{"id":39,"date":"2008-10-30T00:44:03","date_gmt":"2008-10-30T00:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=39"},"modified":"2008-10-30T11:36:39","modified_gmt":"2008-10-30T11:36:39","slug":"very-good-cabernets-but-the-best-will-cost-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=39","title":{"rendered":"Very Good Cabernets, but the Best Will Cost You"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CabernetWe recently hosted a Cabernet Tasting Panel<\/strong> and found many of the Cabs to be Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 However, we also found that you will have to spend some money to get to this level and even more to reach the Very Good+ or Excellent level.\u00c2\u00a0 In our first blind tasting of mid-priced Cabs we tried 18 different wines.\u00c2\u00a0 We recommended 11 of them.\u00c2\u00a0 Ten were Very Good and only one broke through to Very Good+.\u00c2\u00a0 In our mini tastings we tasted another 15 wines.\u00c2\u00a0 We only recommended 2 of these Cabs.\u00c2\u00a0 Most were Good, but did not qualify as Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Gloria'sThe winner of the Cabernet tasting was the 2005 Gloria's \u201cOld Vines\u201d\u009d Cabernet Sauvignon<\/a> $30<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 It hails from the Dry Creek Valley<\/strong> which is more known for Zinfandel than Cabernet.\u00c2\u00a0 It was smooth, with nice balance.\u00c2\u00a0 It also displayed jammy and ripe blackberry-like flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 The Ken's Wine Guide Tasting Panel thought it could easily be mistaken for an Aussie Shiraz.\u00c2\u00a0 It was very well liked!\u00c2\u00a0 The panel scored it Very Good+ (90 points).\u00c2\u00a0 Now here is the bad news.\u00c2\u00a0 There is not much of this tasty wine left.\u00c2\u00a0 Only 124 cases were made.\u00c2\u00a0 It may be tricky to find, but it will be worth trying.\u00c2\u00a0 Their website is www.gloriasoldvines.com<\/a> or call John\u00c2\u00a0at Bellevue Wine and Spirits\u00c2\u00a0in Newport, RI at (401) 846-7993.\u00c2\u00a0 You can order it directly.<\/p>\n

\"EarthquakeIn second place was the 2004 Earthquake<\/a> $28<\/strong> from Michael and David Phillips<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This Lodi Cab scored a Very Good (89.07) from the tasting panel.\u00c2\u00a0 This Cab was smooth, soft, and nicely balanced, with slightly complex and tart cherry-like flavors that are influenced by black currant, vanilla, and oak.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel felt this wine would appeal to readers who like the modern styled Barberas and Nebbiolos from the Piedmont region of Italy.\u00c2\u00a0 Like the Gloria's, the Earthquake's unique flavor profile allowed it to finish near the top.<\/p>\n

Our third place finisher was the 2005 Bianchi \u201cSignature Selection\u201d\u009d Cab<\/a> $22<\/strong> from Paso Robles, CA<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 As many of you know, Bianchi has been on a roll lately.\u00c2\u00a0 This offering opens with an attractive cherry and menthol-like bouquet with hints of toffee.\u00c2\u00a0 It continues as a medium-bodied Cab that is smooth, soft, and balanced with savory cherry vanilla flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 This was one of my favorites.\u00c2\u00a0 With a tad more structure it would have easily been a 90+ point wine.\u00c2\u00a0 Overall we scored it Very Good (89 points).\u00c2\u00a0 Enjoy this one with pheasant or veal marsala.<\/p>\n

The fourth and fifth place finishers are steady and consistent Cabs each and every vintage.\u00c2\u00a0 The fourth place finisher was the 2006 Valentin Bianchi \u201cFamiglia Bianchi\u201d\u009d Cabernet<\/a> $18<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 The panel scored this wine from San Rafael, Argentina a Very Good (88.35 points).\u00c2\u00a0 It opens with a very attractive cherry vanilla-like bouquet with hints of licorice and menthol.\u00c2\u00a0 It is soft and balanced with spicy \"Dryblack raspberry flavors.\u00c2\u00a0 Our fifth place finisher was an old standby.\u00c2\u00a0 It was the 2005 Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon<\/a> $23<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 We frequently see this wine poured by the glass at many fine restaurants.\u00c2\u00a0 It is really consistent from year to year.\u00c2\u00a0 The KWG Tasting Panel came to that same conclusion again this year by scoring this wine Very Good (88.14 points).\u00c2\u00a0 The panel felt this wine would pair nicely with meatloaf or eggplant parmigiana.<\/p>\n

