Merryvale 2008 “Starmont” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jan 7, 2013 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

A rock-solid Napa Cab at a rock-solid price. The nose of pencil shavings, vanilla and toast promises great things to come, and it does deliver. The gritty tannic structure is balanced out by rich body of red and dark fruits with a finish of violet and spice. A very good example of how good Napa Cab can be without all the flair (and cost) of over extraction and oaky opulence.

Previous review: A stunning value for Cabernet Sauvignon. It hits all the right notes with verve. Cedar and burnt sage take the lead, followed by allspice and currant. Offers up controlled fruit that ranges toward the dark fruits, including plum. The finish accents a black olive and cassis quality. Very nice.

Erasmo 2006 Viña La Reserva de Caliboro, Maule Valley, Chile

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jun 25, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a bit of Merlot and Cabernet Franc for added finesse. Kirsch and pencil shavings with a touch of brine and wet earth. Wet tobacco and grass on the midpalate turns to soft and dark fruit on the finish.

Cabernet Sauvignon Smackdown

Posted by Keith Wallace on Jun 15, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

In an office cluttered with wine bottles, both full and empty, it’s hard not to think of myself as Mayor of Boozeville.  Every once in awhile, an editor will stroll in and talk shop. Someone else will poke in to pour themselves a glass or two. Other than those few moments, it’s just me and the wine for hours and hours.  It’s a lovely job writing wine reviews, but also a bit solitary: a drunken cage of corks, so to speak.

Today, there are more empty Cabernet bottles than anything else on my desk, and that is a very good thing.  A mentor of mine once told me that the best way to learn about wine was to pick a grape and dive in. That’s what I have done.

I have been drinking nothing but Cabernet Sauvignon from across the world: from Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley to South Africa. They all tasted dramatically different, yet each retained a “cab-ishness” quality. One of the most important things I remember from wine school was that each grape varietal has a unique fingerprint. For Cabernet Sauvignon, that fingerprint is an aroma of pencil shavings and green pepper. Sounds gross, but that’s the funny thing about great wine:  it unites crazy smells and flavor in surprisingly delicious ways.

The following are our current top picks. This list gets updated on a weekly and monthly schedule, so check back!

• Merryvale 2008 "Starmont" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.
• Erasmo 2006 Viña La Reserva de Caliboro, Maule Valley, Chile
  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.
• Cabernet Sauvignon Smackdown
  

  The top bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon reviewed at Epikur Magazine. From Tuscany to Bordeaux to Napa Valley and South Africa: This list includes the best of the best bottles of Cab Sauv currently available, and the ones with the best quality to price ratio.

• CrossBarn 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon
  

  The “CrossBarn” is remarkably similar to the “Paul Hobbs,” but at half the price. It is lush and dense with richly soft tannins, it stains the glass with a deep crimson. Full bodied, it offers up rich flavors of blackberry and burnt oak that are deeply embedded into a savory impression of fresh bay laurel and roses.

• Andrew Will Winery 2007 Two Blondes Vineyard
  

  Figs and cassis meld with coffee and campfire notes, along with a strong impression of Herbes de Provence. The midpalate brings in fresher red fruits, and serious oak-influenced flavors of chocolate and allspice. The finish rolls on and on, bringing more pleasure than anyone could expect from a glass of wine.

CrossBarn 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted by Keith Wallace on May 9, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 0 comments

The winemaker, Paul Hobbs, is one of the great masters of Cabernet Sauvignon, and his eponymously named wine is consistently one of the finest, vintage in and vintage out. It’s also one of the most sought-after Napa Valley wines, with a price tag to match. Its little brother, the CrossBarn, is one of the best kept secrets in California.

Fermented using indigenous yeasts, the Paul Hobbs Cabernet  is aged 20 months in French and American oak barrels and bottled unfined and unfiltered. He selects the best barrels to go the “Paul Hobbs” bottling. What most folks don’t know is that  Paul then makes another barrel selection, and  that goes into the “CrossBarn”.  The rest gets sold off to other wineries.

The “CrossBarn” is remarkably similar to the “Paul Hobbs,” but at half the price. It is lush and dense with richly soft tannins, it stains the glass with a deep crimson. Full bodied, it offers up rich flavors of blackberry and burnt oak that are deeply embedded into a savory impression of fresh bay laurel and roses.

Andrew Will Winery 2007 Two Blondes Vineyard

Posted by Keith Wallace on Apr 25, 2012 in Wine Reviews | 6 comments

Andrew Will Winery offers up a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and  Malbec from this estate vineyard in Washington’s Yakima Valley.

A remarkably complex offering, this wine offers a myriad of textures: from the dense opulence of the attack, to the freshness of the midpalate, to the velvet tannin of  the finish. The flavor profile is both sweet and savory.

Figs and cassis  meld with coffee and campfire notes, along with a strong impression of Herbes de Provence.  The midpalate brings in  fresher red fruits, and serious oak-influenced flavors of chocolate and allspice.  The finish rolls on and on, bringing more pleasure than anyone could expect from a glass of wine.