| Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Tasting Report |
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| Plumpjack 2006 Estate Cabernet - Oakville, Napa, California |
Notes – Very light judicious oak and loaded currants
and cherries on a very lovely nose. This dark
purple/red wine is extremely rich and concentrated with
some stringent tannins and acidity that definitely need
time to mellow out. It has an excellent, very long
fullfilling finish. Even though I cheated and decanted
this wine an hour before everyone came, it still could
have used a half a day in the decanter. Lots of
pedigree and cellar worthiness. If you get your hands
on this, and it is hard to come by, don't drink it now!
and cherries on a very lovely nose. This dark
purple/red wine is extremely rich and concentrated with
some stringent tannins and acidity that definitely need
time to mellow out. It has an excellent, very long
fullfilling finish. Even though I cheated and decanted
this wine an hour before everyone came, it still could
have used a half a day in the decanter. Lots of
pedigree and cellar worthiness. If you get your hands
on this, and it is hard to come by, don't drink it now!
| About $76.00 |
| Score A- |
| Sebastiani 2003 Alexander Valley - Sonoma, California |
Notes – A great nose with caramel, toast, chocolate
and cherries. Fantastic smelling. More of a lighter
violet/red in color, this wine boasts on the palate an
assortment of black currants, cherries and minty
chocolate with a very nice finish. What can I say really
about Sebastiani. They are pretty much the model of
consistency when it comes to making solid wines. 2003
wasn't even a good vintage in California, but you could
have fooled us with this wine! This and the Plumpjack
finished a couple of points higher than the Mettler and
it came within a mere .19 of a point from being the top
wine in the tasting.
and cherries. Fantastic smelling. More of a lighter
violet/red in color, this wine boasts on the palate an
assortment of black currants, cherries and minty
chocolate with a very nice finish. What can I say really
about Sebastiani. They are pretty much the model of
consistency when it comes to making solid wines. 2003
wasn't even a good vintage in California, but you could
have fooled us with this wine! This and the Plumpjack
finished a couple of points higher than the Mettler and
it came within a mere .19 of a point from being the top
wine in the tasting.
| Around $30.00 |
| Score A- |
| Mettler 2006 - Lodi, California |
Notes – A deep red wine with currant and cigar box
aromas. A nice full body on the palate. The flavors are
held in check until you arrive at the finish where they
really take off in a mocha and leafy tobacco direction.
It's interesting to note that I don't recall anyone
exclaiming that this was their favorite or one of the
best, but unlike the remaining wines in the tasting
everyone agreed it was pretty good and there were no
haters. I think it is a very good Cab for the price range.
aromas. A nice full body on the palate. The flavors are
held in check until you arrive at the finish where they
really take off in a mocha and leafy tobacco direction.
It's interesting to note that I don't recall anyone
exclaiming that this was their favorite or one of the
best, but unlike the remaining wines in the tasting
everyone agreed it was pretty good and there were no
haters. I think it is a very good Cab for the price range.
| Score A- |
| About $25.00 |
| Cayuse 2006 Widowmaker "en Chamberlin Vineyard - Walla Walla, Washington |
Notes – Deep red with a heavy leafy tobacco and
earthy aroma. Rich with cherry, tobacco, bitter
chocolate and caramel, this wine is big, complex and
earthy in a good way. If you ever had one of Cayuse's
Syrah's, there is no mistaken that this is one of their
wines. Kind of Bordeaux like in structure and profile.
Because it was so different from all of the other cabs,
you had many that loved, like me and others that did
not care for this style.
earthy aroma. Rich with cherry, tobacco, bitter
chocolate and caramel, this wine is big, complex and
earthy in a good way. If you ever had one of Cayuse's
Syrah's, there is no mistaken that this is one of their
wines. Kind of Bordeaux like in structure and profile.
Because it was so different from all of the other cabs,
you had many that loved, like me and others that did
not care for this style.
| Score B+ |
| Around $65.00 |
| Benziger 2006 - Sonoma, California |
Notes – Kind of a reddish purple in color it smells a
little green or herbal on the nose. Typical olive and
currant cabernet flavors on the palate, but not very
deep or complex with a short finish. This was one
person's favorite wine of the evening. It was not my
style, it tasted as if they picked the grapes a little too
early for my liking.
little green or herbal on the nose. Typical olive and
currant cabernet flavors on the palate, but not very
deep or complex with a short finish. This was one
person's favorite wine of the evening. It was not my
style, it tasted as if they picked the grapes a little too
early for my liking.
| About $20.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Wild Heart Winery 2002 - Knights Valley, Sonoma, California |
Notes – Brickish red, no doubt due to it's age with an
interesting blend of mocha/chocolate and sweet
vegetal overtones. On the palate, it is a little green,
but in a good way with minty loam, cherry and a long
finish. Personally, this was my second favorite wine of
the evening. I just found it really interesting. Many
also shared my sentiment on the wine, but others
absolutely hated it. I had never heard of this winery
before, that was pretty cool!
interesting blend of mocha/chocolate and sweet
vegetal overtones. On the palate, it is a little green,
but in a good way with minty loam, cherry and a long
finish. Personally, this was my second favorite wine of
the evening. I just found it really interesting. Many
also shared my sentiment on the wine, but others
absolutely hated it. I had never heard of this winery
before, that was pretty cool!
| Around $58.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Kendall - Jackson 2005 Grand Reserve - Sonoma, California |
| About $30.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Raymond 2005 Reserve - Napa, California |
| About $28.00 |
| Score B |
Notes – Ruby red with more of a dominant oaky cedar
and tobacco nose. It was a soft wine with fuzzy tannins
and lots of layers like black olive and currants. The
finish is where it went wrong as it was a little short.
