A wine to which I have alluded

I've mentioned a pretty good, pretty cheap wine in a couple of other posts.
2003 was the first year that Dave Coffaro offered screwcap closure as an alternative to the synthetic horror. I jumped on it.
In general, I've found that screwcapped wines age more slowly (and more reliably) than more or less equivalent wines under other closures.
David Coffaro is the only winemaker who offers screwcap reds of real quality that I know of. (I'd be happy to learn of others!)
I wrote this note last night after opening my only remaining '03 Coffaro, and drinking it with a pretty good steak:
Pretty good. Getting to be a bit drying, and losing its fruit without replacing it with secondary flavors. I'm glad I got to it. Reminds me of David's cabs (before screwcap) after 5 or 6 years.
I cooked a hamburger this evening (it was warmer than I expected) and had another slug of the Coffaro:
Very good! Either the oxygen exposure in the opened bottle or the difference in the meal made a significant difference. Fruit came back (still in the background), some secondary garrigue sort of flavor came out, and the tannins, while strong especially in the back palate, spoke more of youth than age.

Calif., Dry Creek Valley, David Coffaro, Cab. Sauv., 2003 $14.40 on futures 314 cases produced 14.6% alcohol.

John

Hi John, Plumpjack does a screw cap on half of their red wines also. I was very high on David Cofaro wines for a while but his extreme blending seemed to make all his red wines taste the same. His 1997 Cab. was most disappointing from a very good year. The LHSB from 1999 (IIRC) was stunning however! The sound system in the winery is something to behold!

I understand about Dave's passion for blending, Jim. In recent years there are more wines with an identifiable character. I think Matt is partly driving that change.

John