Weppler
Calistoga Cabernet Sauvignon
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California, USA
Dark ruby red. A bit light on the nose with some cocoa, red berries, cherry liqueur, cinnamon and a touch of eucalyptus. Medium tannins (6.5/10) and medium bodied. A bit of heat on the palate with layers of raspberries, strawberries, cocoa, a touch herbal, and brambly too. Solid acidity and medium plus to long finish. More integrated on day two. Needed the additional time to soften and open up. Drink till 2025.
Dark ruby red. A bit light on the nose with some cocoa, red berries, cherry liqueur, cinnamon and a touch of eucalyptus. Medium tannins (6.5/10) and medium bodied. A bit of heat on the palate with layers of raspberries, strawberries, cocoa, a touch herbal, and brambly too. Solid acidity and medium plus to long finish. More integrated on day two. Needed the additional time to soften and open up. Drink till 2025.
Jun 8th, 2017Very interesting story about this wine. Not 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but actually has less than 5% Valdiguie in it. If you are not sure what that it is, take a look online it has gone by a few different names in the last 50 years. We tasted this wine over two days to see how it would develop. We started with a PNP and noticed that it was pretty tannic and tight, so we decanted the rest for two hours. Wine was a mix between crimson and garnet red. The decanting definitely helped. Nose began to open up with a ton of dark cherries, slight cassis, a little chalk and dust. Very unique undertones of eucalyptus. We have only experienced this once before where we could actually identify it (Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon The Mint). On day two the nose gained some vegetal characteristics, only slightly with a little bell pepper. Very nice structure on the palate, grips the insides of your cheeks. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) with a moderate body. Solid acidity as well that led with dark cherries. As it opened up the palate changed quite a bit with cassis, tree bark, dark chocolate and finishing off with baking spices. Another surprise with this wine was the finish, it was slightly dry. Finish was long and lingered for 15+ seconds. This wine definitely has some great aging potential and will only improve with time as it gets a chance to integrate even further. Very enjoyable experience and we definitely would love the chance to try the 2012! Great value and wine for a Napa Valley Cabernet. Drink till 2026.
Very interesting story about this wine. Not 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, but actually has less than 5% Valdiguie in it. If you are not sure what that it is, take a look online it has gone by a few different names in the last 50 years. We tasted this wine over two days to see how it would develop. We started with a PNP and noticed that it was pretty tannic and tight, so we decanted the rest for two hours. Wine was a mix between crimson and garnet red. The decanting definitely helped. Nose began to open up with a ton of dark cherries, slight cassis, a little chalk and dust. Very unique undertones of eucalyptus. We have only experienced this once before where we could actually identify it (Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon The Mint). On day two the nose gained some vegetal characteristics, only slightly with a little bell pepper. Very nice structure on the palate, grips the insides of your cheeks. Moderate tannins (6.5/10) with a moderate body. Solid acidity as well that led with dark cherries. As it opened up the palate changed quite a bit with cassis, tree bark, dark chocolate and finishing off with baking spices. Another surprise with this wine was the finish, it was slightly dry. Finish was long and lingered for 15+ seconds. This wine definitely has some great aging potential and will only improve with time as it gets a chance to integrate even further. Very enjoyable experience and we definitely would love the chance to try the 2012! Great value and wine for a Napa Valley Cabernet. Drink till 2026.