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Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1994, Napa Valley, CA
Cost: $60/bottle

A beautiful evolution of this 16 year cabernet sauvignon from one of Napa Valley’s oldest wineries. During Prohibition, the Beringer family was permitted to continue making alcohol for medicinal purposes, therefore saving many of its vineyards. I had one bottle of this wonderful cabernet in my cellar and just felt it was the right time to open it; indeed it was. Aromatics are off the charts, with lovely mature and complex notes showcasing black cassis, blackberry pie, graham cracker, polished leather and espresso, with complex background scents of lead pencil shavings. In the glass, it’s medium-bodied and lean given its age, but still has a good concentration of fruit. The supple tannins, low acidity, and alcohol are unobtrusive, allowing the cabernet grape to sing gracefully across the palate. A beautiful and elegant wine that can be enjoyed on its own, but it’s best shared over dinner with friends and family.

Rating: 95

Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon – Alexander Valley, Sonoma
Cost: $40/bottle (restaurant retail)

I happened to stumble across this Rodney Strong Cabernet, and it was fairly good. Aromas of toasted vanilla bean blended with sweet oak; a slight hint of confectionary sugar sprinkled over black currants and anise is a nice touch. In the mouth, medium-bodied and silky smooth, with plenty of consistent flavor to back it up. They did a great job for this label in 2007; this bottle probably retails for about $20 at your local wine shop, and it’s a particularly good value for this Alexander Valley cabernet.
Rating: 88

Roy Estate Vineyard, 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $101/bottle

A browse through a convenient small wine and beer shop (located in an Ocean City, Maryland Hilton Hotel) revealed a rare bottle from Roy, a “garagiste” (or rather, a premium “cult” wine)— a bit steeply priced at about $20 above the winery-direct charge, but worth checking out anyway.
This was dark purple, full-bodied and velvety, with a voluptuous external appearance and texture. Sexy and smooth with aromatics that combined black currants, confectionary sugar-powdered donuts, and vanilla crème, with a marvelous leathery complexity. With some swirling (and just over the one-hour mark), notes of mild mocha emerge. It’s really quite amazing to sniff… with a great layered mouthfeel exhibiting perfect levels of glycerine and a density in the fruit that just wraps the palate. A full 45-second finish with lingering currants, black cherry, and vanilla makes you want to come back for more. It’s easy to take shots at more expensive wines, but this one is packed with the quality and panache that come with a premium worth every cent. A solid serious cabernet from Roy.

Rating: 94

Dry Creek Valley – Endeavor Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Cost: App. $50/bottle

Lush fruit— currants, black berries, and blueberries, along with graham cracker pie crust and toasted oak, with a touch of smoke and dark chocolate. Layered in the mouth, a long decadent finish, a joy to sniff and of course to taste. Accompanied with an artisanal cheese plate followed with filet mignon, this wine has a voluptuous body that keeps giving on both the mid and back
palates. Wow.

Rating: 94
(Worth looking for; only 749 cases made. May be tough to find but worth the search.)

Barkan Cabernet Sauvignon – Altitude Series 2005 – Galil, Israel
Cost: $49/Bottle

Wow! Who would have thought a wine like this could be made in Israel (and Kosher to boot)? This wine is unbelievable. Dark, rich, ruby in color, full-bodied, with an inky texture loaded with black fruits, currants, and black raspberries, saddled with espresso, toasted oak, and anise. The flavor complements the consistent aromatic sensation. This is quite a surprise to me— a quintessential cabernet from Israel. Awesome. (And did I mention it’s Kosher?)
Rating: 95

Trazado Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile
Cost: $24.99/bottle

On my way to the checkout counter at my local wine shop, I came across this in the “featured” aisle— with a sign expressing that this is Chile’s version of a Read more…

Quintessa 2004 – Bordeaux blend – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $250/bottle restaurant retail or app. $125 store retail

