Today’s selection is a 2005 Cabernet from Joel Gott. This one differs from most of the other Cabernet’s this week in that it’s a blend sourced from several diverse areas of California. Fruit from Napa, Sonoma, Lodi & Lake County went into this wine. It was aged for 15 months in a combination of French and American oak. Just over 9,000 cases of this wine were produced and it retails at $17.

The diversity of fruit really helps make a wine of wide-ranging character and appeal. The first thing apparent is a bouquet of candied black cherries that just explode in your nose. The first couple sips of this wine are tart and tight but it opens up and smooths itself out very quickly. There is an absolute ton of dark, jammy fruit up front that leads to a huge rich mouth-filling mid-palate. The finish features some mocha notes that are underpinned by tingly white pepper. Joel Gott’s 2005 California Cabernet is lush and the finish is hefty and substantial. The wine has good acidity and is well balanced. The rich heady fruit makes it very much the New World wine that it is. It has easy drink-ability and sufficient complexity to make it interesting and a bit thought provoking. This wine will pair very well with BBQ and grilled meats in general. It also drinks very well on it’s own.

For $17 I found this wine to be a very good value. It over-delivers for the price-point. Definitely recommended for fans of fruit driven wines that envelope the palate. Joel Gott is probably best known for his Zinfandels. This Cabernet shows that his other offerings are well worth a look too.

Coming Tomorrow: A Single vineyard Cabernet from Wellington Vineyards.

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Up today are two offerings from Martin & Weyrich of Paso Robles California. Admittedly, I am a huge fan of the Paso Robles region in general. I find that by and large there are many noteworthy wines of distinction coming out of this area. Not only do many of them stand out stylistically, they are also often available at bargain prices compared to wines of similar quality from say Napa or Sonoma.

Having started in 1981 Martin & Weyrich is amongst the earliest wineries from the area. Their portfolio reads like the United Nations of Wine. Italian and Spanish varietals are a large part of what they do right alongside Bordeaux offerings such as Cabernet Sauvignon. There are precious few U.S. Wineries that even make Tempranillo, let alone a dry Rosé of Tempranillo. That’s but one example of their diversity.

The first of their two Cabernet’s that I looked at is called “Etrusco.” 15% Sangiovese was blended in and it spent 18 months in 50% new French oak. 3,100 cases of this wine were produced and it’s retail price is $22. I found this wine to need a solid hour in the decanter to really show all it’s true colors. Initially it had some tartness but that dissipated. The nose is full of black raspberry and earthy mushroom aromas. The first sip reveals toasted cherry flavors that follow through to the mid-palate along with substantial pepper and overall spice elements. The finish features some white pepper notes and clings to the back of the throat for a noticeable amount of time. “Etrusco” is well balanced with terrific acidity. It’s clear that the Sangiovese blended in really helps balance this wine and make it very approachable. This wine works very well with pasta and red sauce as well as fairly strong cheeses.

For $22 this wine is a certainly worth it in my opinion. What I most enjoyed about this wine is it’s combination of bright and dark fruit flavors which makes it very easy to drink. That said, this wine has quite a bit going including firm tannins, suggesting a respectable shelf life if stored properly.

The second Martin & Weyrich Cabernet offering is also from 2003. This one is however 100% varietal. Additionally it spent two full years in 80% new French oak. Fruit was sourced exclusively at the Weyrich Family Ranch and production was limited to 500 cases. Retail price is $35.

Giving this wine time to breathe is even more essential than with the other selection. The nose offers up chocolate dipped raspberries. The first sip reveals significant tannins, earthiness and kirsch liquor. The mid-palate is big, round and mouth-filling with a ton more cherry fruit and mushroom laced earthiness. The finish is long and lingering with more berry fruit and substantial spice flavors that go on and on. While this wine is quite enjoyable now, especially after sufficient time breathing, it will improve with age, perhaps dramatically. I would anticipate the already present earthiness to become a greater focus as the fruit and tannins soften. The winery expects this wine to age ten years and that would not surprise me. I think that if you tuck a couple away now you’ll be pretty happy in 5 or so years when you pull one out for an occasion. At the moment this wine would be a great match for a steak or other equally hearty foods.

At $35 this wine is actually a bargain. No it’s probably not a wine most can have with leftovers on Wednesday night very often. But it is a tremendously good wine with excellent aging potential. Cabernet Sauvignon of equal quality from Napa would easily cost twice what this wine does. What I liked most about this wine was it’s range of flavors and complexity for the price.

Both Cabernets from Martin & Weyrich impressed me. They are distinct wines and each offers value in it’s price category.

Cabernet Sauvignon Week continues with a wine from Joel Gott coming up next. 