The remainder of our recommended Cabernets<\/strong> are as follows:
\n6) Stonestreet 2005 \u201cEstate\u201d\u009d<\/a> (Alexander Valley, CA) $40<\/strong> (88.0)
\n7) Volker Eisele 2005 \u201cEstate\u201d\u009d<\/a> (Napa Valley) $42<\/strong> (87.71)\u00c2\u00a0 *Organic*<\/strong>
\n8)\u00c2\u00a0EOS 2005<\/a> (Paso Robles, CA) $18<\/strong> (87.43)
\n9) Reininger 2005 \u201cHelix\u201d\u009d<\/a> (Columbia Valley, WA) $22<\/strong> (87.43)
\n10) Arrowood 2004<\/a> (Sonoma County, CA) $42<\/strong> (87.21)
\n11) Fritz 2005<\/a> (Dry Creek Valley, CA) $35<\/strong> (87.07)<\/p>\n

From our Mini Tastings we recommended the following 2 Cabernets:
\n1) Murphy Goode 2005<\/a><\/strong> (Alexander Valley, CA) $20<\/strong> (Very Good)
\n2) Columbia Crest 2006 \u201cGrand Estates\u201d\u009d<\/a><\/strong> (Columbia Valley, WA) $11<\/strong> (Very Good)<\/p>\n

\"CasilleroHere are some Cabs that I have reviewed non blindly over the last several months that you should seriously seek out.\u00c2\u00a0 On the practical side, I would recommend the 2007 Concha y Toro \u201cCasillero del Diablo\u201d\u009d Cabernet<\/a><\/strong> for $11<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This entry level Cab is nicely balanced, smooth, with very pleasant spicy ripe black cherry flavors with hints of plums.\u00c2\u00a0 It is also a steal for the money and I rated it Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 A new option that I discovered recently is the 2005 \u201cJosh Cellars\u201d\u009d by Joseph Carr<\/a><\/strong> for $18<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This Sonoma County blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, rounding it out with Merlot & Cabernet Franc.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine is nicely balanced and easy to drink.\u00c2\u00a0 Its flavor profile is tasty ripe cherries.\u00c2\u00a0 This very approachable wine would pair nicely with burgers or steak tips on the grill.<\/p>\n

Moving up in quality and price is the 2006 Concha y Toro \u201cMarques de Casa Concha\u201d\u009d Cabernet Sauvignon<\/a><\/strong> $21<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 We scored this wine Very Good+ or 91 points.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine is smooth, structured, and flavor packed.\u00c2\u00a0 The flavor profiles are plum and black current with notes of oak and anise.\u00c2\u00a0 This beauty would pair quite nicely with your favorite steak.<\/p>\n

\"LailFinally, we conclude with 2 \u201cExcellent<\/strong>\u201d\u009d Cabernets.\u00c2\u00a0 They cost a pretty penny but are well worth the investment.\u00c2\u00a0 We'll start with the 2005 Lail Vineyards \u201cJ. Daniel Cuvee\u201d\u009d<\/a><\/strong> $125<\/strong> which is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.\u00c2\u00a0 I have wanted to try this wine for a really long time and I finally got the opportunity at a recent trade tasting which I attended.\u00c2\u00a0 I can tell you that this gem is very well-balanced, silky, classy, and elegant.\u00c2\u00a0 It displays terrific cherry flavors that are absolutely irresistible.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine is a perfect wine to enjoy with people you want to impress.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n

\"TomEqually impressive, but with a different style is the 2002 Tom Eddy \u201cNapa\u201d\u009d Cabernet<\/a><\/strong> $110<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 This wine opens with a very inviting spicy blackberry bouquet with hints of licorice and blueberry.\u00c2\u00a0 It is ultra smooth, quite elegant, and has delicious black cherry flavors that make you yearn for a second glass or bottle.\u00c2\u00a0 The finish of this wine remains elegant and its fine tannins linger for a tremendously long time.\u00c2\u00a0 This is a very special wine for a special meal.\u00c2\u00a0 Both of these wines are the kinds of wines that just blow you away.\u00c2\u00a0 Their flavors just make you yearn for more.\u00c2\u00a0 If you can find a bottle of either or both, treat yourself and see what a truly great<\/strong> Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> is all about.<\/p>\n

In the end, we came to the conclusion that Cab is King<\/strong>, but to reach the royalty, you probably have to pay a king's ransom<\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Be sure to visit all of our KWG Cabernet Recommendations<\/strong><\/a> under $50 and the Collectible Cabernets over $50<\/a><\/strong>.\u00c2\u00a0 Stay tuned as our High End Red tasting is schedule for Nov 21st and we will report those results in early December just in time for the holiday gift giving season!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We recently hosted a Cabernet Tasting Panel and found many of the Cabs to be Very Good.\u00c2\u00a0 However, we also found that you will have to spend some money to get to this level and even more to reach the Very Good+ or Excellent level.\u00c2\u00a0 In our first blind tasting of mid-priced Cabs we tried […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,76,75,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-dry-creek-valley","category-paso-robles","category-wine-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}