A bit of a splurge on the Quintessa 2004, a wine made predominantly of cabernet sauvignon, but with dollops of other red varietals. Nose of liquid Snickers, and mocha-java coffee that lingers above the blackberries and blueberries, with mild oak, anise spice, and just a touch of underbrush. The wine was carefully decanted to allow maximum air and it was worth it. In the mouth, so creamy smooth, decadent and alive, powerful lush dark berries with chocolate ganache. This is a voluptuous wine, and perhaps the finest Quintessa I have ever been privileged to enjoy. I will look for this wine, and lock down a couple of bottles to relive the moment. It’s just that good.
Rating: 97

Oreno – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese – 2006 Tuscany
Cost: $80-$85/bottle

A dark opaque purple wine, moderately full-bodied with rather elevated acidity and tannins. Granted, it is young (recently released, that is). Its nose is already revealing— with great black cherries, black raspberries, violets, cedar, graphite, and a touch of vanilla bean. In the mouth, it’s quite layered and velvety, loaded with black fruit and dark tannins. It should rest at least 5 to 7 years, but there is plenty of fruit to support its evolution into something rather special. Despite its youth, I still enjoyed the wine very much; its nose was quite inviting. A solid example of a Super Tuscan at its finest.
Rating: 94

Marquis Philips Roogle 2008 – Riesling – Australia
Cost: $13.99/Bottle

Light topaz in color, crisp and grippy on the palate, this Marquis Philips Roogle Riesling is quite a bargain find. Aromas and flavors expose a grapefruit, lime and tangerine dominated essence. It finishes strong with that citrusy lingering aftertaste, quite nice and refreshing. A perfect wine to match your favorite seafood dish.
Rating: 91

Opus One 1997 – Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley
Cost: $125/Bottle (purchased in 2000)

This is a dark ruby wine, full-bodied and velvety in texture, with a weightiness like blood. It’s rich and superb as it hits the front palate and glides through to the mid and back palate. Aromas are a bit funky, initially band-aid like, but yields to some juicy black cherry and currant fruit with plenty of suede and Timberland boot-like scents. The wine required some serious air time but could never eliminate that bandaid and suede nose, even by the end of dinner. Overall a decent wine, with quite a perfect mouthfeel and flavor profile, but the funky nose may not be for everyone.

Rating: 89

Laurel Cellars – Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 – Alexander Valley, California
Cost: $12.99/bottle (on sale)

This wine is dark plum in color, medium-bodied and silky. The aromas are one dimensional, with notes of toasted oak, herbs, green leaves, vanilla extract and some berry fruit. In the mouth, simple and rather oaky fruit through and through, with some green spices. For $12.99, I couldn’t expect that it would be great, but it’s decent. A repeat purchase for me… probably… maybe… not sure yet.. I bought this because some great fruit and wine come from Alexander Valley, but it is quite oaky (I do have a good tolerance for oak, however).
Rating: 84

Justin – Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 – Paso Robles, California
Cost: $28.99/bottle

Justin vineyards in Paso Robles, located midway between Monterey and LA, certainly had one of their finest vintages in 2006. After getting overwhelmed by the 2006 Isosceles (their flagship wine), and then an impressive Justin Orphan (their leftover grapes wine), this cabernet is in no way middle of the road in quality. This one is just a touch under the Isosceles in the yum factor of yumminess. Beautiful notes of black cherry, blueberry, toasted oak, coconut and bittersweet chocolate are enjoyable to sniff and taste. It’s moderately full bodied and with firm tannins, but it comes across as harmonious with the levels of alcohol, fruit and sweetness. It’s a dry wine, make no mistake about it— but it’s quite flavorful and delicious. I’m picking up a case of this stuff, it tastes a lot better than most cabernet costing twice or three times this. Great value.
Rating: 93

