Saturday, December 18, 2010

2007 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville)

(from CLONYC 21)

Hold onto your seats. This one is the ride of a lifetime. Its pure cab explosiveness on the nose. When I opened it at about 3pm my kitchen filled with its fragrant beauty. When poured later on it gained weight. Probably the most mouth coating wine I have ever experienced. Dark and ominous with goby layers of lush exotic fruits. Black cassis, crème de kirsch, pomegranate, and more. Deep and expressive--long and luxurious. An incredible balance with multi-faceted tannins and a lilty acidity. Wow. 7 Wine of the flight votes. 96pts

2007 Virage Vineyards (USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros)

Simply put: What a beautiful wine. Pop and pour. This has pretty hue of purple tinged crimson. The nose showed some bing cherries, red raspberries and red plums. A multi-layered joy to behold that just kept giving, this was bright and lively on the palate. There was zero of the negative stuff CF can have. Perfectly balanced and lilty with a purity and focus that tip toes over bind-boggling, this was a lite to mid-weight wine initially but after about an hour this gained some weight as well as some black fruits of currants and black plum. A luscious and plush CF blend that has structure, breed and elegance. It crescendos into a long opulent finish. Fantastic. (94 pts.)