WTN: Some Cabs..(long/boring)

We tasted last night (8/22/12) Some Cabernets:
1. SilverSpringsWnryLLC CabernetSauv NYState DonGiovanniWines (12.5%; www.SilverSpringsWinery.com)
Mattituck/NY 2004: Med.dark color; rather earthy/herbal/classic cold-climate Cab light perfumed/
cinammon quite Loire-like attractive nose; tart/lean lightly tannic elegant/herbal/earthy/Loire-like
light charred/oak flavor; med.long bit lean/tart light/herbal/earthy/dusty slight spicy/cinnamon
light oak/charred finish w/ slight tannic bite; no one would mistake this for a Napa Cab but it
would hold its own to a Loire CabSauv; a pleasant interesting Cab.
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2. SilverSpringsWnryLLC CabernetFranc NYState DonGiovanniWines (12.5%;
www.SilverSpringsWinery.com) Burdett/NY 2003: Med.color w/ slight bricking; rather herbal/earthy/
cold-climate Cab rather spicy/rosemary/cinammon bit smokey interesting nose; tart/acid quite herbal/
earthy/Cab mushroomy/damp cellarslight smokey/charred/oak lightly tannic flavor; tart/lean strong
herbal/earthy some spicy/rosemary finish w/ light tannins; a bit more spic and a bit more aged than
the CabSauv; rather light/lean on the palate but attractive Loire-like CabFranc character; surprisingly
good in a lighter style.
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3. Soif de Jour AC: Bourgueil CabFranc (MeBaD; 13%) GAEC Gauthier Pierre et Rodolphe/Benais 2009: Med.dark
color; rather medicinal/milk of magnesia rather earthy bit unclean/bretty somewhat herbal/LoireCab nose;
soft rich/lush/grapey bit chocolaty/milk of magnesia some earthy/herbal almost porky flavor; med.long
lush/grapey/soft slight chocolaty/milk of magnesia earthy/herbal finish w/ light tannins; very atypical
of Loire CabFranc w/o the usual lean/tannic character and quite grapey; strange wine that seems to have
been monkeyed around with. $16.00 (WoP)
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4. FredericMabileau Racines AC?:Bourgueil (12.5%; www.JonDavidWine.com; 100% CabFranc from 50 yr old
vines) 2007: Med.light color; rather earthy/herbal/dusty classic Loire CabFranc bit smokey/mineral/wet
ashtray very interesting nose; fairly tart/lean slight tannic/hard/bitey earthy/herbal/Cab some smokey/
pungent/ashtray bit mushroomy/root cellar flavor; long earthy/dusty/herbal/Cab bit mushroomy/root cellar/
wet ashes/smokey tart/lean bit tannic/hard finish; a classic Loire CabFranc; on the lighht/restrained side
but quite an interesting CabFranc. $20.00 (K&L)
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5. JohnAlan EastBankCuvee PasoRobles (80% CabFranc, 20% Merlot; www.JohnAlanWinery.com; 13.3%) 2005: Very dark/
black color; very strong black cherry/blackcurranty/chocolate covered cherries/CherryMash bit alcoholic/ripe
slight pungent/ozone/sparkler/4th of July fireworks strong vanilla/toasty/oak very attractive nose; soft very
rich/lush bit alcoholic/overripe strong vanilla/toasty/oak intense blackcurranty/chocolate covered cherries
slight pungent/fireworks mouthfilling heavy body flavor; very long bit overripe/alcoholic intense chocolaty/
blackcurranty/black cherry/chocolate covered cherries soft/smooth/lush/mouthfilling finish w/ modest tannins;
on the ripe side but just shy of being over the top; quite a delicious Cab at a very good price.
$27.00 (MW/SPas)
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6. Chester'sAnvil Malbec MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.8%; 118 cs) 2009: Black color; intense chocolaty/black cherry/
black cherry cola light toasty/oak/smokey huge fruit bit earthy/spicy/herbal nose; soft plenty of soft
tannins intense black cherry/black cherry cola very spicy bit earthy/mineral light toasty/oak flavor; very
long lush/rich/huge fruit black cherry/black cherry cola light toasty/oak bit earthy/mineral/herbal finish
w/ ample soft tannins; needs age yet; some like a Cahors but more intense fruit and not the hard tannins;
a beautiful/huge wine. $40.00