Amizetta Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $22.99/bottle

It’s quite a surprise to find an 11 year-old California cabernet at a wine store these days— but I came across this for just a penny under $23 and thought it certainly worth checking out. My palate tends to prefer older more mature wines for their complexity and intrigue which, personally, I find a most exhilarating experience. This Amizetta exhibited telltale typical mature California fruit. The nose is initially dominated by spearmint, ripe currants and black cherry notes. The wine evolves over time in the glass revealing cola notes while maintaining its mintiness. In the mouth, it remains moderately full bodied with supple tannins, at a virtually low acidity (but with plenty of fruit that wraps the tastebuds). It was quite easy to drink and remains soft on the palate, which one wouldn’t normally expect of an aged wine— but it’s possible this wine may have seen better days early on, and perhaps I caught it on the tail end of its peak drinkability. For $23 a bottle, it’s a decent value, and I may look for more recent vintages of this wine in the future.
Rating: 89

Karl Lawrence – Aldin Red Table Wine 2006 – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $29/bottle

Just released by the Karl Lawrence winery as an adjunct, this is really an experimental blended wine of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Notes of cherry, Flintstone’s vitamins, sweet oak and berries are consistent on both the nose and palate. However, I must add that it tasted quite young and in need of rest for a few more months, as it appeared very monotone and unevolved. Still it is medium-bodied, with fair levels of fruit that need to settle for it to bolster the structural integrity of the wine. I opened the wine not 24 hours from taking it out of the box, which was shipped the prior day to my home. Will have to explore this further, perhaps later in the year.
Rating: 87

Francis Ford Coppola – Director’s Cut 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost: $18-$24/bottle

Dark purple opaque in color. Very young, almost fresh pressed juice but still with a tannic presence. Nice fruit content showcasing notes of toasted oak, vanilla extract, black and red currants and a touch of Read more…

Peter Michael Winery – Les Pavots 1997 – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $110/bottle

Rainy Sunday, but there’s nothing like having a decent cabernet sauvignon with lunch. Peter Michael has a long reputation of producing fine cabernet, and the 1997 certainly lives up to its pedigree. Still exhibiting its youthful nose upon open with cherry, currants, and lead pencil, but this wine evolves in the glass after 20 minutes, showcasing a mature complex nose of suede, toast, and bittersweet chocolate. Moderately full bodied, silky on the mid-palate but with good fruit — with dusty tannins and just a touch of heat on the mouth, leaving a slight cherry/menthol note. After living about 9 years in my wine cellar, this wine has been served — quite well, quite well indeed.

Rating: 92

Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $110/bottle purchased in 2002
Consumed: 2009

Montes – Alpha, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Chile)

Cost: $22/bottle

This is a ‘big bang for the buck’ wine. I have had 3 bottles of the 2006 vintage and I keep coming back for more. Notes of saddle leather and toasty oak greet you up front and slowly evolve into a genuine ripeness of blackcherry and cherry fruit, with subtle hints of roasted coffee bean, scorched earth, and charred embers that eventually evolve again into more ripe fruit. Amazing for such a young wine— this has density, depth of fruit, and a sensational texture. This is a ‘must buy’ case for me.

Rating: 92

Emmanuel Rouget Vosne-Romanee 1er Cru Cros Parantoux 1997
Cost: $150/bottle

Dining at the Café Panache, a fine French cuisine is always paired nicely with a great Burgundy. This was showing nicely with its dark cherry, herbal tea, underbrush, and damp earthy complexity. Slight hint of band-aid on the nose that blows up with some swirling. In the mouth, the acidity seems nicely in tune with the fruit and somewhat residual tannins. Good inner fruit persistence from front attack to the back palate gives this wine a juicy, rather ripe “California” like texture; although the nose is Burgundian.

Rating: 91

Peter Michael – Les Pavots 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon – Napa Valley, California
Cost: $85-110/bottle 

An impressive performance from a mature “at peak” cabernet. 15 years from the vine and the tannins have resolved and are well integrated with the fruit and alcohol. Notes of leather and cedar, combined with currants, plum, and black cherry with a touch of anise/fennel. Very smooth and velvet like on the mid-palate with a fine, moderately full bodied texture. A great cabernet!

Rating: 97