How would you like to try $548 worth of wine for only $27? Of course you would!!!
Come try my new “Showdown at Sunset” wine flight featuring:
Which Valley is the best for Cabernet?
Comparative tasting is really fun! When it is all said and done what it boils down to is which wine would you rather drink and how much are you willing to pay for it? And we have clearly experienced that beauty is in the eyes of the taster; In our last Showdown at Sunset we ended with a tie, and the wine one couple thought was the worst was another couple’s favorite!?! In our “Showdown” tasting; all bets are off and any rules are out the window...four wines are poured, two ounces each, and you tell us which one you like the most. Simple & fun!September 12th 2014
In our last Showdown at Sunset guests votes were across the board for Pinot Noirs from the Central Coast! In today’s tasting we are taking one grape; Cabernet Sauvignon, from two valleys, only separated by the Mayacamas Mountains. Are these wines close together in flavor as they are in geography or are they worlds apart?
2 oz each of four wines for $27. with tasting notes. (while supplies last.)
-Silver Oak, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California, 2009 Bin#628 $132.00 (VOTE = 2)
Dark ruby color with a purple edge and an inviting nose of ripe black plum, blackberry, baking spices and soy sauce. On the palate, the wine is rich and full, reminiscent of the flavors of a berry cobbler. It has a long finish with fine grained tannins. Located in Geyserville, since 1972 they have perfected the formula for elegant wine, Founder Raymond T. Duncan first visited the Napa Valley in the late 1960s, he began to buy land in both Napa and Alexander Valleys with the goal of planting vineyards. Ray partnered with Justin Meyer, to create a winery that would forever raise the standards of California wine. Without Justin Meyer the California wine industry would not be where it is today.
-Rodney Strong, "Rockaway" Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California, 2007 Bin#615 $152.00 (VOTE = 2)
Powerful and slightly tannic with concentrated flavors of blackberry, currant and a hint of toast with a rich, full body, complex structure and a lingering elegant finish. Established 1994 Rockaway Vineyard is planted almost exclusively to Bordeaux varietals. On the eastern slope of Alexander Valley just above Geyserville, the property rises to an elevation of 750 feet, with the contour sloping northeast and southwest. More than 50 years ago a celebrated American dancer named Rod Strong settled in Sonoma County to pursue a second lifelong passion: winemaking. The 13th winery bonded in Sonoma County.
-Lewelling, Wight Vineyard, Napa Valley, California, 2009 Bin#631 $132.00 (VOTE = 3)
Evocative red plum, dark berry, and ruby red cherry aromas mingled with notes of anise, almond blossom, espresso, and charcoal. Blackberry, creme de cassis, and tart cherry flavors; baking spice, mineral, coffee, and cedar; full-bodied with sweet, round tannins, impeccable balance and lively acidity. Vineyard: 1/2 mile south of St. Helena on Lewelling Lane, an alluvial fan at the base of the western foothills with soils of bale gravelly loam. Established in 1864; one of the oldest continuously-owned family vineyards in the Napa Valley.
-Cliff Lede, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California, 2009 Bin#751 $132.00
(VOTE = 1)
Intense blackberry liqueur and espresso bean develop into rose and truffle oil aromas. Creamy and opulent, flavors of semi-sweet chocolate, mocha, and plum layer the front and mid-palate. Fresh minerality, archetypal Stags Leap District character, frames the long silky finish. Established in 2002, Cliff Lede Vineyards encompasses sixty acres with a gravity-flow winery with a berry-by-berry sorting system and conical tanks commissioned using a design inspired by the tanks of Château Latour. One tank per vineyard block ensures each lot evolves at its own pace. Every step of the way; no corner has been cut.
