy and his wife Debbie, behind the bar pouring. There was a pretty strong crowd and I was there with a friend so did not get much chance to talk to the Lewis's. It was clear the group was enjoying the wines.

WR

2006 Joel Gott 815 Cabernet

This is a very enjoyable Cabernet, even at this very young age. It drinks beautifully. It is a deep ruby, very clear red. The most notable flavor on the nose for me is coffee. It is a lovely subtle flavor blended with berry.

The wine on the tongue is equally delightful. Much bolder than the nose, it has great blackberry tones and the tannins deliver a solid integrated finish. I think it would be very interesting to taste this wine again in three or four years and see what the time has done for it. My instinct is that it will develop very nicely. It is not a wine built for twenty years, but a bit of age would turn it from something that is nice to enjoy now, to something much more special.

The price is under $20 for this wine, but you could do much worse for many more dollars. Great with a grilled steak or steak burger.

You can find out about the entire line of Joel Gott wines here.






WR

2005 Whitehall Lane Cabernet

Glycerin, silky unctuous, oh, I forgot I am not Robert Parker. This wine is a great example of what many Napa wineries are trying to deliver these days. A fruit forward, bold, silky smooth Cabernet. For me, I quickly fell in and out of love with this style. There are times when I really want a glass of wine that hits this profile, but most of the time, I drink with food these days. That means, looking for something that is a bit less ostentatious on it own and something that compliments the food.

This wine is nice and if you like this style, I think it is a very well made example of this type of Cabernet. The fruit is bursting with berry and yet it has a long finish, that is where the silky feeling hits. It was a bit alcoholly in the first pour from the bottle, but that seemed to fade out very quickly. All in all a good bottle of wine.

Whitehall Lane is located in the heart of Napa Valley.

WR

2005 Louis Martini Cabernet

This is a deep dark ruby wine with a nice nose with spice and berry and the taste is a very fruit forward flavor. It is a big wine with sweet tannins nicely integrated into the fruit. I must say that it has been a long time since I have had such a fulfilling Cabernet at such a great price. I got this for under $20 at Safeway (did I mention they are having a very strong sale) about two weeks ago and bought another bottle as I walked down the aisle yesterday because it was excellent at any price. Definitely give it a spin if you see it. You may want to pick it up by the case once you do.

Martini is owned by Gallo but has its own website for its wines.

WR

2004 Arrowood Cabernet

Drank this over two nights. The first night it was closed and took over three hours to open up even a little. You can sense the fruit, but it is deeply buried underneath the tannins. The tastings notes I have read suggest it should have been more open, but for me it took quite awhile for the fruit to mix it up with the tannins.

Second night, great transformation. The fruit came right to the surface. The tannins dropped into the background and were sweeter and resolved better into a long finish. A keeper, but probably not going to be at its best for five years or more.

I got it for a good price as Safeway has a lot of wine on deals right now. It was around $30, which is actually reasonable for finer California Cabs. Worth it to buy and put away for awhile.

Arrowood has a nice website and lovely winery.

WR

1998 Spottswoode Cabernet

Was out at a Booster club dinner and a wine drinker friend was kind enough to share some a very nice 1998 Spottswoode Cabernet. It was a Magnum and showed in the way it poured still very fresh and tasty. It was a lighter velvety wine, with good fruit. It was a bit closed, I think it was a bit too cold. As the time went by the flavor got better. It is not the sort of bottle that you would run out tomorrow to find, but it was very nice and for the occassion many, many steps above what was placed on the tables.

All in all a great evening.

This label is the 2005, but looks very similar. The winery website is found here.










Back in awhile.

WineRascal

1990 Dunn Cabernet

Dunn is a legend for long lived Napa Cabernet's. I opened a 1996 Howell Mountain a few months back and it was still as closed and impenetrable as the Dunn legacy would expect it to be. They do not even have tasting notes on their web site for after 1993. This 1990 was a very nice glass of wine. It was bold with very strong blackberry, but also showed the impact of age, with a very nice blended structure of tannin and acid. It was exactly what one hopes for in an older wine, but with the level of fruit, quite hard to imagine as a 1990. I have had 2003 Napa Cabs that tasted older than this bottle.




Dunn Vineyards.

Back in awhile.

leh

1995 Far Niente Cabernet

This was outstanding. Blockbuster. Burst of currant and berry on the nose with a lovely deep garnet color. The flavor was great with sweet tannins resolved beautifully into the strong fruit flavor. This wine will be great now and for at least a couple of more years, but I do not believe it will ever be better. It is rich with a hint of chocolate and great blackberry flavor. Can you tell I liked it?

Far Niente has a long history of excellent wines. It built its reputation on an excellent string of Chardonnays and extended it with the rest of its lineup. It also has a beautiful winery in the heart of Napa Valley, which is a great stopping point.



Back in awhile.

leh

1987 Caymus Cabernet

Opened, decanted and tasted right away. It was dark blackberry color, with a burst of fresh raisin (I know sounds odd, but think of the smell of raisin when you open a new bag) and dusty pencil lead. The taste was a very nicely resolved set of flavors. Unlike the Montelena (had it at the same time), it was not dominated by the acid. Everything seemed to have blended nicely together and the flavor included a nice combination of dried fruit, soft berry, and a dry mineral. The finish was not over long, but very nice. All in all, this was a nice glass of wine.

This bottle did raise the old wine/new wine questions. Even with the flavor and taste of this very nice glass of wine, I can’t help but think it would have been even better five years ago. I always have a hard time with this issue. Older equals, subtle, sublime, refined. Newer equals fruit, tannins, flavor power.

A link to Caymus.

The label is the 1994 year, looks alot like the 1987.


Back in awhile.

leh

1987 Chateau Montelena Cabernet

Opened, decanted and tasted right away. It was ruby, muddy, with the expected residual bits from the bottle. It had the dusty slightly porty scent of an older Cabernet. It had flavors of raisin and prune. The wine was slightly bitter/acidic. Usually those tastes have softened by this time in a California cab, twenty years in the bottle. The fruit was mostly gone. All in all not a special experience. I suspect ten years ago this would have been great. (See the notes on the Far Niente 1995 which I had at the same time, a completely different experience.)

Chateau Montelena is an absolutely gorgeous wineery. If you are in Napa Valley and you have not been it is highly recommended.

A link to their winemakers notes for the 1987 year release.

Back in awhile.

leh

1983 Joseph Phelps Cabernet

Phelps Cabs have been great, see my earlier post on the 2005. The Insignia, Phelps top end Bordeaux style, is a signature wine from Napa and even with the volume produced it is a consistently great wine. This 1983 should have been drunk 10 years ago (just a guess). Today it exists only as tannin, acid and the remnants of flavor beaten out of existence for the most part. Kind of a sour port. A friend shared it with me, it had been kept in good storage conditions since purchase and did not taste as though the bottle had turned. It was just well past any prime and unlike some older wines where everything has faded and leaves a subtle pleasing flavor, this is just the bitter elements. It was only $13 back in the day.

Back in awhile.

leh

2002 Louis Martini Cabernet Monte Rosso Vineyard

Upon first opening, it came with a nose of mocha and tabacco. Then ten minutes later there was a spice flavor added, which was almost curry like (perhaps a trick of my own nose but I was not around any curry). It settled in with a lovely flavorful scent with the fruit of currant and cherries. Very nice nose. Drinking the wine was equally enjoyable. Solid structure of fruit, moderate tannin and acid which gave a very nice finish. This is a very nice wine, and I bought it at Safeway yesterday for under $50 at the club price. I have had many $100 plus California cabs that were not at the quality level of this wine.

Back in awhile.

leh

2005 Shafer Cabernet One Point Five (Stags Leap)

Shafer a king in Napa with some very fine wines. I have tried a variety of them. They are consistently excellent, even with the relatively steep price points. A couple years back when they introduced Firebreak it was a real revelation.

The One Point Five is complex, currant, lite oak and yet quite lively on the tongue. It is the kind of wine that you can drink right now, although at the price, you may want to see what it is like when it reaches its estimated (mythical?) maturity in a couple of years. Really pleasant. I have to run off and eat some tacos. Will definitely have some more when I come back.

Back in awhile.

leh

2005 Joseph Phelps Cabernet

Opened this four nights ago. It was a power packed fruit rush. Many flavors blending very naturally like a bowl of perfectly ripened fresh fruit. Nice finish, very enjoyable to drink, even this young. Bought at Safeway for something under $50.

Tonight I am trying another glass. I leave reds on the counter at room temp after opening. I come back to them after a day or two or four. If they are turned, they end up in the sink, if not I try them again. This one has evolved into something complex, almost Bordeaux like in acid and fruit and tannin which must have been overpowered by the fruit when fresh. Another very nice glass of wine.

Back in awhile.

leh