TRIPLE GOLD MEDAL - 2010 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL - Tasters Guild Wine Lovers Int'l Wine Competition
CRITICS PLATINUM MEDAL- 2010 Critics Challenge Int'l Wine Competition
GOLD MEDAL - Lodi Int'l Wine Competition
94 POINTS - AlaWines.com
GOLD MEDAL - Dallas Morning News Wine Competition
Tasting Comments:
This 2005 R&B Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an extraordinary wine with remarkable depth and complexity. Bright ruby red in the glass, the 2005 R&B Cabernet boasts a lovely nose of berry, fig, cherry, cocoa, and a slightly herbal vanilla note. The palate is dominated by blackberry and currant, with plum and spice, and chewy tannins that linger on the finish, suggesting this five-year-old wine has plenty of life left. The finish is long and concentrated, leaving an impression of dark chocolate. This is a wonderful Cab for those who enjoy a big, full-bodied red wine that remains balanced and doesn’t go over the top into the area of over-ripeness. Perfect with beef stew or mushroom risotto, this wine certainly proves that the “urban winery” scene is more than just a fad, and is producing some excellent wines. At $35 for Napa Cabernet, you don’t want to miss this one!
Bingham Ranch:
The Bingham Ranch in Calistoga is one of the oldest Cabernet vineyards in the Napa Valley, dating back to 1850s. There are three parcels of vines used in our Cabernet, one is 55 years old another is 35 years old and the third is 17 years old. It is a small berry clone with very low yields, approximately one and a half tons per acre. The resulting fruit is very intensely flavored with a rich dark blackberry profile that makes intensely structured Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cellar Practices and Winemaking:
Perfectly ripe grapes were harvested in late October early November 2005. They were crushed into a stainless tank and cold soaked at 50F for 5 days. The temperature was increased to 70F, and cultured yeast fermentation started and lasted thirty days at a peak temperature of 90F. The grapes were gently pressed and the resulting wine racked into barrels, which were 100% new French oak 60 gallon barrels from ten different French coopers: Vicard, Seguin Moreau, St. Martin, Billon, Trieul, Ermitage, Boutes, Jarnac, Bel Air and Chalufour. The Cabernet was blended in the classical way with small amounts of Cabernet Franc added from an El Dorado vineyard. The wine was aged for 28 months in oak and given an additional 18 months of bottle age prior to release.
Vineyards: 97% Napa Valley, 3% El Dorado, 97% Bingham Ranch, Calistoga, 3% Verbitsky Ranch
Composition: 97% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3 % Cabernet Franc
Harvest Date: Oct 27 ~ Nov 4, 2005
Sugar at Harvest: 25.2 Degrees Brix
Total Acid: .69 gm/cl
pH: 3.37
Fermentation: Hand picked, 5 days cold soak at 50 degrees, pumped over 3 times a day,fermentation temp. to 90 degrees, extended maceration for 20 days, D-80 and Monte Rosso yeast.
Aging: 22 months in 100% French Oak from 10 different French Coopers; Vicard, Seguin Moreau, Ermitage, Boutes, Jarnac, Bel Air,St. Martin, Billon, Trieul, and Chalufour, 100% new oak.
Bottling Date: April 2008
Release Date: October 2009
Production: 1000 750ml Cases
You may also like:
90 Points
Rich and voluptuous with ripe raspberry, cherry, and plum, layered with hints of lavender, fig compote, and exotic spice. Concentrated and complex, the palate is a balanced interplay cocoa, and a hint of espresso, creating both richness and intrigue. Vibrant acidity and silky tannins that contribute heft and length that coat the palate with luscious ripeness that keeps on giving.
94 Points
Juice explodes right out of the glass with its dark purple in color and bursting aromas of black cherry jam, boysenberry, raspberry and wild cherry interlaced with hints of baking spice, espresso bean, and toasted nut. The palate is ripe and juicy with flavors of dark cherry, huckleberry and raspberry perfectly integrated with notes of spice, dark chocolate, and a kiss of toasty oak.
94 Points
Deep red-purple with aromas of black currents, blackberry, plum, chocolate, earthy forest floor, licorice, graphite, and subtle floral notes of violet, spice and cracked pepper. The palate is full, structured and balanced with blackberry, currant, black cherry fruit with notes of earth, firm acid and silky tannins. Finishes big with blackberry fruit and peppery spice.
PDF