25 February 2011

2006 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon

Here is a brief review of a really lovely wine...

2006 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc
$26, 14.9% abv.

Beautiful tomato leaf aroma, spicy finish, firm tannins, flavors of cassis and plum. It's earthy and vegetal and grabs the primitive lizard part of your brain, making you want to seize that rack of lamb and chew the meat right off the bone. Ahem... I really enjoy those elements in a wine like this, and it's easy to get carried away.

This is a spectacular California Bordeaux blend at a reasonable price. At five years of age it is performing well, but I think it's got a few years left on it.


Note: This wine was received as a sample.

6 comments:

Mainly Malbec said...

Just found your blog through twitter a while back. I enjoy your work.

Benito said...

Mainly Malbec,

Thanks for reading, and I certainly enjoy a good Malbec as well!

Cheers,
Benito

Romantic Dinner said...

thanks for nice posting and details. Great your thought

fredric koeppel said...

sounds like a really attractive wine. it's nice that some winemakers from California aren't afraid of the vegetal aspects of the Bordeaux grapes.

@KarlSummerville said...

Thanks Benito! I've been looking for a decent cali-Bordeaux blend at a reasonable price for a while, will check this out!

Have you heard of LoveThis? I've started using it to get wine recommendations, interesting. They are looking for wine experts, you'd be great for that. Maybe worth checking them out.. www.lovethis.com

Keep up the great blog, how do I subscribe?

Benito said...

Fredric,

It was a pleasant surprise, and while I know some find that style offputting, I'm glad that not every bottle of Cab Sav has the exact same profile.

Karl,

Thanks for reading, and you can subscribe using the RSS menu on the left, just below the Facebook and Twitter logos. There are options for multiple readers, and I also post links to all new posts on Twitter @benitowine

Cheers,
Benito