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Today’s selection is the final Cabernet for the week in the value category. The Castillo de Molina Cabernet is from Curico Valley. This is estate fruit grown in Vina San Pedro’s vineyards. Castillo de Molina is one of Vina San Pedro’s second labels. For those not familiar with them, Vina San Pedro’s flagship Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the best coming out of Chile year in and year out. For my money it often runs neck and neck with the legendary Don Melchor.

This Cabernet spent a year in a combination of French and American oak barrels. 30% of the barrels used are new. The first whiff of this wine reveals vanilla and blueberries. After the wine opens up a bit some mocha and cherry notes also emerge from the nose.  The palate shows some toasty oak layered on top of berry flavors. This wine is very light bodied for a Cabernet. It features a firm acidity and the tannins present are soft and round. The Molina has no hard edges and certainly goes down smoothly. The finish features some spicy white pepper notes. The finish is a touch below average. This wine should be paired up with lighter food than the average Cabernet Sauvignon. Mild cheeses and roasted chicken are 2 items that come to mind which would work well.

I found previous vintages of this wine to be more impressive. The 2003 in particular was excellent in it’s price category. The retail price of this wine is around $11. If you shop around you can find it for a couple of dollars less. At around $9 it’s an OK buy. I would not expect this wine to improve in the bottle. However it should drink as it does now for 3-5 years. Without question, of the three value priced Cabernets I looked at this week, the Guenoc is hands down the best value.

Up Next: Two selections from Martin & Weyrich

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The second selection for Cabernet week is from Guenoc in Lake County California. Guenoc is a sub label of Langtry Estate & Vineyards. Lake County is an up and coming area in California about 60 miles north of San Francisco. Some interesting wines at very fair prices are emerging from this area.

Guenoc’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is blended with 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Petite Sirah. This wine spent 20 months in a combination of French and American oak barrels. The nose of the Guenoc Cabernet has lots of dark blackberry fruit and a touch of tobacco. It takes about 45 minutes in  the decanter for this wine to open up fully. Once it does the first sip reveals generous spice notes, especially pepper and more dark fruit characteristics. The finish is of medium length and there is some white pepper that coats the back of the throat as it closes out. It’s lighter bodied than a typical Cabernet which lends itself to pleasurable sipping on it’s own. I also expect this wine to go well with pasta and red sauce as well as a variety of cheeses.

Retail price on the Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon is $12, putting it in the value category. A quick look at wine-searcher.com shows it can generally be found for under $10. It’s certainly a solid value in that price category. I’d expect this wine to have at least 5 years of life ahead of it.

Coming tomorrow: Castillo de Molina, the weeks final entry in the value category. 

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First up for Cabernet Sauvignon week is a value priced offering from Chile. Over the years I’ve had good luck in finding some terrific values for my money with wines coming from South America. And Maipo Valley, where this selection hails from, has been a specific source of some of my favorite Chilean finds over time. In general I have often been able to find Chilean wines with a great earthiness to them, which is appealing to me.

The 2005 Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in a combination of American oak and stainless steal vats for 8 months. This one is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose features mostly black fruit characteristics along with subtler anise and a bit of clove. The first sip out of the bottle was tart and tight. The mid-palate has some dust and earth on it along with dark berry and soft tannins. Even after breathing the finish showed some tartness along with a few white pepper notes. That finish however is well below average in length. After the bottle is open for an hour or so and the initial tartness dissipates as do most of the other limited flavor notes this wine features. In fact, what little fruit it has seems to disappear rather quickly and be replaced by an unfortunate vegetal quality that isn’t appealing.

Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Resevra has a retail price in the neighborhood of $12. If you look around though you can find it for about $9. Unfortunately with all the values coming out of Chile it’s very easy for me to say that this wine simply isn’t worth your money. Way too many South American producers are providing more bang for the buck in this category. This particular wine is one to avoid.

Coming tomorrow a review of a Guenoc Lake County California Cabernet Sauvignon

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Tomorrow marks the beginning of Cabernet Sauvignon Week. Each day one or two cab’s will be looked at closely. The list of wines scheduled for coverage include (not necessarily in this order):

Santa Rita – A Chilean Wine in the value category.

Guenoc – A California wine from emerging Lake County in the value category.

Wellington - A single vineyard wine from Sonoma County California.

Martin & Weyrich- Two selections from this venerable Paso Robles, California producer.

Mollydooker - A rising star from Australia in the $20 range.

Castillo de Molina - A Chilean producer with a value priced entry.

Joel Gott- A wine priced in the teens and sourced from several prime California AVA’s

Tara Bella- A single vineyard, limited production wine from Sonoma.

Mondavi- A look at what this seminal Napa winery is offering in Cabernet for around $20.

and more….