WineFoot.com

Click here to see how we rate wines

I know many folks who still swear by cab sauv as their favorite red grape and for many, it was the “gateway” red which really turned on the metal lightbulb of how complex, velvety and food-friendly a well-made cab can truly be. Some of the higher-end cabs command prices of $100 or more (especially from California) so I thought it’d be interesting to see how two $100 bottles stacked up against each other.

For many decades, Cabernet Sauvignon has been one of California’s darling grapes and has garnered world-wide praise as being one of the most saught-after grape varities from many of the state’s top wine producers. Napa Valley and its surrounding AVAs have some of the oldest pedigree’s anywhere in the new world of wine making so this was a challenge I certainly looked forward to.

On the other hand, Washington State doesn’t have the historic capital to brag about in regards to growing world-class Cabernet, however, what it has done in its relatively short life-span so far has really knocked the socks off of the wine-world. Areas such as Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills produce grapes that can easily compete with the best out there and make some of the finer cabs you can currently buy.

2005 Ehlers Estate “1886″ Cab – W.E.P. Rating: 30%

Ehlers Estate, located in St. Helena CA, has an “1886″ bottling of its estate Cab which its very proud of and has painstakingly crafted what it believes to be its best-possible efforts in what a world-class cab is capable of becoming.

Technical Data:

• Final Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
• Fruit Source: 100% estate grown
• Oak Regime: 20 months in oak, 100% French oak, 65% new barrels
• Primary Coopers: Treuil, St. Martin, Dargaud Jaegle
• Harvest Dates: October 6th – October 21st
• Bottling Date: June 29th, 2007
• Production: 3,806 cases (6 x 750ml)
• Average Maturity: 24.6 Brix, 6.2g/L TA, 3.79 pH
• Finished Wine: 14.7% alcohol by volume
• 4,200 cases (6 x 750ml)
• Price: $95/bottle

Nose: Black-peppered fruit with hings of burnt pepper skins..

Taste: Dark fruits coming thru – black plum, blackberry and heavy a dose of pepper. Quite frankly, this wine is way too hot for me to enjoy. The alcohol on the back end obliterates any fruit that you may expereince out of the starting-gate. I think this wine is really disjointed in not knowing it’s a cab.

……………….24hrs later:

Nose: The oak and spice are starting to settle down and the fruit if coming thru better. I pick up a nice creamy component. getting some nice blackberry pie components on the backend of the nose and a hint of cooking spice.

Taste: the blackberry, black cherry and blueberry fruit on the front attack.

Overall thoughts: At its current price, I’d have to give this wine a huge pass – there are simply too many better wines at way cheaper prices which blow this one out of the water.

2005 Boudreaux Cellars Reserve Cab – W.E.P. Rating: 70%

Winemaker, Rob Newsom, learned a lot of his yoda-like skills from the legendary Figgins family from the Leonetti clan – a winery which is one of the most celebrated in the entire state of Washington and has a tremendous track-record to back it up.

Rob’s philosophy on winemaking is rather simple – source the best fruit he can and pretty much leave it the hell alone – use a minimalist approach to the wine and more importantly, make it with lots of love.

In the short timeframe he’s been up and running he has managed to wine the hearts, minds, souls and pockbooks of many folks who are fervent mailing list subscribers and do their part in making sure he sells out of every vintage – it seems that winemaking isn’t the only clue Rob tapped into from Leonetti.

Technical Data:

• Vineyard Sources: Champoux Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills) and Loess Vineyard (Walla Walla)
• Alcohol: 13.4%
• Production: 150 cases
• Cooperage: French Oak and American hickory-toasted barrels from Minnesota
• Price: $100

Nose: Black cherry cola mixed with a hint of medicine cabinet and that 7-11 smell. If you don’t know what a 7/11 store smells like, just walk into an AM/PM, Circle-K or 7/11 market and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Taste: Firm tannin structure and backbone which gives way to very well placed black fruits. On the tail-end I get some nice touches of earthiness – sort of like some dirtiness going on.. This is a wine that really should be decanted for a few hours. Good, long finish that lasts for days which is what I expect a good bottle of wine to do.

Overall thoughts: The tricky part about reviewing a wine like this is that given its pricepoint, we have no clue at this time where it could go in a few more years. Rob Newsom has a knack for crafting wines that’ll cellar for years to come and I get that. I can tell you that for me, it’s not quite worth the asking price of $100 dollars – I’d love to have a couple to lay down and take notes as they progress over the next 3-8 years or so.

