Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Trio of Cabs Highlights Cabernet Day Tasting


The TWAV tasting team gathered on Cabernet Day to sample a tasty trio of Cabs. The event was hosted by Glorious T and “The Cabernetor.” That requires an explanation.
The Cabernetor is not a new team member, but recently announced he was shedding his old name of Ace of Bass in celebration of his love of Cabernet Sauvignon.
In doing some research on Cabernet Day, I found out that it wasn’t only focused on Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Cabernet Franc and Cabernet blends. This was a golden nugget for us and Glorious T started us off with one of her favorite Cab Francs, the Ferrante 2010 Signature Series from Ohio’s Grand River Valley.
This was a perfect Cab Franc to launch Cabernet Day. A soft wine, it has a taste of currants with an undertone of pepper. The body is medium and it slides into home with a satisfying medium finish.
As we enjoyed an assortment of delicious appetizers and prepared to dig into some gourmet portabella hamburgers, we were ready for the next wine – a new favorite: St. Clement Vineyard 2005 Orropas. This is a jammy, rich Napa Cab with a few drams of Merlot and Petit Verdot thrown in for good measure. Orropas on the back porch enjoying the summer stars is a great finish to any day.
For several years the next wine had been biding its time on wine rack number two in my cellar. This rack is an old one that holds only about a dozen bottles, but I’ve reserved it for my “treasure” wines.
The Steltzner Vineyards 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District was indeed primed and ready for the evening. This is full bodied with tannins that have integrated into an elegant wine. There’s plenty of red fruit here with some wafts of coffee and mild oak. The diverse flavors were woven into a delightful wine that kept urging us to refill our glasses from the decanter.
No question. Cabernet was certainly king for a day.
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