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7. Chester'sAnvil HattoriHanzo NapaVlly (14%; www.LagierMeredith.com; www.PottWine.com;
CabSauv/CabFranc/Merlot/Syrah + Malbec) 2008: Very dark/black color; intense blackcurranty/Cab/ripe/
chocolaty rather spicy/rosemary light toasty/oak lovely classic Cab nose; slightly tart ripe very
blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty smooth/mouthfilling light toasty/oak flavor w/ ample ripe/soft tannins; very
long ripe/lush strong black curranty/Cab/chocolaty slight herbal/spicy/rosemary finish w/ soft tannins;
more straightforward blackcurranty Cab and not as interesting as the '09. Very fair price at $36.50
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8. Chester'sAnvil HattoriHanzo NapaVlly (CS/CF/M/PV/Syrah; 14.9%; 244 cs) 2009: Black color; intense Cab/
blackcurranty/ripe/chocolaty slight herbal/rosemary/oregano quite spicy/DrPepper light toasty/oak lovely
ripe/lush nose; lightly tart rich/ripe/mouthfilling very strong blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty/black cherry
spicy/DrPepper/rosemary/cassis lovely flavor w/ ample/soft tannins; very long/lingering intense Cab/
blackcurranty/chocolaty/DrPepper/black cherry cola ripe/lush/mouthfilling light toasty/oak finish; a bit
more tannic/hard and a lot more interesting/spicy in character; great price at $35.00
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9. Ridge Merlot TorreRanch MonteBelloVnyd/SCM (13.7%; Bttld: June 2011; Planted: Late '80's, The "Bowl";
Drk: 3/11-3/18-3/19: EB) 2009: Dark color; ample toasty/oak/vanilla/coffee bean lush grapey/blackcurranty/
Merlot bit chocolaty some aromatic/grapey bit simple nose; soft slight tannic/hard rather vanilla/toasty/
Am.oak fairly lush/grapey/blackcurranty/Merlot flavor; long soft/grapey/lush/blackcurranty/Merlot strong
vanilla/toasty/Am.oak slight tannic/hard finish; speaks mostly of Ridge winemaking; a soft/lush Merlot
but a bit lacking in structure and interest. $49.50
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10. Ridge Perrone CabFranc MonteBelloVnyd/SCM (13.5%; Bttld: 6/11; Planted: 1972; Drk: 3/11-3/21: EB) 2009:
Very dark color; stronger more earthy/herbal/chocolaty/CabFranc some coffee/toasty/smokey/oak/pungent very
rich attractive nose; bit hard/tannic strong chocolaty/CabFranc/herbal/blackcurranty strong smokey/coffee/
toasty/oak somewhat soft mouthfilling flavor; very long strong chocolaty/herbal/CabFranc bit earthy/dusty
strong coffee/oak/smokey bit hard/tannic finish; lots of rich chocolaty CabFranc character. $49.50
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11. Ridge Klein CabSauv MonteBelloVnyd/SCM (13.6%; Bttld: 6/11; JimsomareRanch; Replanted: early '70's;
10 Acre Parcel; Drk: 3/11-3/26-3/31: EB) 2009: Very dark/black color; intense herbal/Cab/blackcurranty/
pungent/licorice strong coffee/smokey/toasty/oak some SCM/earthy/dusty classic SCM Cab nose; rather hard/
tannic strong blackcurranty/Cab/herbal rather earthy/dusty strong coffee bean/Fr.roast/toasty/oak flavor;
very long strong blackcurranty/herbal/Cab rather coffee/toasty/smokey/oak some earthy/SCM Cab/dusty finish
with ample/hard tannins; has a lot of the earthy/SCM character that the Ridge MonteBellos of the '70's
showed; my favorite of these three. $49.50
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12. Ridge MonteBello Estate/SCM (72% CS/28%Merlot; 13.3%; 60 tons from 58 acres; 80% selected; Bttld:
June2010; Drk: 3/20-3/35: EB) 2008: Very dark/black color; complex coffee bean/espresso/charred/toasty/oak
intense herbal/Cab/blackcurranty classic SCM/earthy/dusty slight licorice/pungent nose; rich/mouthfilling/
smooth very balanced strong blackcurranty/herbal/Cab strong SCM/earthy/dusty strong coffee bean/espresso/
charred/roasted/oak flavor w/ ample/round/tannins; very long/lingering strong coffee bean/charred/oak very
strong blackcurranty/Cab/herbal some earthy/SCM Cab complex balanced very structured finish; ample tannins
