The 2004 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is the last wine from Clos La Chance I'll be covering this week. Their Petite Sirah will be included in my coverage of that great varietal later 
in the month during Petite Sirah Week.
As the name indicates this wine is from Clos La Chance's Estate Series. Cabernet Sauvignon represents 93% of this wine with Cabernet Franc making up the rest. 60% of the wine spent 27 months in new French Oak with 30% in 1 year French Oak. A modest 800 cases of this wine were bottled and it's suggested retail price is $40.
The Clos La Chance Estate Cabernet's nose opens brimming with leather, cedar and casis notes. That nose, no doubt elevated by the Cabernet Franc makes an impressive first impression. Dark berry and mocha present themselves from the first sip and carry onward to the mid palate which also adds in some earthiness and spice in the form of white pepper. That mid palate is big, round, rich and mouth-filling. Black pepper and additional earthiness by way of mushroom notes come out in the smooth, elegant finish. This is a nice big Cabernet Sauvignon that cries out for a steak or perhaps lamb chops to pair with it.
There is a present but approachable tannic structure to this wine. It's drinkable right out of the bottle but a little time in the decanter is definitely suggested to allow it to blossom properly. This wine has the stuffing to evolve nicely and drink well for quite a few years. I'd guess it has at least 7-10 years of life ahead of it. In that time I'd expect what is already a present earthiness to emerge closer to the forefront.
Well made, age-worthy Cabernet Sauvignon isn't inexpensive. For $40 I feel this wine is priced fairly. As with the other Clos La Chance wines I looked at this week, it's well balanced and food friendly.
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