2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
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Tasting notes
(14.8% alcohol): Saturated dark ruby-red. Rather muted aromas of black fruits, licorice, mocha and brown spices come across as less aromatic and complex than the '05. Fat and thick on the palate, still showing considerable baby fat but not quite the sweetness or flavor development of the '05. But then this wine is still youthful and a bit disjointed, with its dark fruit and graphite flavors currently shortened by dusty, gripping tannins. But the wine's freshness suggests that it will reward further aging and last well. This, too, was a very late harvest, taking place at the end of October.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Saturated ruby. Exotic plum syrup, smoke, chocolate, tobacco and brown spices on the nose. Dense, lush and seamless but with a light touch for a wine with this much breadth of flavor. Wonderfully chewy and energetic cabernet, from vines picked on October 31. Finishes with very fine tannins and excellent lift. This has turned out splendidly.
There are between 400-450 cases of the Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 29 Estate, a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon cuvee. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard 29 Estate reveals extraordinary elegance for this vintage as well as a perfume of sweet black currants, dark cherries, and notions of chocolate, licorice, and smoke. Deep, textured, and beautifully balanced with no hard edges (an anomaly for a 2006), this full-bodied, seductive effort can be drunk now or cellared for two decades. Proprietor Chuck McMinn and his winemaker, Philippe Melka, continue to fashion one of Napa’s finest negociant blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, offering it at a reasonable price for a high end Napa Cabernet. The Aida Vineyard, situated between St. Helena and Calistoga, was a source of superb Zinfandel when the fruit was purchased by Larry Turley for Turley Wine Cellars. At Vineyard 29, they have continued to blend it with Petite Sirah, and age it in French oak. The most limited offering in this portfolio is the Sauvignon Blanc (100 or so cases produced). This 100% Sauvignon Blanc is aged for an unusually long time (16 months) in 100% new French oak. However, the oak is never noticeable in these cuvees as they are meant to replicate a fine white Bordeaux capable of aging. A wine I reviewed last year, the 2005, is still drinking fabulously well. Tel. (707) 963-9292; Fax (707) 963-7848
(100% cabernet sauvignon) Bright ruby. Pungent aromas of blueberry, blackberry, minerals and menthol, lifted by an exotic suggestion of white fruits. Dense, broad and large-scaled, but currently less filled in than the 2005. Brooding flavors of dark fruits and dusty brown spices. Quite full and dry, finishing with serious tannic spine.