but smooth/polished/balanced; good for the long haul. $85.00
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13. Caymus NapaVlly CabSauv (13.0%) 1987: Med.color w/ slight bricking; very strong herbal/earthy/Cab/
RedBdx-like bit toasty/smokey/oak slight minty/menthol fairly complex mature Bdx/Cab nose; very smooth/
graceful rather herbal/earthy/Bdx-like strong toasty/cedary/smokey/oak slight tannic/dried out flavor;
long/smooth/elegant herbal/earthy/Bdx-like strong cedary/smokey/oak/toasty finish w/ bit tannic/dried
out in aftertaste; has come together quite nicely and is an attractive Bdx-like mature Cab w/ little fruit
and starting its downhill slide. Larry's mystery. $18.00
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The usual BloodyPulpit stuff:
1. DonGiovanni: Back in the old days I used to post a lot on the Squires board, back when it was an
happening place to hang out, back before it bacame morbund. JohnZuccarino, winemaker at SilverSprings/
DonGiovanni used to post quite lot on that Board. He noticed that I tasted quite a lot of wines and wanted
me to try some of his wines. So we connected and these btls duly arrived. This was probably 4-5 yrs ago.
I thought it would be interesting to include, finally, in this tasting. I had rather low expectations for
these two btls...it's UpState NewYork red wine...how good could they possibly be??
I was pleasantly surprised at how good they really were. At 12.5%, they were rather light, almost anemic,
on the palate. But they delivered both good aromas and (lightweight) flavors that reminded me quite a bit
of Loire Cab & CabFranc. This is probably all those grapes could deliver from that cold-climate, but I thought
they delivered it well. Everybody else was also pleasantly surprised as well.
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2. Ridge: The single varietals from MonteBello is a new program launched by Ridge almost a yr ago. It focuses on
mono-varietals from the historical Ranches on MonteBelloRidge...Torre/Short; Perrone; Klein/Schwabacher/Jimsomare;
using their names from the 1800's. Details can be found at:
(www.ridgewine.com/About/Historic%20Mont ... 0Vineyards).
Ridge recently leased the old Rousten/Ortmann ranch between Jimsomare and Short and planted it in '08. So there
will be a RoustenRanch wine a few yrs down the road. This means Ridge farms the entirety of MonteBelloRidge from
the old Zin on lower Jimsomare all the way to the tippy-top of Perrone. On the back side of Perrone, to the
North & West, are some old terraces of abandoned vnyds that lie on the MonteBelloPreserve. They hope to plant
those terraces sometime in the future.
Interestingly, when you go to GoogleMaps and enter 17100, the first address, of all the 17100's in the
world, that pops up is....MonteBelloRd!! It's worth taking a look at the satellite image and locate the various
ranches on MonteBello. I've suggested to Ridge they outline those on the GoogleMaps image.
Of these four wines, I was unthrilled by the Merlot...no surprise there. It was much simpler than the CabFranc
and the CabSauv. Those two I liked a lot. But, after the MonteBello, when I went back to them, they seemed a
bit simpler, more mono-chromatic. The MB was a big wine, but superbly balanced and made for the long haul.
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3. Chester'sAnvil: This is the collaborative label of SteveLagier/CaroleMeredith and the Potts, their neighbors
up the ridge on MtVeeder. Not being much of a fan of Cabernets, I'd put off tasting these wines. Sorry I did
now. I was pretty impressed with these, especially the two '09's. They all had plenty of tannins and were quite
structured, but that tannins were rather soft and not at all hard. The only Cab, Calif or otherwise, I buy is
MonteBello. I may break down and start buying the Chester'sAnvil ones now.
The HattoriHanzo name comes from a famous Japanese sumarai warrior and ninja master. Sorta describes the
wine I think.
Tom

