World's End wines come east.

Some time back there was a vote done on WineBerserkers.com to send two lucky candidates a few samples from a new venture by Jonathan Maltus, the original ‘Garagiste’. A few weeks back I had received these bottles. It had always been my intention to share with a few Cab-head friends; last night we did so. These are all well made wines that will give joy to those who seek them out. A big ‘thanks’ to Jonathan Maltus for sending these east. All wines were pop and pour.

2008 Good Times, Bad Times Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard, Oakville, Napa An interesting nose that was indeed ‘To Kalon like’ on pop and pour. I got some intense and focused black fruits of cassis and blackberries with just a hint of Kirsch. There was a very interesting creme brulee quality to this with maybe an exotic note of pickle (dissipated quickly) and some black olives. The tannins were firm with a bit of grip but with nice balance. As this sat its structure tightened bit and became a wee bit less fragrant. A nice little bottle of wine with its roots firmly into the To Kalon vineyard

2008 Crossfire Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Initially I loved the way this busted from the glass into the nose. Slightly more black/blue in the fruit profile. This reminded me of a Coombsville Cab like say Realms ‘Farella’ offering. It was more plush and bigger/fuller in the middle. A very ethereal wine with lots to like. I also enjoyed the cola aspect it exhibited in the middle. As this sat it became a bit thin (1 hour. I popped and poured all of these). This placed as an early favorite. I really enjoyed this save for the behavior as it sat in the glass.

2008 Wavelength Sugarloaf Mountain, Napa A 50/50 Syrah Cab Franc blend. As with its two siblings, this was fragrant and pretty on the nose. I can honestly say it was like nothing I have ever had in my life. It was nicely balanced and intense with plenty of flowers, red and blue berries, cherries and red plum. I got a hint of white pepper and spice-box. I would love to try this on its own as I think it has much to offer, just not alongside the fragrant and plushy Crossfire.

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.)

2007 Jones Family The Sisters - USA, California, Napa Valley

My theory of pop & pour for all (most?) 2007s has been debunked.
I did pop and pour this. It was dark and viscous. The nose had some hidden black cassis, black cherry, camphor and black plums. This was very fragrant with a hint of violets and spring flowers. The Cab Franc made itself known. The palate had shown some gracefulness & purity right out of the gate. A very nice start--but after about an hour this evolved into a plushy refined, elegant & interesting wine. The fruits come more 'forward' as well. It was full and round with well woven tannins and an acidity that worked well with some challenging foods over lunch. Some sassafras, lead pencil and fresh rubbed leather all made an appearance as well. Nothing big and brash about this one, it fell in step with what I have come to expect from Jones Sisters in the past, having recently had every vintage since 2001.
A very decent finish that kept the fruit alive. Very nice indeed. Still one of the best QPRS in the valley. Started by Heidi, finished by Thomas, where could you go wrong? (93 pts.)

Taste Napa Valley- New York

These notes are from one of my favorite tastings of the year, the Taste Napa Valley tour, where I tasted no less than 65 great to wonderful wines, mostly King Cabernet variety himself. I have listed the high lights of the day here. More will follow.

1995 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon Library Selection- Fully matured with some bricking of the edges, this has some great aged cab notes of cassis, soy sauce, some earthiness, and a good dimension of red fruits throughout. Very admirable. 90/100

2005 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon- Great structure and showful, this has the crème de cassis and kirsch notes I enjoy with a full mouth feel that is plush, elegant and abrupt all at the same time. A great value in today’s world of runaway pricing. 93/100

2005 Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon Napa- Gorgeous fruit forward with a lush mouth feel. Dense currant with black cherry. A very beautiful wine 92/100

2005 Cornerstone Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain – Much darker than the Napa, no surprise. Less approachable and more densely packed, no surprise. Still a great wine to have in the cellar in about 2-4 years. 91/100

2004 Dutch Henry Winery Argos- A blend of 40cs, 35m and 25 cf this was deep and dark. The nose had a floral perfume and the mouth fell all elegance and style. Tons of pure cab cassis notes and a note of red cherries. Great 91/100

2006 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon- super dark cassis filled black cherry cola. Big bold and chewy tannin. 2 years will round this out and reward nicely 90/100

