Wine tasting on August 7, 2009

We tasted 5 wines. Present were Piroca, Jimmy and Uncle-N with Uncle-E arriving bit late. Uncle-OZ made a guest appearance and brought an unusual wine. Winepath is visiting Napa still looking for a winery to purchase for his future enterprise. Except for one, the remaining 4 wines are similar in style and taste.

1. Crauford Maroon Vineyard Tattoo Cabernet Sauvignon 200, Score=3

It came in a "semi-body builder" bottle. Color is nicely dark garnet. Nose is very pleasant with blackberries, blueberries and some floral hints. Palate starts with somewhat restrained fruits especially black cherry and leading to rather firm tannin. It appears to have overtone of "bitterness" (Piroca thought it tasted somewhat like bitterness of Brussel sprouts). The tasters thought this is New World. Some suggested Merlot component. Spanish specifically Tempranillo was also suggested. Finally after some re-tasting and re-sniffing, California Cab and Cab blends were mentioned.

This is Cali Cab from Crauford winery in Napa. It is almost there but not quite in the realm of top notch California wines.

Jonathan Newman – 92/100!

"Crauford winery has just released a very limited quantity from their library of their 2003 Maroon Vineyard Napa Cabernet. This wine shows the evolution and aging potential of a big Cabernet with concentrated mountain fruit. When I first tasted this wine a year ago it was much more tightly wound with firm tannins, with flavors of blackberries and mocha predominant. But it still needed bottle ageing and aeration as it was a young wine. In a recent tasting, the wine was considerably more accessible with captivating aromas of toffee, mocha, and plumy fruit. A dark ruby colored wine with Blackcurrants, intermixed with toasty vanilla oak, espresso and dark chocolate with a touch of spice box. Barrel aged in 40% new French Oak for 24 months and only 2,000 cases were produced. It should drink well over the next seven years and will pair well with marbled steaks, roasts and lamb."

I do not know much about JN (He must be a wine expert but his comment may not be totally unbiased since he sells this wine in his internet wine store).

2. Kavaklidere Yakut Okuzgozu d'Elaz 2007, Score=2

It came in a sloped shoulder bottle (which limits the types of wines in it) but there was a surprise. Color is light ruby. Nose is predominated by sweet strawberry. Palate is light with thin mid-palate and mild tannin. Upfront, there is a Welch's grape juice type grapy note. Granache, may be Rhone, Pinot, may be Burgundy, Beaujolais were suggested. This is not a style of wine we usually favor. There is some difference in opinion; Piroca thought this was not bad acknowledging this was not our style of wine, Uncle-N thought this tasted like a thin-tasting and grapey jug wine. The score is compromise.

Surprise! This is from Turkey. I had to admit among few Turkey wines we tasted, this is probably better one.

Wine maker's note:

"Yakut, made from Boğazkere, Öküzgözü and Carignan grapes, is a very pleasant and remarkably dry red wine. It is the best-selling red wine of Turkey. It is ruby red, rather bulky, light-bodied, broad and refreshing. It should be consumed between two and four years after production. It is a good match with any kind of meal with meat, and all kind of cheese except cheese with herb or fresh cheese. It is best when consumed at 16-18 degrees C."

The grapes are very unfamiliar to us. Here are some info from Wikipedia.

"Boğazkere is a Turkish grape variety and a Turkish wine originated from Elazığ Province near the Tigris river in Southeastern region of Turkey. Its very dark red rich grape and its very well structured with dried fruit flavors and fig taste. It also gives its name to a wine produced from the grape by the certificated Boğazkere vineyards in Elazığ. The characteristics of this wine is strong body, very enjoyable long finishing, dark red color with dark blue hue, very rich and strong aromas of dried red fruits, spices."

"Öküzgözü is a Turkish grape variety and Turkish wine produced from this grape. The grape is one of the two native grape varieties of Elazığ province (the other one is Boğazkere), located on the Anatolian plateau at the north of the Taurus Mountains. The various sources of the Euphrates River in this region soften the normally harsh climate of Eastern Turkey.
Öküzgözü has rounded, dark colored grapes, which are the largest among the grape varieties grown in Turkey. The Turkish word öküzgözü literally means "ox eye".

3. Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=3~3+

Color is dark and nice. Nose has nice black cherry with vanilla. Palate is definitely fruit forward with black fruits, plum and raisin with toasted oak, vanilla overtone leading into nice well-integrated but firm tannin. We say this is a well-made Cali Cab with a caveat that some Spanish could taste like this. But we were right, this is 2006 Caymus. Caymus has been such a consistently good wine. We saw 2007 pre-sale just starting. 2007 Special selection will follow soon.

