Wine Each Week – 2015 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon/Rutherford

There are two kinds of Napa Cabernet. Those that reflect the iconic traditional style of Napa Cab and have been for decades…and everything else. In the last number of years many stalwart Napa producers have gone for over ripe fruit, extracted wines and a homogenized style that offers nothing unique. On the plus side, wineries like Freemark Abbey have retained the iconic Napa style. What sets their 2015 Rutherford Cabernet apart is the sheer seamless-ness of the wine, deftly pulling together oak, fruit, wood, tannin and acidity to create an absolutely indulgent wine. With grapes from three separate Rutherford vineyards the result is classic blueberry, black berry, boysenberry, hints of black cherry, plum, lingonberry and those “dusty” tannins Rutherford is famous for, not to mention subtle signs of mocha and sweet tobacco. Nearly 27 months in barrel (just under 60% was new French oak) has helped create a gorgeous wine, the kind of drinking experience you never rush through, but savor because you don’t want the bottle to end too quickly.

ORIGIN: Rutherford AVA, Napa Valley

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

PRICE: $70/ 750ML

SCORE: 95 POINTS

FREEMARK ABBEY

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

The Sacred and the Profane - Why Write About Wines You Cannot Try?

I am asked constantly about why I include tasting notes in articles I write about wines that most everyone will never be able to try, let alone afford. Valid question. For example at Champagne Bollinger in 2016 not only did I taste through an amazing lineup that included the highly regarded 1955 vintage, but also the 1928 and the 1914, and no, those are no longer on the market and you can't find them anywhere. Earlier this year I met with Rupert Symington and tasted through many of his Ports including the 1970 and 1980 Vintage Ports. In the last few weeks I sat down and tasted the 1975 Georges De Latour from BV and their 2013 Rarity - sold in magnum with only 1,500 bottles made (at $1,250 a magnum.)

I understand it is maddening for some people, but we are curious creatures. We possess a desire to know things; even things we have no intention of doing. It’s why we read about travel to places we probably will never visit, or watch TV specials about divers who uncover hidden treasures when we don't scuba dive, or look at our computer screens of images from far beyond space into distant galaxies where no human ever been.

We are creatures of habit, but more importantly we are creatures of curiosity. We want to feel like we are a part of something greater. I am part of a large wine community and I’m curious when my colleagues get to taste through Madeira from the late 1800s, or others are faced with a vertical of exclusive Napa Cabernets. I too drool over these experiences and I live vicariously through my friends who are wine writers, publishers, and sommeliers. Yes I am privy to some astonishing things, and many things I never get to try. Just because I will never drive a fancy high-performance vehicle doesn't mean I don't wonder what it might be like (I came close on the autobahn, but that was a rental car). It’s the same with wine.

So when it comes to the 2013 Kata Cabernet Sauvignon, the reality is most of you will never buy this at $165. Does that mean you’re not curious about it? Does it mean it should remain in the purview of the wealthy and exclusive? No, it should not. A little background: The fruit - 80% of which is Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% being Petite Sirah - comes from the Beckstoffer Bourn Vineyard in Saint Helena, which dates from 1872. Only 20 barrels of this were made.

It is as seductive, beguiling and moody as any wine I have come across. It offers typical Cabernet fruit (Napa typically provides rich dark berry fruit with secondary red fruit notes) but it is also wrapped in a cloak of noir-like elements - shadows and fog, light and dark, a sense of poetry, literally as Robert Louis Stevenson suggested, in the bottle. This is a wine to savor, one that transports you, carries you to another place, one that ignites the senses. Some wines do this. Most do not. The Kata Cab is truly a wonder. I hope that whatever opportunity comes your way - an amazing wine, a trip to faraway lands, coffee with an old friend - that you seize upon it. Our lives are often, at least partially, defined by these moments.

Friends...with Benefits

There’s nothing new about Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Many of the pre-eminent wines reach well over $100, $150 and beyond, which puts them out of the reach of the average consumer.  But what does said average consumer do when they want a true authentic Napa Valley Cabernet, say for a special occasion, or just because it’s Tuesday?

They should reach for the Amici Cellars 2010 Cabernet from Napa.

Loosely translated from the Latin “amici” means friends (seriously, I do think Jennifer Anniston would love this wine if she tried it). The grapes for this wine come from two specific places in Napa – Rutherford, best known for dusty rustic fruit, and Yountville known for it’s cooler influences which produces softer fruit and acidity. At $45 this Cab offers rich fruit flavors like blackberry, plum, and raspberry trailing off to cocoa and vanilla (from the French oak) with medium tannins and a pretty good finish – that slow unresolved flavor in the back of the mouth after you’ve swallowed your wine. So this friend furnishes many benefits. Though I rarely state decanting a wine or letting it breathe, this wine will definitely work better with at least 15 minutes of aeration in your glass before you consume it. Then, drink away and know you’ve had a terrific Napa Cabernet for less than half the cost of other versions. Value? Check. Tasty? Check. Friendly benefits? Double check. 

AMICI CELLARS 

ORIGIN: Napa Valley, California

PRICE: $45 / 750 ML

ALCOHOL: 14.5%

BOOZEHOUNDZ SCORE:  89 POINTS