Want aother take? Here are some thoughts from Chef Traci and Alan from Mutineer Magazine:

The connection to the movie sideways is undeniable – Lucas & Lewellen Winery had its Pinot Noir featured in the movie that destroyed merlot sales. L&L is a central-coast California winery whose founders, Louis Lucas and Royce Lewellen came together and bought some land in this fertile grape-growing region and have really done a lot to strike a claim for themselves as one of that region’s premiere wineries.

2005 Cabernet Franc: W.E.P. Rating: 40%

Technical Data:

• Vineyard: Valley View
• Composition: 100% Cabernet Franc
• Oak: 19 Months French Oak
• Fermentation: Punch down
• Bottled: April 2007
• Acidity: .70
• pH: 3.69
• Alcohol: 14.8%
• Production: 605 Cases
• Sugg. Retail: $26.00
• Release Date: July 2008

Nose: I pick some some strong eucaplyptus and cedar box on the initial pass – almost like a cedar cigar box. There’s some hints of black fruit in there somewhere, however, I have a feelin it’s going to be overpowered by oak.

Taste: Can someone get me a friggin toothpick to pick out all the wood splinters here? I mean.. really? I get that this is a California wine and that a lot of folks are used to having a piece of oak furniture in the glass with their wine – but wow. I’m gonna let this hang out to see if some of the wood blows off from it. Two hours later – the oakiness of this wine is still rather pronounced – it’s not quite as strong; however, is still not doing much for me.

This wine is a complete:

2007 “Goodchild” Chardonnay – W.E.P. Rating: 75%

Technical Data:

Nose: Pineapple, mango and peach skin – the classic vanilla hints on the nose as well. I also get subtleties of river-water stones. 

Taste: Take some pineapple, starfruit and mango – then toss in a tiny bit of butter and toasted vanilla – that’s what’s going on here. If you’re looking for a butterbomb napa charonnay, then this is not a wine for you – it’s rather crisp which shows it has little oak on ot. Good viscousness and acidity on the mouthfeel, decent fruit but a bit too hot on the backend for me.

A wine that’s been gaining a lot of popularity around the Seattle-area is the Petite Sirah Concannon wines out of California. Concannon was the first winery in the USA to produce a petite sirah as it’s been around since 1883 in the Livermore Valley area. Petite Sirah, as its known in the U.S. and Israel,  is actually the Durif grape – it came about from cross a cross pollenation from Syrah and a Peloursin plant. 

It shares a great deal of similarities of the Syrah grape which is one of the reaons it got its name of “Petite Sirah” – spicey and a bit jammy.

Technical Data: 

• Appellation Central Coast
• Varietal Content 95% Petite Sirah, 3% Merlot, 1% Petite Verdot, 1% Mixed Reds
• Case Production 75,000
• Aging 12 months in French and American oak barrels
• Alcohol 13.9%
• Residual Sugar 0.31 g/100ml
• Titratable Acidity 0.58 g/100ml
• pH 3.61
• Release Date Spring 2008

Nose: Cranberry, asparagus tips, white pepper, bacon fat, and loganberry.

Taste: Huge cranberry component that’s been mixed with white pepper, rhubarb, blueberry and blackberry pie with crust. Decent finish and mouth-feel make this wine a pretty good value-play at the prices you can usually find it for in your local grocery store – around $12. 

W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Winery website: www.concannonvineyard.com

Ehlers Estate Winery, in St. Helena California, has been producing since the year 2000 and is the only non-profit winery I’m aware of – anywhere. 100% of its proceeds go into cardiovascular research. The reason for this is because its founder, Jean Leduqa, was a longtime sufferer of heart disease – hence why his wife, Sylviane, started a foundation in her husband’s name to aid in that type of R&D. So not only are you helping your own heart with a hearty glass of red wine, you can also know your business with Ehlers goes to help those around the world as well.

In this tasting, I’m looking at the 2006 releases of its Cab and Merlot – both of which are priced at $45. I know that’s on the higher-end of pricing for most folks in today’s economy, but is actually pretty “normal” for Napa-pricing – so I hope these prove to rock me for those prices.

2006 Merlot St. Helena: W.E.P. Rating: 90%

• Vintage: 2006
• Varietal: Merlot
• Final Blend: 79% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot Fruit
• Source: 100% estate grown Farming: California Certified Organic Farmer 
• Harvest Date: Sept. 26 – Oct. 12, 2006
• Acid: 5.7g/L TA
• PH: 3.74 pH
• Aging: 18 months in oak, 85% French oak, 40% new
• Bottling Date: June 16 – 17, 2008
• Brix at harvest: 25
• Price: $45

Nose: dark chocolate, tobacco, green onion, blackberry, black cherry, mildewy V8 juice mixed with cocoa-cola blows off after awhile to a nice cedar-laden forest floor, vanilla and toasted marshmellows.