2005 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Napa- Nice and fragrant nose. The mouth feel is lush and super structured. Some black and red fruits of cassis, blackberries, and pomegranate. A wonderful Cella’s chocolate wrapped cherry note. Some anise and tar. A good long finish. 91/100

2005 Faust – Darkest blackest cherries and cola. Subdued nose. The palate has a silky feel. The tannins are big and angular. Nice acidity. A great second wine of Quintessa 91/100

2005 Frank Family Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve- One of the days highlights: Big and bold but stylish and classy. Dark crème de cassis notes with an ultra pure and showy style. The tannins are complex, this is a beautifully balance wine. I like showy. 93/100

2005 Gargiulo Vineyards Merlot Money Road Ranch- This is one of the darkest and purest Merlots I have ever encountered. Black cherries with caramel. Camphor, tar, and violets. Cabernet sized tannins. This is lush and pure and has a structure and balance that make this a real winner. 93/100

2005 Gargiulo Vineyards 575 OVX Cabernet Sauvignon (Not for general sale) – Jeff was pouring this from under the table. Dark and perfumey with a soft lush mouth feel. Big and boldly structured with a super long and precise finish. Mail list only. 92/100

2005 Hoopes Cabernet Sauvignon – Beautiful and fragrant nose that is pure cassis driven fruits. Wow. Black cherries with a hint of kirsch royal. Very showy styled cab wit bold but exact brushstrokes. Super lush and classy with a very very long smooth finish. I have been a fan for years and this is one of the best I have had to date. Always under the radar. Worth seeking out in its price-point ($65) 94/10

2006 Kapcsandy Family Winery Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard- Some great black fruits of, cassis, black plums and blackberries. Nicely intertwined tannins with deft balance. This had wonderful structure and some easygoing style. 91/100

2006 Kapcsandy Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Grand Vin) State Lane Vineyard- This is an awe-inspiring ode to Bordeaux. Some beautiful exotic red and black fruits. Black currant and crème de cassis. Some scorched earth with soy, led pencil shavings, and leather. Amazing. This is an elegant and classy wine. 93/100

2005 Lail Cuvee Daniel Cabernet Sauvignon- Subdued nose and slightly reticent on the palate but the makings were there, just need some coaxing. Purity and style. Not as showy as past vintages I have had, but worth keeping an eye on. 91/100

2006 Larkin Cabernet Franc- Big and chewy with gobs of black and red fruits. Some soy, tar and leather, this is one of the prettiest Cab Francs I have ever had. 93/100

2006 Larkin Cabernet Sauvignon- A bit closed nose, this has a mid weight feel to it. Nice cassis and blackberries. Some great notes of cedar. A very nice cab indeed. 91/100

2006 Jack Larkin Merlot- One of the great Merlots of the day, this was beautiful. Pure black fruit profile with some pomegranate and cherry cola notes. Very plush and full, this explodes sideways in the mouth. Elegant yet fully structured, this is a keeper. 92/100

2006 Jack Larkin Cabernet Sauvignon – Pritchard Hill- Fragrant and pure, this deftly made cabernet has wonderful crème de cassis, tarry note, soy, and freshly rubbed leather. Wow. 93/100

2005 Minor Oracle (blend) – Dark and perfumed with a nice soft mouth feel. Nice flowers with cassis, Bing cherries, lavender, and tar. Some pencil shavings. Very nice indeed. 91/100

2005 O'Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain- a very pretty black fruited cab that is all mountain in style. Big and burly with some soft edges, this had all the components. Deep color, somewhat reticent, and a bit closed on the nose. Crème de cassis, black berries, with a touch vanilla, cedar, and tar. I would like to re-visit this in a year, and think I will…. 90/100

2005 O'Shaughnessy Cabernet Sauvignon Mt. Veeder- I’m a Veeder fan so this was right up my alley. Good lush bright fruits of Currant, black cherries, and cola. I love the vibrancy and exactness of this one. Beautiful structure and class with a flamboyant edge. Nice. 92/100

2005 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon- deep and densely packed with big chewy full-fledged tannins. A dark fruit medley and tons of structure. A very serious wine indeed. 90/100

2004 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon- More plush than the 05. Dark and brooding. This has some notes of kirsch, cola, earth and tar. Another serious, albeit more approachable cab from Palmaz. 92/100

