1994 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale
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Equally profound is the 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Speciale. I originally rated this wine 95 points, and it’s a point better now at age 21. In 1997, I predicted the outer limit of its window of drinkability to be 2027, but I think it will actually go longer than that. About 28% American oak was used in the aging this wine, and most of the fruit came from a blend of vineyards such as th Wildwood, Smothers, Balbi, and Belle Terre. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, with gorgeous blueberry and blackberry fruit, some spice box, forest floor and licorice, this killer wine is just entering its plateau of full maturity, where it should stay for another 15 or more years.
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The 1993 and 1994 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons are the finest I have ever tasted from Richard Arrowood. The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a prodigious specimen. The wine boasts a saturated purple color, as well as a fabulously sweet nose of black fruits, toast, and vanillin. Huge, massive, and rich, but not heavy, this amazingly concentrated wine possesses layers of flavor, sweet tannin, and a long, layered, impressively-endowed finish. This wine should be cellared for 4-5 years and drunk over the following 20. Just over 1,000 cases were produced. For those desiring technical information, the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a selection of the best lots in the cellar, is aged for 30 months in 50% new French oak casks, and the balance one year old casks. The wine is bottled without filtration. Everything Dick Arrowood and winemaker Michel Berthoud produce these days merits significant attention. Tel. (707) 938-5170; Fax (707) 938-5195