Estate Bottled North Yuba Cabernet Sauvignon

Cherry, plum, soil tones, leather. Gotta remember to pop these every so often because I bought so damn much of this wine and, as long-lived as these bottles are, they won’t last forever. Reliably delicious

Sweet dark berry fruit still going strong, structurally resolved with spice and cedar

Banner vintage for them. Black currant, sweet cherry and blackberry fruit still holding strong, iron and leather and wet bark in the background, totally resolved, totally delicious. Needs to be consumed in one go which should not be a problem

Birthday wine take 2…Renaissance always delivers. Even this bottling from the pre-Beinstock era has some life left. A charming old school CA cab

Cabernet aged well.

Having with eastern European stewed cow tongue.

This wine, in its prime.

Opened the 1999 Proprietary Red a few days earlier which had just past over its peak with oxidative notes coming out.

Blackcurrant, clove, fresh bay leaf, brown sugar,

The original “cult” wine. Ages with the best of ‘em.

Gideon Beinstock’s note on the label suggested, at the time of bottling, that the lifespan of this wine would be 15-25 years. The high end of that range has turned out to be correct. Dried sweet red and purple fruit, creme de cassis, classic renaissance herbal and cedar/mesquite note. Tannins resolved into the background but still present; slightly but perceptibly drying out, should hold another few years

Wow. Guessed ‘98 Brunello blind. Wouldn’t have guessed new world in ten tries. Past peak but still offering dried red fruit, resolved tannin, and uplifting acidity. Look forward to researching this producer.

Better than I expected.