92 points Wine Spectator Insider:

"Full-blown, ripe and rich, with intense and sharply focused dried currant, wild berry and blackberry fruit that's still fairly tannic at this stage. Ends with a long, persistent finish. Best from 2010 through 2015." (10/29/08)

90 points and one star from the Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine:

"Ripeness and sweet oak are the governing traits of this very rich and wide-open wine, and it is more geared to dark chocolate and caramelly sweetness than it is to classic Cabernet fruit. That said, it is positively plush on the palate with extract to spare, so much so, in fact, as to make its hard turn to tannin and heat an acceptable sin." (December 2008)

"Established in 1972 Caymus Vineyards is one of the benchmark cabernet sauvignon producers in Napa Valley, with an enviable track record of producing some of Napa's finest reds. The 2006 is a worthy successor in this lineage of full-bodied, fruit-forward, opulent cabs. The nose starts out with alluring aromas of cherry cola, cassis and coca powder while on the palate the wine displays flavors of blackberry, crème de cassis and sweet oak. There is a lot of stuffing here and the wine is definitely still an infant with several years ahead of it to truly show its potential. A wine of immense size, structure and complexity the 2006 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon is a high-octane wine that will handsomely reward the patient consumer in 5-10 years." (Alex Pross, Wine Club Director, K&L wines)

4. Schweiger Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Score=2+~(3)

Color is nice dark garnet. Nose has slight earthy funky notes. Upfront fruit is rather muted but some layers of predominately black fruits. Finish has firm tannin and some acidic kick. Apparent oak-derived tastes but not particularly over oaked. It gave am impression of young wine and may need bit more bottle aging. Cali Cab and possibly Argentinian cab or Cab blends have been suggested. Again, it tries to be a good high-end Cali Cab but not quite making it.

Beverage Dynamics - 93/100 Points (Beverage Dynamics is a trade magazine in wine and food industries and I have no idea how unbiased this is and who are its wine critiques. )

"This is a rich, full-bodied Cabernet, deep in color. The nose of the wine is lively with essences of berries, plum, and toasty oak. The sweet, supple entry crescendos into a deeply intense middle; followed by a pleasant, velvety, lingering finish."

Quoted from the Winery website:

"With Fred's blessing, Andy has begun carefully experimenting with blending small amounts of our classic Merlot into our Cabernet Sauvignon to further express the beautiful fruit of our Spring Mountain Estate. Those familiar with our wines know our prior 2001 Cabernet release began a brave new world for us, as we extended our barrel aging program to further soften and round out our full mountain fruit. We continued that tradition with our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2004 vintage came in hot, hard, and fast with beautifully intense fruit flavors
For our efforts, we have been rewarded with a rich, full-bodied Cabernet, deep in color. The nose of the wine is lively with essences of berries, plum, and toasty oak. The sweet, supple entry crescendos into a deeply intense middle; followed by a pleasant, velvety, lingering finish.

Technical Information:
Varietal Percentage: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot. Age of vines and soil type: 14-22 year old vines panted in deep volcanic soils. Alcohol: 14.6%. 32 months in 60 gal. Oak barrels: 45% new French Oak, 4% new American Oak, 47% 2-3 year old French Oak, and 4% 2-4 year old American Oak."

5. Luigi Bosca Gala 2 Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Score=2+

Color is nice and dark. Nose has some minty note and otherwise pleasant. Upfront palate is loaded with fruit and leading to nice good but not too assertive tannin with well-controlled oak-derived flavors. For sure, it is a New World style wine. The tasters thought this was California or, may be, South American, particularly Argentinian, Cab or Cab blends. Some thought there is Merlot component.

This turned out to be Bordeaux-blend from Luigi Bosca, Argentina. The 2006 Gala II is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon spiced with 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Merlot.

International Wine Cellar 90 points

“Bright red-ruby. Deep aromas of cassis, black cherry and licorice, lifted by fresh herbs and peppermint. Suave, fine-grained and light on its feet, with moderately ripe flavors of dark berries, fresh herbs and minerals. A medium-bodied, claret-like wine, with licorice and herbal notes giving lift and energy to the currant, plum, graphite and spice flavors. Velvety and mouthcoating, but in a rather polite style. Finishes with dusty, slightly drying tannins and a lingering herbal element.”