just finished my last bottle of John Z's 2003 Don Giovanni Cab Franc..nice wine, nice people..Always enjoy my visits to Silver Springs

just finished my last bottle of John Z's 2003 Don Giovanni Cab Franc..nice wine, nice people..Always enjoy my visits to Silver Springs

I've never actually met John. Over on eBob, where he used to post a lot (I can't go there anymore..not a subscriber), he used to
seem to catch a lot of flack, for some reason or other, I couldn't figure it out. I sorta took a liking to the guy for his
sort of iconoclastic, if sometimes inflamatory, posts. His ClickOnMe links always made me laugh.
I sent him a copy of my TN's...so will probably hear back from him.
Tom

John Z is indeed a very cool if somewhat iconoclastic dude..actually quite laid back when you meet him..Our visits to Silver Springs with John and his wife have always been very relaxed and a lot of fun..My daughter Samantha is a big fan of his wines.

Any idea on how long to wait on the Perrone and the Klein?

Any idea on how long to wait on the Perrone and the Klein?

Brian,
No need to rely on the rec of a doofus like me when you can use the winemaker, Eric's, rec:
Now to 2021 for the Perrone, noow to 2031 on the Klein. That's probably about right and the Ridge
drinking window recs are usually on the conservative side.
Tom

Tom,

Thanks for the Ridge update/news. Do they put some of that Merlot and Cab Franc in the Monte Bello Cab (the classic)?

Tom,
Thanks for the Ridge update/news. Do they put some of that Merlot and Cab Franc in the Monte Bello Cab (the classic)?

Tom,
All of those wines are candidates for inclusion into MonteBello. They start their assemblage process for MB in February. They have...
I don't know (but will find out)...dozens of different lots.... maybe as many as a 100. The "lots" can be by variety from the various
ranches, sometimes field blends by blocks in each of the four ranches. By then in barrel. They taste thru each lot
and decide if it's worth inclusion into MB. Then Eric will come up w/ some trial blends, based on ????? They'll taste thru a bunch of
these trial blends (dozens again?? Don't really know), until they come up w/ their final MB. This is then what goes to barrel (mostly in newer Am.oak)
in their separate cellar for the MB.
This leaves a fair amount of MB-Cabernet-based wine left over. Used to be that they would then do an assemblage from these multiple lots
for the SantaCruzMtn, now Estate, blend. And, then, what didn't make this cut, now gets bulked out.
Now that they're doing single ranch/mono-varietal wines; I don't know if that comes before or after the Estate assemblage....or simultaneously.
Whew......it's complicated. Makes the search for the Higgs Boson look like child's play!!!
Tom

Personally, I generally don't think of people who post hundreds of posts accusing those who disagree with them of child molestation (among other crimes) as "cool" or "iconoclastic"
But that's just me.
NB that the Silver Springs CS are NYS , not Finger Lakes, I think Long Island grapes.
My only Silver Springs wine was served blind:
#2 Herbal, vegetal, asparagus. From awful nose I'm hesitant to try. OK, on palate just bad, not awful,green peppers and candied red fruit Chris says "bad unripe Cab Franc". I can't think in terms of variety, just as bad wine. It's the 2007 Silver Springs/Don GiovanniTri-Dition (and I think Chris is correct, 60% CF). C-/D+

Whew......it's complicated. Makes the search for the Higgs Boson look like child's play!!!
Tom

Thanks!!!!

Dale: Not looking to get into a debate re whether John Z is or is not cool and iconclastic..My comments relate solely to having met him and having had multiple conversations with him..I rarely read his posts and don't recall seeing anything re where he might have accused people of crimes, etc, who disagreed with him..Am not big on the inflammatory posts that at one time were quite prevalent on various boards..Much prefer to keep it civilized, at the risk of being bland..No experience with his 2007 DG wines and all the DG reds that I have tasted were indeed made from LI grapes..Was the 2007 made from LI or FL grapes? My favorite FL Cab Franc is from Damiani, located not all that far from Silver Spriongs, on east side of Seneca.