WTN: Two Very "Big" Cal. Cabernet

2006 Bugay Cabernet Sauvignon "the Emperess" from Sonoma Co. was decanted for 6 hrs. Color was very black and the nose and palate were very full of prune but mostly plum. Very distinctive wine on the edge of being too much but not crossing that line for me. Tannins low and acidity a bit high (as in Ph of maybe 3.7). Could have used a little more tannic bite to balance but very enjoyable. Probably not a long-term keeper, I'll see how the rest of a case developes over the next few years and drink up sooner if need be. Unusual and may be too extracted for many peoples liking probably. abv. of 14.5%

2008 DeSante "Oakville" Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was also very black but a bit more interesting in that beyond the full bodied black fruit, mostly plum, there was a nice note of roasted coffee and bloody red meat. Again a first bottle of a case but this one will probably age a good bit better that the previous one as the balance of fruit/tannins/acid seems better. Also decanted for 6 hrs. abv of 14.2%

6 hours of decanting seems an awful lot. All of one seminar at the Unified symposium related to balancing color and tannin levels in wine and earlier, in the vineyard. It is thought that excessive tannin is due in part to exteme pruning and too low a crop level. The ideal pruning level allows maximal color and flavor production accompanied by balanced tannins- enough to stabilize the pigments extracted into the wine. In fact, this balancing of color and tannin is relatively new in the industry and not widespread, and is a direct result of new laboratory methodology for easy and quick and inexpensive quantification of tannin extraction.

I decanted for 6 hours as I had no idea what the tannin level was with these wines and I thought that as young as they were they could handle a lot of air. Since I have 11 more bottles of each, I have learned a lot and will pop and pour the Bugay and decant the DeSante minimally.