Wine Each Week – Flora Springs 2017 Trilogy

There has been a move in recent years for Napa Cabernet to become overly sweet, overly ripe and overly oaked. This trend defies what great Napa Cabernets are supposed to be. Enter Flora Springs Trilogy, which has long been a stalwart of how good red blended and wines can be. Predominately Cabernet Sauvignon with 17% Petite Verdot, and 3% Malbec, this wine spent nearly two years in barrel on mainly new French Oak.

What you get, and what you want, are those dark ruby fruits like blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry, light tobacco and plum - those elements that are traditional for growing Cabernet in Northern California. Trilogy also offers a mild but subversive acidity and the judicious use of oak so that the drinking experience is not based on one element. Trilogy offers a combination of rich dark fruits with some red fruits, a nice acidity, a proper pH balance and oak that smooth’s out the edges.

5,500 cases

ORIGIN: Napa Valley

ALCOHOL: 14.8%

PRICE: $85 (750ML)

SCORE: 91 POINTS

Flora Springs

Wine Each Week: 2016 Flora Springs Trilogy

Most every major Cabernet Sauvignon producer in Napa has their flagship wine and for Flora Springs, it is Trilogy, which first appeared in 1984. Trilogy has an emphasis on New French Oak and if you love that luxurious, smooth, comforting type of wine, this certainly will play well on your table. The fruit comes from Oakville, St. Helena, and Rutherford so though subtle, it offers some of the best grapes from quality growing regions.

The 2016 iteration offers up rich black berry, blueberry, boysenberry and black cherry notes, along with vanilla, white pepper, cinnamon and subtle notes of amber, sugared almonds and black strap molasses, chaparral and cocoa. Trilogy is comprised mainly of Cabernet Sauvignon, with just 8% Petite Verdot and 6% Malbec. Aged 20 months with mostly French Oak it accentuates what many Napa Cabs strive for, a balance on fruit, food and place.

ORIGIN: Napa Valley, California

ALCOHOL: 13.5%

PRICE: $85/ 750ML

SCORE: 91 POINTS

FLORA SPRINGS