Taste: Think of this wine as a vanilla-laced piece of dark chocolate that’s smothered in blackberry and blueberry jam then topped with some cedar chips and funk – sittin’ there, looking you straight in the eyeballs, just screaming at you to eat it. The finish on this wine lasts for weeks and continues to provide a good jolt of reach-around.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon St. Helena: W.E.P. Rating: 90%

• Vintage: 2006
• Final Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 1% Cabernet Franc 
• Fruit Source: 100% estate grown Farming: California 
• Appellation: St. Helena
• Harvest Date: October 9 – 26, 2006
• Sugar: 18 months in oak, 100% French oak, 65% new
• Acid: 6.1g/L TA
• PH: 3.61pH
• Brix at Harvest: 25.2
• Bottling Date: June 16 – 17, 2008
• Alcohol %: 14.1% alcohol by volume
• Price: $45

Nose: ”Forest-funk” combined with classic cherry, rose petal, plum and raspberry. A bit of cola action on the nose as well. I’m also picking up some spice as well. 

Taste: Black pepper, dark cherries, hints of raspberry and spice. I’m also get some chocolate, big league chew, eucaliptus and tobacco. A bit of caramel and tar action too on the back of the palate. this is a really good cab that’d rock the ball right out of the park when paired with a pan-seared, pepper-crusted steak. The finish is like the settled-down middle-aged person that knows who he/she is and where they’re going in life – very solid. 

Winery website: www.ehlersestate.com

Blend: 83% Merlot and 17% Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: $34

Nose: Wild game, plums, road-tar bubble, tobacco, french-roast coffee, blackberries, black-cherries, black raspberries – anything black – yeah, it’s all here.

Taste: Awesome fresh road-tar taste which is engulfed with dark plum flavors – I pick up the fresh road-kill game on the mid-palate and sweaty arm-pit which follows the onslaught of dark fruits. The finish has some nice dark chocolate and coffee elements which hang out on the palate like a bunch of college-kids after hours at an In-n-Out burger stand. I’m feeling it, loving it and would easily snatch up more of this wine in a heartbeat. Excellent balance of fruit, tannin structure and oak. White and black pepper.

W.E.P. Rating: 100%

Winery website: www.brutocaocellars.com

Inasmuch as it might pain some wine drinkers out there who’ve had their fill of Chardonnay’s over the years – the reality is that this grape is going to be around for a long-time. It’s about as iconic to the wine industry as any grape could ever be and it’s still used to make some of the world’s finest sparkling wines. 

• Appellation: Arroyo Seco AVA: Monterey, California
• Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
• Vineyard: 100% Estate Ventana Vineyard
• Barrel Selection: French Oak
• Total Acidity .64 g/ 100ml
• pH 3.54
• Alcohol 13.5%
• Suggested Retail: $18.00 per bottle

Taste: Excellent minerality backed up with the green apple and a bit of honeysuckle, pineapple and pear. Shard acidity across the mid to back palate. This wine has really good finish that lingers nicely.

W.E.P. Rating: 90%

Winery website: www.ventanawines.com

It’s hard to not fall in love with an American winery that’s been around since the 1800′s and has a long track-record of producing top-quality wine for decades. And what’s there to say about a winery that even had Conan O’Brien out and let him run amuck around the vineyard?  Spring Mountain is truely an iconic California producer that takes itself very seriously when it comes to wine-making, but also knows how to have fun. That’s the best way I can quickly describe this cab – it has a serious side but also knows how to have a great time! 

Technical Data:

• Appellation: Napa Valley-Spring Mountain District
• Estate Grown and Bottled
• Assemblage: Cabernet Sauvignon 90%,
• Cabernet Franc 8%, Petit Verdot 2%
• Alcohol: 14.8%
• Aging: 22 Months in French Oak
• Bottled: August 2006
• Released: January 2008
• Production: 2,800 Cases
• Price $55

Nose: Plum, blackberry and blueberry – along with hints of cherries. Some dirt, chocolate, pipe smoke and asphalt. 

Taste: Heavy dose of peppery fruit on the front-end of the palate – nice layering of the fruit – black cherry, black plums, oak and afternote flavors of black licorice. This is a wine that will only get better with a few more years in the bottle – in proper storage. It drinks good now, however, I don’t think it’s worth $55 dollars. That’s my opionion, however, you still owe it to yourself to get out and try this wine as there’s a chance you may really enjoy it. In today’s global market of competition between world-wide wine regions, it’s always a balancing act between price and quality – that’s an issue all wineries deal with all the time.

