Cabernet Sauvignon

All of Sauska's blends are named after prime numbers as a testament to their uniqueness.  The lower the number, the better the wine.  This one is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 21% Merlot.  It is aged 4 months in used French oak and two months is bottle prior to release.  Ruby in color with purple swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, tobacco, plums and black pepper.  14% ABV.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the cherries come thru along with the black pepper and slight tobacco underneath.  Nice balance.  Smooth and easy drinking.  Mild tannins.

Beautiful showing for this stalwart of Napa.  What a great vintage.  Consumed over two nights, it was even better on night 2.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is classic with cassis, black cherries, cedar, leather and spice.  Full bodied.  On the palate, lots of cassis and black cherry fruit with an underlying dry earthiness.  Still a fair amount of oak and tannins - it is young.  This should get better over the next five years and drink well for ten to twelve after that.  That said, it is delicious today.  Given the price of Napa Cabs, at MSRP of $48, this is priced attractiv

This is the new venture from Cameron Hughes.  He buys lots of juice that wineries can't or don't want to try to sell, and repackages the juice and sells at a steep discount.  One can guess where the grapes are from, but it is never announced.  The wines are sold thru a daily e-mail but they recently added a store on their site for unsold wines.  I am skeptical about buying wine that is advertised as "really being X" or "declassified X" but these wines are not expensive and I thought I would give it a go.  This is one of their higher priced wines at about $21 delivered.  Overall, I am happy

I love Realm wines and this might be my favorite.  A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, slight chocolate and tobacco with some cedar.  This is a very accessible vintage for this wine.  Full bodied.  On the palate, cassis and black cherries, with some forest floor notes.  Firm tannins.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This drinks very Bordeaux-like for a Napa Cab.  It will still mature and like improve over the next ten to fifteen years and drink well for another ten to fifteen after that.  A nice wine

This is 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Merlot.  Purple in color, slight ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, some very smooth oak and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, there is a nice depth and complexity her.  Good acidity.  This is a really elegant wine that is just delicious.  It should continue to mature and perhaps improve over the next seven to ten years and drink well for fifteen more.  This would be a great steakhouse wine but will work well with a burger, too.  

Wow.  An amazing wine.  This is only sold in Magnums.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, iodine, graphite, slight earthiness, and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  For all of its power, however, this is not a bomb or monster wine.  There is a lovely elegance to this as it expands to coat the palate.  Flavors of cassis, slight blueberries, cherries with lots of concentration and depth.  Underlying minerality with a slight char.  Great energy and balance.  Long finish.  And, delicious.  This wine is young and will continue to mature and evolve for t

Another new winery for me.  This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Stage Coach Vineyard.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with cassis, black cherries, baking spices and a dry earthiness.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is really concentrated and intense but not a bomb in any way.  Black cherry fruit leads with some cassis notes.  There is a dry rocky, earthy under it all.  Medium tannins.  Nice finish.  This drinks well now but will continue to improve for three to five years.  It will drink well on its own, but will be better with hearty, fatty foods but also ro

A new winery for me.  Wowza!  Of course, this is also a great vintage.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, baking spices, and slight chocolate.  Full bodied with a lovely lush texture.  On the palate, lots of lush fruit without being a fruit bomb.  Medium tannins.  Delicious.  Still young and primary, it is hard to see where it goes, but I suspect it ages beautifully over the next twenty years or more.  While patience will be rewarded, there will be no regrets opening one now.  Probably better on its own now, as it ages it will work great w