1992 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
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Tasting notes
(13.8% alcohol; includes 3% Merlot): Good full, deep red with ruby tones. Sexy aromas of redcurrant, plum, tobacco and spices complicated by an element of dried flowers; varietally expressive and fresher than the 1991 and 1990 bottlings. Bright acidity gives the wine a distinctly firm, even hard, edge, but there's also good retention of sweet fruit and noteworthy mid-palate presence. Not a particularly pliant style but floral and alive. This struck me as a rather heavily extracted wine that will continue to retain fruit for several more years but will not soften further.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Historically, this old vineyard can trace its origins to the 1870s. In 1979, lawyer Bill Seavey purchased this Conn Valley property and planted vines in 1981. There are just over 35 acres of vines, most of which are Cabernet Sauvignon. The bulk of the production is sold to Kendall-Jackson, but Seavey estate bottles small quantities of Chardonnay and 600-1200 cases of a potentially superb, concentrated, and long-lived Cabernet Sauvignon. All of the wines are aged in small French oak barrels, of which 60% are purchased new from the well-known coopers, Taransaud and Segau-Moreau. Seavey's Cabernet Sauvignons are aged in small French oak casks, of which 60% are new. The 1992 Cabernet Sauvignon is considerably lighter than the 1990 and 1991. It also exhibits a more noticeable, herbaceous aroma, combined with a less saturated color. It is spicy and medium-bodied, with moderately hard tannin in the finish. Although good, it is not nearly as exciting as the 1990 and 1991. Tel. (707) 963-8339 (winery) or (415) 788-0800; fax (415) 434-1937