2003 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon- Slight reduction on the nose, this coming from an ‘off’ vintage surely delivers beyond the nose. Great structure and firm soft tannins, this had nice soft red and black fruits to match. The easiest drinking wine of the group that is still holding up. 90/100

2002 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon (Randy Dunn wine)- Deep dark and elegant fruit profile. Much more 4 square than the rest of the group. Densely packed cassis, black berries, cedar, and leather. A very beautifully drinking cab worth seeking out. Winery still has available as a library selection.
93/100

2006 Shafer One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon- Big bold and showy style of rough and ready cabernet. Dense black currant with some camphor and tar. Some slight vanilla notes. Big chewy but sophisticated tannins with a nice balance throughout. I like the turn these have made with the re-branding of One Point Five. 91/100

2006 Shafer Merlot- Floral and pretty, this medium weight Merlot has some nice black cherries, black olive, and earth. Subdued but elegant. 90/100

2006 Staglin Salus- Pretty nose and beautiful bones, this has some deep color and a nice dark black-fruited profile. Good mid weight mouth feel with a nice touch of elegance similar to the Staglin Estate. A nice second wine. 89/100

2005 Staglin Estate Cabernet Sauvignon- Dark purple tinged color. This has the classy crème de cassis and camphor I so love. A mid to heavy weight cab with great cassis, black cherry notes, some earth and some pencil shavings. Very seductive and pure, just what I believe these are known for. A year or two would surely make this a stunner. 92/100

2005 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Antaeus - 56% zin, 27% Cab, 12% merlot, 5% Petit Verdot. An interesting blend indeed. Super dark with a bit of spiciness. Elegant and nosy at the same time, this one surely catches your attention. Some tat, spice box, cassis, red cherries, and pomegranate. I may need to investigate closer…. 90/100

2005 Storybook Mountain Vineyards Zinfandel Eastern Exposures- Not being a big fan of Zins these days, here is one I can wrap my tongue around. It has tons of finesse with a touch of spiciness. All red raspberries and black cherries, this had some violets as well. Some tarry notes. The tannins are massive and a year will soften nicely, this is a beautifully balanced Zin that I would be proud to share with friends. 91/100

2005 The Terraces Cabernet Sauvignon- a very pretty cab with pronounced sasparilla notes alongside a bit of cola tinge. Pure with clean and elegant bright fruits of cassis & black cherries. A minor stunner in its own right. A very long finish completes the package. 91/100

2006 The Terraces Zinfandel- All red fruits all in a perfect row; this was another nice zin from a day of cabernet. A bit of pepper and some exotic spiciness rounded this one out. Very cool. 91/100

Pobega's Pizza Ca-Blast! (and my first 99 point wine!)

What's better than an afternoon of friends and Cabernet? An afternoon of friends, Cabernet and PIZZA! A decent sized group met at my home for such an afternoon on Presidents Day Weekend Sunday. What a great time. The 2001 Cabernet theme was augmented with a few surprises. Many were served blind.

2001 Bond Matriarch- Somewhat old red coloring on opening and decanting. So much so I thought it flawed. It darkened with decanter time. Nice cassis filled black fruited profiled cab with class and structure. Some tar and leather. A bit restrained in style. I was expecting a more lush style. This had a nice finish. 92/100

2001 Shafer Napa Decent dark color. Lots of red and black fruits going on. Some cassis & black cherry. The acid level was surely elevated from my last sampling about 3 months ago. Strange? There was some discussion on whether this was damaged. It just did not do as well today. N/A

2001 Justin Isosceles Reserve- deep dark black color. I guessed this on bottle shape alone! It had some pure and elegant cassis. A very wonderful Paso signature of black and green olives. Very nice. I really enjoyed this wine. It was a well structured mid-weight cab based wine with tons of character, breed, and elegance. Super long finish. A real treat. 93/100

2004 Maybach Materium- I knew I had this before by nose alone. An I knew I liked it before. It was dark and lush with some eucalyptus. A wonderful mouth feel with some decent structure and an exotic woven tannin level. I had pinned this for a Merus. It was long and full with tons of black cherries and currant. Some cola and cocoa. A Very early favorite. I would have decanted longer as a two hour decant did not seem enough. 92/100

