#newwinethisweek Week 32 – Californian Cabernet Sauvignon #NWTW on tour!
It looks like the first week of #newwinethisweek on tour has been a big hit, with Californian Chardonnay making a move towards the top of the #newwinethiseeek charts. This week we’re staying in California and going for something red. I though about Pinot, and wanted to go for Pinot, but its just not that easy to get hold of in the UK; so were going for Cabernet Sauvignon this week (we did Zin back in Week 16).
Stagg’s Leap; winner of the 1976 Judgement of Paris
I’m not going to repeat myself too much as I wrote a lullaby to Californian Cab earlier this week; but seriously you lot, give it a go and see how elegant and brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon from California can be. It will also be interesting to see how Cali Cab fares against Aussie Coonawarra Cab, which we did back in week 14 and is the best performing red wine so far!
Here’s the link to my recent article on Cali Cab, and a few recommendations from the UK – it may cost a few quid more than usual, but seriously, it will be worth it…
Napa Cab – Forget everything you think you know!
Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet 2012, Napa Valley (Tesco £12.99)
First Press Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Napa Valley (Waitrose £16.99)
Sand Point Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Napa Valley (M&S £10.99)
Pedroncelli Dry Creek Valley Three Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (The Wine Society £9.95)
Viano Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Contra Costa County (Roberson £14.95)
And if you really fancy spoiling yourself (Mr Stevens go for the real thing!)
Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Roberson £59.95)
I will never get bored of that photo of me with Cathy Corison!
Go wild and let us know your thoughts… And be a bit Californian and say something nice this week!
PS. Hemmingway once said its best to write drunk and edit sober… I was battered when I wrote this last night after a game of Tasting Room-Tag in Healdburg!
Posted on August 11, 2014, in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
Confessions of a Wine Geek
Reblogged this on Please Bring Me My Wine and commented:
Ant’s bringing out the big guns for the last week in California!
I know how J R Hartley must’ve felt now looking everywhere for ‘Fly Fishing’ all those years ago. It’s taken me 3 days and 4 different supermarkets before I found a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon!! I know American wine is generally difficult to get this side of the pond but this was ridiculous. It’s typical-Anthony’s literally drowning in the stuff on holiday and I can’t find one for love nor cash over here!
Fair play to him though, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying his regular updates from all the Cali wineries-they sound a lot of fun and totally un-stuffy; I couldn’t imagine a French chateau’s tasting room having a set of record decks and accompanying tunes somehow!!
So I (finally) managed to get hold of a bottle of 2012 Emergence Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Marks & Spencer for £14.00. It’s actually 75% Cab Sav, 20% Malbec and the rest Petit Verdot, so not the classic Bordeaux blend for a direct comparison-the Judgement of Hanwell will have to wait for another time!
I wasn’t expecting a huge amount from this wine purely because in my experience you have to pay at least 20 quid over here for a decent bottle of American wine. Though if you are going to get a good supermarket version for less, M & S would be a good bet, they’ve won IWC supermarket of the year 2 years running now and do tend to source some very fine producers for their own ranges.
The appearance is a deep purple tint while the nose is relatively restrained. I decanted it for an hour or so and managed to get it to open up a touch. There are sweet black cherries on the nose with a slight whiff of eucalyptus. It’s sturdy and austere on the palate with tacky tannins that could probably benefit from a few years of softening, though the acidity cuts through quick enough. The oak the label promises is hard to detect but there is a slight showing of vanilla on the end.
This is a sound American wine for the price, and reminds me of a young Chilean or Aussie Cab Sav rather than anything old world. I reckon you’d need to go to a specialist merchant and spend some more sterling to get something to get really excited about.
I’ll just have to wait for the cracking bottle that I’m sure Ant’s bringing back for me!!
A fair to middlin 6/10.
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