UP IN THE CLOUDS with Big Cabs

Alice loves Cabernet Sauvignon. She made it clear that the topic of our most recent tasting would be “Big Cabs”. So, what is a Big Cab? Fruit forward? Structured? Long lived? Memorable? High Alcohol?

I’m clearly a traditionalist and to me, “fruit forward” and “Big Cab” shouldn’t be used in the same sentence. To illustrate my point, we started our tasting with a maturing Left Bank Bordeaux to put everything but “fruit forward” on display. All of the wines that we tasted had enough age to shed the hedonistic aspects of very youthful fruit exuberance and delve into the deep crevices' of complexity, depth, structure, finesse, length, grip, terroir and tradition. The tasting notes are mine and the listed price is for a current vintage. The scores and medals are consistent with the American Wine Society judging standards. All of the wines were double decanted more than three hours prior to the tasting. I really debated about the order of serving older wines after younger. That may have influenced the scores on the Herzog Cab but, I think the others showed plenty of vitality . All were served blind. And, as I told the others, assuming I put the correct bottle in the correct bag, I was the only person who knew what wines were being tasted and in which order.

Warm Up Wine

2009 Château Lanessan (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot) Haut Medoc, Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux FRANCE (14.5% abv $30 This is just exactly what I had hoped for in a warm up Cab-based wine to get the tasters in the mood for the kind of wines that come across as big in a multilayered way. The aroma absolutely blossomed with lush ripe fruit liqueur. As it filled the palate with gripping texture, elements of brick terra cotta, forest floor, herb and tobacco, built up through the long silky finish. This is a complete wine. My score 18/20 (GOLD), Group Score 16.25/20 (SILVER) top three

Flight of Middle Aged Cabs new and old world

2013 Canvasback (Duckhorn) Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain Washington State USA (14.5% abv) $30 The deep red/black color is true to the youth and vigor exhibited here. It is hardly middle aged showing muscular hefty rich texture and long fine complex fruit nuances throughout. My score 17/20 (SILVER), Group Score 16.13/20 (SILVER) top three

2014 Jean Leon 3055 Cabernet Sauvignon Penedes SPAIN (14.5% abv) $30 I’m clearly not the only one who loves the sweet scent of American toasted white oak mingling with earth, berry liqueur and cedar. Though still vibrant, there is a settled maturity in the long spicy finish. My score 17+/20 (almost GOLD), Group Score 16/20 (SILVER)

2018 Clos de Luz “Massal 1945” Cabernet Sauvignon Almahue Rapel Valley CHILE (14% abv) $30 The odd bouquet of root veggies or celery reminded me of living in Ottawa County during the veggie harvest. Though opulently rich in black fruit, the driving force here is composty earth veggies maybe even a wet hemp rope nuance. My score 16/20 (SILVER), Group Score 14.88/20 (BRONZE)

2019 Vasse Felix “Filius” Cabernet Sauvignon Margaret River AUSTRALIA (14.5% abv) $25 To me, this was the finest wine of the tasting with deep black color, classy complex elegant fruit balanced with massive depth and a long fine textured green herb finish. My score 18/20 (GOLD), Group Score 15/20 (BRONZE)

Mature California Cabs from Different AVA’s

2014 Herzog Special Reserve Kosher Cabernet Sauvignon Lake County California USA (15% abv) $30 On the heels of the Vasse Felix, this wine initially came across as very old and maybe past its prime with a massive tea-like mouthfeel and dried out fruit. With a little shifting of gears, it was actually a pretty nice wine showing well in a mature sort of way. My score 15-/20 (BONZE), Group Score 14.38/20 (BRONZE) lowest score

2012 Wente Estate “Karl Wente-Nth Degree” Cabernet Sauvignon Livermore Valley California USA (14.1% abv) $100 Black! The impressive color leads into an extremely ripe, rich almost volatile black fruit aroma. There is a lot of stuffing here but not necessarily in a seamless balanced package. My score 17-/20 (SILVER), Group Score 15.13/20 (BRONZE)

2012 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley Sonoma County California USA (13.5% abv) ?$25? This wine is no longer made. Today, Simi is just another generic Cab made from grapes from who knows where so, I have no idea what it would cost today for this sort of wine. Alice and I have enjoyed many cases of this wine over the past few decades and always loved it and felt it really over delivered. Perhaps it was the context, but it seemed a bit over shadowed by the wines in this flight. Clean, elegant and fine textured, the appetizing spice made it the most “disappearing” wine of the bunch. That is, the first glass to empty seemingly all by itself. My score 17/20 (SILVER), Group Score 14.75/20 (BRONZE)

2012 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley California USA (14.9% abv) $55 Oh man! The deep black red robe brings you into a robust, generous, mélange of baked berries, tobacco, cedar and compost. More on the palate with a satisfyingly complex spicy layer and a long, rich, soft, silky finish. Oh yea! My score 18/20 (GOLD), Group Score 16.13/20 (SILVER) top three

Obervations

Of course, when you average everyone’s scores, you get a bunch of average scores. However, I think in any tasting, the top three wines can be confidently considered better liked than the others even if the top to bottom score is only a point or two. I was surprised that only a couple of the tasters really liked the Vasse Felix. Had it not gotten top scores from myself and two others, it would have been the lowest scoring wine. I’m not sure if it was the fact that it was the youngest wine or that it was from a relatively cool part of Australia and maybe not as fat or supple as some of the others. What I think attracted the group to the top three was the firm texture and muscular tannin. Yes, tannin can be powerful and silky simultaneously which is precisely what the Lanessan, the Canvasback and the Hall all offered. You’d have to call it balance.

Enjoy in Good Health,

Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner