Except for Dry Creek (which I think should stick to Zins), I'm enjoying more and more Sonoma Cabs. Was in Berkeley today doing a long "urban hike" with two of my dogs, and I saw that Vintage Wine Company, a cool little shop housed in an classical style water pumping station located off the Gourmet Ghtto of Shattuck Avenue, was doing a tasting of two "old style Cabs." Yep...no caramel bombs today!
New winery and a new vintage for me: 2005 Hobo Wine Company. The owner has led a very interesting life: http://www.hobowines.com/about.html
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. 13% ABV *Yep! 13%) very lean and austere. No raw bell peppers, but plenty of intriguing herbal notes. Still-there was very nice fruit, too. Because the owner is an itinerant winemaker who owns no winery or vineyards, the cost is cheap, too: $18.00 I much prefer this wine to the $100 Silver Oak last year, even at the infanticide stage! Factoring in the QPR, ****
They were also pouring a Western Australia (Margaret River) Cab. The article in Wine News made me interested in this region, and I quite enjoyed this wine, also. A little richer and bigger than the Hobo, it still had very pronounced herbal notes-almost like a very green Carneros Merlot. Lovely-but probably not to everyone's taste. Alas, I did not buy a bottle (a long walk lay ahead of me back to the car), and I forgot to write the producer down.
This shop is awesome! All unique, odd small production wines from around the world-and priced below $25. This place is quite a find. It's on Cedar Street just east of North Shattuck, for Northern Californians.