2005 Scherrer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Scherrer Vineyard, Alexander Valley
Ordered off the list at Bev Gannon's ($80). Red fruit and minerals with mild notes of cedar, leather and herbs. Refreshingly dry and restrained for a Californian, and would guess at or near peak.
2011 Tenuta Sant'Antonio Corvina Scaia Veneto IGT
A delightfully lighter bodied red loaded with flowers, strawberry-rhubarb fruit and green peppercorns. Balanced, interesting and refreshing; great value at around $12 locally, but packaged like a $20+ wine.
2007 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Showing a bit jammy as compared to our last bottle about a year ago, with a significant relaxation of tannins. But still a very good bottle of Cal Cab that causes us to regret once again that KL is no more.
2005 Chaddsford Winery Merican, Pennsylvania, Red Bordeaux Blend
Our Thanksgiving main course wine. Fully mature and the last of our three bottles. Terrific mature claret nose, soft plummy med weight fruit with velvety mocha notes and a lingering finish. Would have been great to take to a blind/brown bag tasting, as it is neither as complex as a real Bordeaux but neither as sweet-fruity as 99% of the New World Bordeaux blends, and yet it's so obviously well-made. Would be a real tough one to guess.
2000 Kenwood Cabernet Sauvignon Jack London Vineyard, Sonoma Valley
Nice, fully mature Cal Cab. Blackberry, cedar and tobacco notes--dry but not parchy. At peak, as tannins seemed to dissolve from one glass to the next.