Friday, September 16 at Table Wine from 4-7pm – California Cabs – Old Versus New – $5 per person……..Free for Grape Nuts – We’re going to have a little fun this Friday at the store, as we pit two of California’s trusted and historic Cabernet Sauvignon producers against two up and comers…………and one mystery wine. All of the wines cost about the same price ($25 or less), and you will be asked to taste each one and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10. Will the old, experienced veterans win this battle or will the new kids on the block prevail? At the end of the night, I’ll tally the scores and announce the winner. Here are the wines we’ll sample, but don’t expect this to be the order they are served.
1. 2008 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California – The 2008 Cabernet from this iconic producer quite honestly surprised the heck out of me. Being that we like to focus on smallish family wineries, I was hesitant to add this to the roster until I tasted it. Full and dark fruited,this wine oozes class with its supple, sweetly fruited personality.
2. 2007 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California – Vintage 2007 was one of those in Napa where everything just kind of went right. Warm, sunny and dry conditions resulted in wines like this one which Robert Parker called “one of the great values in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.” It is full bodied and rather earthy and a bit more structured than the Mondavi, but there is no doubt that this is high class Napa Cab at a remarkable price.
3. 2007 Summers Cabernet Sauvignon “Andrianna’s Cuvée” Knights Valley, California – Ignacio “Nacho” Blancas crafts the wines from Summers, a small family operation with vineyards in Calistoga and just across the border in Sonoma in Knights Valley. Robert Parker says he “does a terrific job of getting maximum varietal character from these realistically priced wines.” I concur and I think that this is a lot of wine for the money.
4. 2008 Edge Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, California – Edge is the side project of Napa Valley veteran Ray Signorello, who makes monster Cabs for his own family named winery. Thank you Ray! This is a premium Napa Cab at a middle class price – it is deeply fruited and rich with lovely creme de cassis aromas and flavors along with vanilla and chocolate notes and spicy, toasty oak.
5. Mystery Wine – This one could be from California or Washington, Chile or Argentina, cheap or expensive. I’m not telling!