2001 Beringer Reserve- This showed very odd. It was red in style with lots of new oak and vanilla. It reminded me of a Simi Reserve in some ways. The finish seemed slightly acidified and the mouth feel was a bit angular. I am a big fan of Sbragias wines and this was a bit of a shocker. More Foley than Sbragia. 89/100

2004 Buccella- Wow. dense and brooding. This had it all and it was all strutting. Dark chocolate wrapped black cherries . Soy, kirsch, cola, wow. This had structure and elegance with flash and fury. I love this bold in your face style of pure cali-cab. A super long dense finish with gobs of fruit. One of the greatest wines I have ever tasted. wow. 99/100

2003 Slaughterhouse Cellars Cabernet-Bright red fruit on the nose and palate. This was served blind. It had good reddish fruits of cherries and pomegranate. Some currant with some cherry cola. A fun and single dimensional wine that seemed the perfect foil for a fun pizza filled Sunday. You are as good as the company you keep. Nano purchased on name alone. Slaughterhouse.....88/100

2001 Forman- The color was deep and dark. The nose is all funky barn-yard and dirt mixed with a remnant of fruit......somewhere. Very European in style. The palate had some red and black fruits of cassis, red cherries, blackberries with some tar and anise. I have had this a half dozen times and this has surely declined from what it was from 5 years ago. A sloppy mess. Who brought this? 86/100 (me)



And then there was the pizza.......

Thanks to all for participating. See you at Ca-Blast II?

2001 Ruston Family Cabernet Sauvignon La Maestra - USA, California, Napa Valley

Bright ruby red. The nose is very Bordeaux like. Lots of lead pencil shavings, red-cherry, red currants and tar. The red fruit profile feels a bit restrained, reminiscent of Bordeaux, but there's much going on here to really like. Good medium weight mouth-feel, lot of what seems like secondaries of tar and cedar with some petroleum. (I think of the Petrol refinery across from Latour when-ever I get this). Could that be healthy? Anywho, this has a strong tannin base, and I believe this will be wonderful for the next 10 years. A slightly elevated acid level makes eating with this one imperative. The petit and cab franc really make themselves heard in this one. All in all a nicely structured and well balanced Cali blend. (91 pts.)

2005 Hardin Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)

I am forever on the Cabernet QPR search. Last year I found the Sorrel Canyon Cabernet for $9. (Mendocino).
Many have bought cases upon cases of this after tasting from my recommendation.
I truly believe if one looks hard enough one can still find great wines at reasonable prices and $23 is surely reasonable, especially by Napa's standards. I initially had this last week and thought it deserved a deeper look. The verdict: I will get a case.

Deep garnet color. Viscous grip on the glass. The nose has blackberries, currant, dark cherry pie and boysenberry. The mouthfeel belies the fact that this is a $23 Cab. There is real structure and allure not normally found at this price point. Sweet tannins and a quiet but ever present acid level carries this forward. The finish seems a bit clipped. This reminds me of Ed Sbragias offerings of late save for the Beringer Reserve. There are some grape pips floating about? Strange, but the only distraction I can find. Could use a year in the bottle but drinks quite nicely now. (90 pts.)

I have bestowed the elusive Super QPR designation on this one!

From website (my bolding emphasis): The first Hardin Cabernet Sauvignon was “discovered” in 2003 by Doug Polaner on a trip to California. The wine was sourced from one of Napa Valley's long time “cult” producers. Doug found himself in Napa at the right time, and was able to taste and buy a small lot of this top, top quality wine. With the blow-out success of the first vintage, he went right to work on putting together a stellar follow-up, traveling throughout Napa tasting small lots of Cabernet until he was able to assemble the right combination of components. The blend of the 2005 is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, sourced from high-end vineyards such as ToKalon & Dr. Crane. The wine was aged in 75% new French oak for 18 months before being racked into used oak. Stylistically, the wine is classic deep, plush Napa Cab with lots of ripe Cassis fruit, sweet tannins and hints of superb quality oak. Try it with braised pheasant, red cabbage and wild rice, or why not a filet mignon with Gorgonzola sauce…?

2005 Wolf Family Cabernet Franc

(3% CS). Pretty and exact, this Cab Franc delivers elegance and full flavor. I am usually not a fan of Cab Franc alone, but this made me a believer. 93/100