new Release Tasting Notes
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Flying J’s Vineyard Napa Valley, Coombsville AVA
There’s nothing better than lifting a glass of wine to your nose and having it meet and exceed your expectations with one whiff. Delicious, appetizing Cabernet Sauvignon aromas – layers of fresh, fleshy ripe plum, cherry, blueberry fruits and warm, sweet spices – make you feel like you’re in the vineyard during harvest-time. Elegantly structured with already integrated tannin and appealing acidity, (the Coombsville signature,) this wine will be welcome at the table anytime soon but has the integrity to last another 25 years if stored properly. In a vintage marked by excellence throughout the valley, this wine stands out for its impeccable balance of finesse and energy. Because it’s so engaging, don’t hesitate to include it in your most special meals – roasted or braised beef and lamb, for example – but also try with duck, wild mushrooms, truffles and complex, savory dishes. $85btl/$72.25 Club, 71 cs.
Gold, 94pts Int’l Women’s Wine Comp, Silver: Sunset Int’l Wine Comp Notes by Traci Dutton, Sommelier
2021 Cabernet Franc Cadden Vineyard Napa Valley
As a winemaker, when Cabernet Franc is your first love, (grapey love, that is,) imagine discovering a beautiful vineyard, like this one in St. Helena, to create your first-ever bottling for your own label. Precocious and exuberant, like a fun, little sister, the wine has a joyful personality with abundant pomegranate, red currant and Montmorency cherry fruit, a hint of just-picked thyme, California bay laurel and wet stone after a warm rain. This will be your go-to wine with friends and family: immediately loveable with all kinds of foods, from grilled fish to fancy pizza, sheep milk cheeses and salumi too. Cabernet Franc can age well, developing a patina of garam masala, nut meats and raspberry preserves, but no doubt it will be hard to keep your hands off of this one long enough to find out. $95btl/$80.75 Club 32 cs. *This Stephanie’s inaugural release of Cabernet Franc and the only from this little vineyard.
Gold: Sunset Int’l Wine Comp. Gold, 92pts Int’l Women’s Wine Comp Notes by Traci Dutton, Sommelier
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Ben’s Blend Napa Valley Coombsville AVA
This is a fun blend of French and American oak-aged Cabernet! Only one barrel of each. With aromas of ripe figs, cola spice and lavender leaping to the top of the glass, your palate is coated with soft but significant tannins and a layered complexity boasting both red and black fruits. The long finish is pleasing and calls for braised short ribs or garlic and rosemary grilled lamb. It promises to develop beautifully up to 18 years in the cellar. 48 cases $90btl/$76.50 Club
DOUBLE Gold/97 pts: Harvest Challenge Two GOLDS: Sunset Magazine’s Int’l Wine Comp. American Fine Wine Invitational & Silver Int’l Women’s Wine Comp.