2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
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Tasting notes
Tasted from magnum, Ric Forman's 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon is dense and chewy in the glass, the 2001 possesses tremendous power. Black cherry, gravel, licorice, leather and menthol build in a dark, brooding Napa Valley Cabernet. There is just a touch of brett that makes the 2001 feel very old world in style. The 2001 shows no signs of fading anytime soon (surely the magnum format helps), but I expected a little more from Ric Forman in a vintage with this pedigree.
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Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(13.8% alcohol): Saturated dark red. Brooding, slightly wild aromas of cassis, licorice, minerals, cigar box and leather. Dense, fine-grained and alive, offering a penetrating quality and a sexy restrained sweetness to the intense, seamless flavors of dark berries, cedar, dark chocolate and leather. Finishes with rich, tactile, rather elegant tannins, a lightly saline quality and lovely lingering fruits and spices. A fairly thick yet vibrant Cabernet with a light touch, in the style of a ripe-year St. Julien.
Still youthful but accessible and evolving very positively, Forman’s 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon has a dense ruby/plum/purple color just beginning to lighten at the edge. A hypothetical blend of top-class Medoc and a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, notes of licorice, tobacco leaf, damp earth, black currants and violets are all present in this medium to full-bodied wine, which still has some tannin to resolve. It should hit its peak in another 2-3 years and last for 15+. Tel. (707) 963-0234; Fax (707) 963-5384
(includes about 8% of merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot) Bright ruby-red. Claret-like aromas of currant, leather, cedar and shoe polish. Sweet, pliant and inviting, with complex, burnished, Graves-like flavors of currant, leather and meat. Wonderfully plump in the middle but supported by a firm spine. Subtle, deep, layered cabernet that should evolve gracefully. "More typical Forman cabernet," says Forman, "from a more regular growing season than 2002."