That being said, I was shocked that this wine placed
near the bottom because I thought it was pretty solid.
Not sure why so many jumped off of this wine. Seeing
Kendall Jackson on the label, it actually exceeded my
expectations.
and tobacco nose. It was a soft wine with fuzzy tannins
and lots of layers like black olive and currants. The
finish is where it went wrong as it was a little short.
That being said, I was shocked that this wine placed
near the bottom because I thought it was pretty solid.
Not sure why so many jumped off of this wine. Seeing
Kendall Jackson on the label, it actually exceeded my
expectations.
Notes – This wine has a garnet hue. The nose is full of
menthol and almost medicinal. Not balanced at all with
short finish. Oh Raymond...where have you gone
wrong? This winery and wine used to be among Leslie
and I's all-time favorites, but they have made a turn
for the worse.
menthol and almost medicinal. Not balanced at all with
short finish. Oh Raymond...where have you gone
wrong? This winery and wine used to be among Leslie
and I's all-time favorites, but they have made a turn
for the worse.
It is hard to believe but it had been a
Cabernet Sauvignon wines. So what
better way to kick off our 2009 Tasting
Report season than a review of the king
of red wines. Our Cabs for this report
were almost entirely comprised of
California wines with one lone exception
coming from Washington State. The
top two wines were separated from the
rest of the pack in their scores and
extremely close in point total, almost
tied actually. With a difference in price
of about $46.00 you can make up your
own mind as to which one is the better
deal. The rest of the wines were all
reasonably close together in their
respective scores.
Since I had the day off to prepare, I
really went overboard preparing a feast
for everyone and blended two different
cultures into one meal. I had roasted
two Moroccan Spiced Chickens and
Mediterranean styled vegetables. Then
had two different pastas, a sun-dried
tomato pesto rigatoni and a Cajun
Alfredo tortellini along with a Caesar
salad and some Bleu Cheese & Honey
bruscetta. I guess you could say I had
plenty of time on my hands. The
feedback from the crowd was pretty
good so I feel okay with how it turned
out, but I made enough to feed a small
army and will no doubt be eating the
leftovers all week.
I think this tasting once again
re-affirmed to us all that Cabernet
Sauvignon is still one of our sentimental
favorite wines. I thoroughly enjoyed
most of the cabs in our tasting and
would not hesitate to recommend all but
say one or two of them. The Plumpjack
wine is really for people that collect
wines. Obviously you are not going to
open a $76.00 bottle of wine every night
of the week for dinner, but I still
thought it might be fun to see if it was
really that much better than the less
expensive Cabs. Despite it placing first,
I am not sure that we resolved that
argument with this tasting. Maybe you
should be the judge of that.
Cabernet Sauvignon wines. So what
better way to kick off our 2009 Tasting
Report season than a review of the king
of red wines. Our Cabs for this report
were almost entirely comprised of
California wines with one lone exception
coming from Washington State. The
top two wines were separated from the
rest of the pack in their scores and
extremely close in point total, almost
tied actually. With a difference in price
of about $46.00 you can make up your
own mind as to which one is the better
deal. The rest of the wines were all
reasonably close together in their
respective scores.
Since I had the day off to prepare, I
really went overboard preparing a feast
for everyone and blended two different
cultures into one meal. I had roasted
two Moroccan Spiced Chickens and
Mediterranean styled vegetables. Then
had two different pastas, a sun-dried
tomato pesto rigatoni and a Cajun
Alfredo tortellini along with a Caesar
salad and some Bleu Cheese & Honey
bruscetta. I guess you could say I had
plenty of time on my hands. The
feedback from the crowd was pretty
good so I feel okay with how it turned
out, but I made enough to feed a small
army and will no doubt be eating the
leftovers all week.
I think this tasting once again
re-affirmed to us all that Cabernet
Sauvignon is still one of our sentimental
favorite wines. I thoroughly enjoyed
most of the cabs in our tasting and
would not hesitate to recommend all but
say one or two of them. The Plumpjack
wine is really for people that collect
wines. Obviously you are not going to
open a $76.00 bottle of wine every night
of the week for dinner, but I still
thought it might be fun to see if it was
really that much better than the less
expensive Cabs. Despite it placing first,
I am not sure that we resolved that
argument with this tasting. Maybe you
should be the judge of that.