Thief Wine Blog

Who knew people in Wisconsin would let a little snow affect their plans so much? After the great response for last week’s Bordeaux blanc tasting, I thought a California Cabernet tasting would be huge, but with light snow throughout the day (we ended up with only about 3-4 inches, though I think outlying areas got hit worse) the market was quiet during the day, and we got only 5 – that’s right, 5 – people for the tasting. Terry and Mary, Roger and Todd, and Richard, we thank you for braving the elements.

The theme was Napa vs. Sonoma – we did four wines 1 from each region at $15-$20, one at $50ish. I’ve always been biased towards Sonoma, finding them more elegant and balanced, and when tasting the wines Tuesday preferred both the Sonoma wines. (Of course, I liked the Napa wines as well; I’d tasted them and thought them each great exemplars for the style and a good value for the price, otherwise we wouldn’t carry them; they’re just not what I personally prefer drinking.). To be completely honest, though, I think California Cabernet is really boring. The wines showed well, and the Cinq Cepages was excellent, but none of them excited me. If I could get people to try high-end Spanish wine or Cab-based blends from Bolgheri in Tuscany, I’d happily cut down my Napa Cab section to a sliver. But it’s not about me, it’s about what people want and finding the best and most distinctive wines of that style.

The wines:

First was Pavilion’s 2006 Napa Valley Cab. Sauv ($13.95): As with just about all moderately priced Napa Cabs, this is sourced from several vineyards, depending on what’s available. Very easy drinking for a Cab, medium-bodied, brighter red fruit (as opposed to black fruit) than I’d expect, not a lot of tannins.  Good balance, a definite crowd-pleaser. Varietally correct enough for those who like Cab, accessible enough for those who dont.

Next was Hobo 2006 Alexander Valley Cab ($19.95). A definite step up. More structured and sophisticated, but with moderate alcohol and not a lot of overt wood. Rich, yet clean. We do well with this wine, and the quality shows. As far as I know, we’re the only place that has this wine: I’ve liked it since we opened, and when I found out the distributor was running low a few weeks ago I bought everything they had.

On the high end, we started with the Chateau St. Jean 2004 Cinq Cepages Cabernet from Sonoma County ($44.95). I got a great deal on this wine; normally I’d have to sell it for about $60 (the winery currently offers it for $75), but because we’ve got a tavern wine license (because of the wine bar) we have access torestaurant-only deals. This is a sneaky wine – on first sip it doesn’t overwhelm you, but it’s got a lot going on and keeps getting better in the glass. Dark fruit, licorice, spicy oak, a hint of leather, good acidity, and exquisite balance. In a comparative tasting, this might not show as well as the Faust because it doesn’t leap out in a crowd, but if I were going to share a bottle, I’d much rather have this. As I said, I don’t drink much CA Cab when I’m off the clock, but this is a very nice wine for its ilk.

Final wine: Faust 2005 Napa Valley Cab ($49.95). The second label of Quintessa, Faust is meant to be an expression of the grape (whereas Quintessa is an expresison of terroir, at more than twice the price). It’s full-throttle Napa Cab, with big dark black currant flavors, spicy oak, and a rich mouthfeel. Very well made for the style; if you want a big Napa Cab at $50, I think this one offers the most bang for the buck.

(And we’re really, really hoping that people  will still be wanting $50 wines, at least once in a while.)

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 8:46 pm and is filed under Wine Tasting Notes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.