W.E.P. Score: 80%

Winery website: www.springmountainvineyard.com

Wine website: www.concannonvineyard.com

W.E.P. Rating: 100%

Not too many new-world wineries can say they’ve been producing wines since the late 1800s, however, Concannon is one fo them. Based on California’s central-coast region, this winery specializes in producing wines with fruit from the Livermore valley.

Its Assemblage white wine is a blend which combines Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon  grapes – the end result is a very well-balanced white which I think a lot of folks would really get into if they had the chance to try it.

Tech Data:

• Appellation 100% Livermore Valley
• Varietal Content 54% Sauvignon Blanc, 46% Semillon
• Case Production 500 cases
• Alcohol 13.9%
• Residual Sugar 5.0 g/L
• Titratable Acidity 6.0 g/L
• pH 3.25
• Release Date Fall 2007
• Price: $15

Nose: Typical grassy nose with some grapefruit on the end – very typical of Suavignon blanc. I also get some white-grape skins, apple blossoms, ivory soap. Very clean and refersing on the nose.

Taste: Floods of wheatgrass, grapefruit, some alfafa hay mixed with some hints of passion fruit, mango and kiwi. Beautiful finish with some kickin acidity which rips across the palate. This is a very food-friendly wine that also stands very well on its own. Very well balanced and a white wine I’d highly encourage you to seek out.

Food suggestions:
- Shellfish
- Creamy pasta dishes
- Creamed spinach or kale

Winery Website: www.ventanawines.com

We’ve reviewed a few wines so far from Ventana Vineyards and have yet to be disappointed by any of them thus far. I’m a huge fan of the California Costal Pinot so it was with some slight anticipation that I drank this wine. There’s something rockin’ about the pinot from that region which keep it on the forefront of pinot sales at large.

Technical Data:

• Vineyard: Ventana Vineyards Soil Type – Calcareous composition of alluvial deposit with rock and gravel
• Barrels: French Oak
• Vintage: 2006
• Wine Type: Red Wine
• Varietal: Pinot Noir
• Appellation: Arroyo Seco
• Acid: .53 g/ 100ml
• PH: 3.85
• Fermentation: 100% Barrel Fermented
• Alcohol %: 13.5
• Price: $28

Nose: Huge cranberry, and dried cherry component on the nose – very much reminds me of home-made cranberry Sauce.

Taste: Cranberry spice with hints of toasty oak… some firepit ash, floods of dried berries, chocolate and cherries abound – the finish lingers on very well. This is a well-made Pinot that’s very food-friendly and one that I’d quite frankly recommend; especially to those folks out there who may still be struggling with the whole pinot thing – yes, some of them exist, in spite of that stupid movie, Sideways.

W.E.P. Rating: 100%

Winery Website: www.opolo.com

California is no doubt the leader of Zinfandel – it is truly both an icon to that state’s wine industry and to the American wine industry at large. There are few other regions which attempt to produce it as it can be a difficult one to master. 

Opolo Vineyards, located in heart of California’s costal region, has been producing quality wines in a distinctly California fashion since 1996 and have a nice loyal following amonst wine-lovers in that region. 

Its Summit Creek Zinfandel comes from grapes grown in the Santa Lucia Mountain region – a rang of mountains that run from Montery southest for 105 miles to San Luis Obisbo – the highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak at 5,850 feet. This means, that the Zins from this region will be distinctly different than those grown in places like Lodi Valley and other parts of  the greater Napa/Sonoma area.

Technical Data:

• Appelation: Paso Robles
• Alcohol: 16.2% pH: 3.87
• Cases Produced: 14,000
• Harvest Method: Hand Harvested
• Varietal Composition: 97% Zinfandel, 3% Petite Sirah TA (g/100ml): .56
• Brix at Harvest: 26.0
• Barrel Aging: 10 Months in American Oak
• Price: $19

Nose: Ripe plums, blackberry and black cherry on the nose with tons of toasted oak on the backend. I get some toasted almonds, a touch of smoked paprika and leather belt.

Taste:  Lots of deep blackberry on the backend stuff with oak chips – this is an overoaked zin which all too many zinfandels fall into the trap of. The finish lingers on good, however, it’s nothing but oak and I’m not at all a huge fan of that. There are other Zinfandel wines in this price range which I feel offer more complexity and better overall experience for the money.

W.E.P. Rating: 80%