Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
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Going Four for Four
As far as I know, Napa Valley has never had four straight "great" Cabernet Sauvignon vintages. It has certainly not happened in my 36 years of experience, although several times it has seemed a possibility and it once seemed almost certain before Mother Nature tweaked the results.
1968-1969-1970; 1984-1985-1986-1987; 1990-1991-1992; and 1994-1995-1996-1997 were spans when many great wines were produced in each year: but not enough of them in vintages like '69 or '86. Most such strings end though, with a truly lesser year, like '71, '88, '93 or '98. I think we may now be about to see four great consecutive Cabernet years and I have been longing to get back to Napa, seeking for proofs.
2004 is now well established as a great year and 2005 is proving itself as I write. 2007 barrel samples have generated more winemaker praise than any vintage in recent memory, and I may not yet have seen a truly disappointing barrel from a good producer. 2006 is a dark horse that needs to get to the finish line, but winemakers (who at one point had been reticent at best) now seem downright excited to talk about their '06s. I recently tasted the '06 Carter Tokalon Cab and thought it the best they have made.
Testing the waters
August 5th, I visited Martin Estate, which I thought would be a good bell-weather for both vintage quality and personality. I could have as easily chosen Arns, or Keenan, or Sherwin, or Versant vineyards, or a number of others with similar situations. I hope eventually to get to many of them.
Greg and Petra Martin's property lies adjacent to the famous Caymus vineyard in Rutherford. The Martin's "Puerta Dorada" Vineyard was itself part of the original "Caymus" Mexican land grant, awarded in the 19th century to Napa pioneer George Yount. Not only does Puerta Dorada's soil have a legitimate pedigree, but Martin Estate's wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the winery purchases no fruit, which makes true continuity a reality. The one subtle variable is the clonal mix.
The Martins use 500 liter oak barrels, an atypically large format. This may be why the fruit-profile stands out especially clearly in both bottle and barrel. The barrel samples display a really wonderful fruit-oak integration as well. In fact, one of the few disappointments I find in Martin Estate Cab is that it takes a year or so after release before a bottled version grows as graceful, oak-rich and gutsy as that wine was in barrel.
That Tuesday, I re-tasted Martin Estate's 2004 Reserve Cab (for the 4th time), followed by representative barrels from 2005, 2006 and 2007. In each instance I found a wine of distinctive "vintage personality" and the outstanding quality that befits a great year. My own notes follow.
2004 Reserve; in bottle: proved considerably more evolved than when I last tried it. It had shaken off its youthful citric-herbal hints to reveal both aromas and lingering flavors of dark cherry, blackberry, Cassis, dark rose, sweet tobacconist-shop spice, vanilla toffee and cinnamon bark.
2005 Reserve, from a dominantly "clone 6" barrel: was close to spectacular in aroma, with loads of dark blueberry, mocha, Cassis, baking spice and sweet vanilla, and hints of raspberry and red rose in the background. It was luxuriously rich on the palate, with sweet-natured blackberry, dark cherry, toffee, tobacco, vanilla and baking-spice flavors that lingered beautifully.
2006 Reserve, a "clone 4" barrel: had a vivid, fruit dominated personality and superb focus. Its aromas of bright red cherry, red currant, blackberry, vanilla and allspice were freshened further by zesty rose petal notes. It delivered similar clarity and zest on the palate, along with very fine concentration, length and firm tannins. Red currant, red cherry and rose were the main flavor themes.
2007 Reserve, another "clone 4" barrel: With notably deep purple color, it was as fruity as grape jam, offering scents of pomegranate syrup, sweet dark cherries, Cassis, crushed Mr. Lincoln rose petals and hints of pink peppercorns, in a luxurious mix. It was mouth-filling in richness and drenched with lingering flavors of pomegranate, red currant, blueberry, dark red rose, white pepper, purple plums and vanilla. The impression of firm tannic structure below fabulous fruit was especially memorable.
I left Napa with renewed hopes. I think we might get lucky this time! I wonder if 2008 will break the spell?