February seems both long ago, yet only recent, with both the rhythm of seasons and life partly frozen and confused by lockdowns. This tasting took place in Napa in February 2020. Writing in September 2020, in Melbourne, we remain in lockdown. In our city, this means being permitted only to travel up to 5 kilometres…Continue readingBordeaux 2015 in bottle tasting in Napa
Tag: Napa Valley
This is a delicious wine from Robert Mondavi in the Napa Valley. There are a few versions of this label available, but 2013 “Robert Mondavi Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon” has a very attractive fleshy texture, is ably supplemented by ripe (and not overripe) blackcurrant fruit and is a wine very much worth tracking down.…Continue readingRobert Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013
Napa cabernets are not that common in Australia, but they are a benchmark not to be overlooked. This wine, from Clos du Val, makes its first impression through bottle weight. Is there a bottle heavier than this for sale in the Australian market? Liberated from all that glass, the wine inside is really quite delicious.…Continue readingClos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 2010
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Caymus Vineyards Zinfandel 2012
This is the second vintage I have tasted of this producer’s zinfandel. The 2011 is reviewed here. As is zinfandel’s inclination, the alcohol has drifted up another 0.4% this year to a hefty 15.6%abv, but remarkably does so without incident. The 2012 vintage has aromatics of fresh and ripe boysenberry and blackberry, and is quite…Continue readingCaymus Vineyards Zinfandel 2012
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Clos du Val Merlot 2010
Clos du Val is a well known estate in the Napa Valley. Their 2010 merlot reminded me of a lighter style of Pomerol, with aromatics of plums, spice and red currants. The palate is quite elegant with medium length, fine grained tannins and flavours of spicy red currants and plum skins. This is a very…Continue readingClos du Val Merlot 2010
Sterling Vineyards’ 2011 cabernet sauvignon from the Napa Valley has aromatics that remind of plum and dark cherries, and is opulent in impression. The palate is balanced with flavours of plum, cloves and sweet black cherry. An easy to recommend wine. Rating: Good, Abv: 13.9%, Price: C$30, Vendors: http://www.wine-searcher.com/, Website: http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/, Tasted: 2014Continue readingSterling Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
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Caymus Vineyards Zinfandel 2011
Zinfandel is a grape variety that is very popular in California, but it isn’t seen much locally. This is certainly the highest quality zinfandel that I have tasted and you can safely take away that this variety can show very well in the right hands. Dark in colour, Caymus Vineyards’ 2011 zinfandel from the Napa…Continue readingCaymus Vineyards Zinfandel 2011
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Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
This is a well proportioned cabernet from Avalon in the Napa Valley. It has expressions of black cherry, bay leaf, ribena, dried herbs and cloves on the nose and palate. It is balanced and has medium length with some extract on the finish. A good classic cabernet. Rating: Good, Abv: 13.8%, Price: C$28.99, Vendors: http://www.wine-searcher.com/,…Continue readingAvalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
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Plume Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
This cabernet sauvignon from Plume in the Napa Valley has largely everything I want in a $30 wine, although this price is admittedly in Canadian dollars and so won’t benefit from Australia’s panoply of wine taxes. It has aromatics of black cherry and plums, but it is the palate that sings. Here, there is a…Continue readingPlume Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Caymus Vineyards have produced a very good cabernet sauvignon here from the Napa Valley. It has aromatics reminding of brooding pencil lead, blackcurrant and blackberry. The palate has flavours of blackcurrant, blackberry and restrained cedar wood. It has delicious tannins that are round and ripe, and these are accompanied by long length. This outstanding wine…Continue readingCaymus Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
There’s an appealing fleshy textural character that I find in some of the Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon wines that I find rarely in local cabernet sauvignon or Bordeaux wines. This cabernet sauvignon release from the Robert Mondavi winery has this character in spades. The aromatics remind of ribena, clove and vanilla. On the palate, there…Continue readingRobert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Few Napa Valley wines make their way to Australian shores, which is a pity, because I think there is merit in benchmarking Australian cabernet sauvignon to this important wine region as well as the more usual French comparisons. I spotted this particular cabernet sauvignon at a certain national retailer. Aromatics of wood spice and…Continue readingAtalon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009