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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.9 pts. and median of 94 pts. in 301 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by jsander on 5/4/2024 & rated 92 points: Drinking well. Nice cali cab (119 views) | | | Tasted by ELH on 3/30/2024 & rated 93 points: Alas, the last bottle. (430 views) | | | Tasted by signotim on 2/14/2024 & rated 93 points: Rich and ripe but nicely balanced with good acidity. A bit of warmth on the finish and it was not a bother for me. Delicious. (682 views) | | | Tasted by Cow Town on 10/27/2023 & rated 95 points: Not sure how to rank this. Tasted along with 50 other wines, all exceptional. This came across as balanced - fruit, tannins, everything. There wasn't a single thing that jumped out, but that's what made it great, especially compared to other wines. Great wine. (1261 views) | | | Tasted by Sonoma-W on 9/16/2023 & rated 92 points: A bottle that was tucked away -- we forgot about it! An older style, medium bodied, actually decent tannins that dissipated as it was open. Nice to try! (846 views) | | | Tasted by SMHalps on 9/8/2023 & rated 93 points: Part of a 2008 to 2010 dinner with my wine group. This was my favorite, although by vote, not the group favorite. Opened, but not decanted for over 45 minutes before pouring. Once again the cork broke and I had to work some magic to get the bottle open without ending up with cork in the wine! I've had this happen frequently with Anderson's wines from the mid 2000s. I'm not sure why. Anyway, full bodied with a long finish. (1197 views) | | | Tasted by Winiac on 6/27/2023 & rated 93 points: Old style, bug cab with good structure, lots of plummy fruit and integrated oak. Not every body's cup of cab. (1306 views) | | | Tasted by slywka7 on 4/8/2023 & rated 96 points: Decanted for 1 hour. Aromas of blackberry, black cherry, currant, mint and lead pencil. Flavors of blackberry, black cherry, currant, plum and melt chocolate. Ends with a 40-45 second finish with blackberry and currant notes. Doesn’t seem like it aged at all since the last time I had it. Although a great wine not sure I would rate this as high as I did previously. (1299 views) | | | Tasted by gtonn on 3/23/2023 & rated 94 points: Awesome. Really,it is. Even at this age, the brightness is there. Yes the fruit has faded, but only a bit. It is still open and inviting and absolutely gorgeous! (1251 views) | | | Tasted by RockyII on 1/14/2023 & rated 94 points: 2nd bottle 5 years removed from the first. Deep eggplant red with some orange fade at the rim. Semi sweet nose of blackberry, black cherry and maple syrup. Taste is similar but with smokey charcoal notes. Ultra smooth tannins at this point and medium acidity. Well balanced flavor. Nice elegant mouthfeel (1353 views) | | | Tasted by daveo6313 on 12/31/2022 & rated 95 points: This wine was in a great place. Beautiful bottle. (1141 views) | | | Tasted by pdadams66 on 12/13/2022 & rated 92 points: Drinking very well. Smooth tannins, deep fruit, has enough structure to remain interesting. (1178 views) | | | Tasted by oldcorke on 11/5/2022 & rated 95 points: Drinking very well, but cold easily go another 6-8 years & maybe more. Rich & dark, luxurious deeply scented fruit, baking spice, earth, creosote. Very satisfying. Just a shade better than red-fruited 2013 Stony Hill Napa Cab drunk same nite. (1101 views) | | | Tasted by T1000 on 10/14/2022 & rated 95 points: This is drinking great right now, could last several more years probably with no problem. Notes of dark cherry and light hint of tobacco. Touch of sulfur on the nose (minerally), sweet but very subtle fruits. Notes of burnt sugars on the nose as well. It's a fun one, worth the wait for sure. Had ours in our cellar for 11.5 years. (1260 views) | | | Tasted by pdadams66 on 6/26/2022 & rated 91 points: Deep dark center, red rim with some signs of age.
Sweet, pipe tobacco and black cherries, touch of VA, dry autumn leaves, some green stems.
Smooth and minty, cassis and plums, raspberry reduction, modest acidity and tannin at this point, touch of cigar ash, very good long finish.
Excellent Napa Cab, not overblown at all (the 15.3% alcohol is surprisingly well integrated). Drinking very well now. (1585 views) | | | Tasted by Eye Drink Reds on 6/13/2022 & rated 87 points: Dry with tart, dark fruits and some crushed rocks. Medium bodied smooth tannins and good acidity. Brief 30 min decant, but did not improve much after 2 hours. This was outdone by a more robust 2008 Padis Cabernet. Not sure if this was an off bottle, but it lacked flavor and seemed tired. (1708 views) | | | Tasted by oncocyte on 4/24/2022 & rated 96 points: Magnificent, elegant wine. Two huge fans at this table. A little cigar box and slight peppery nose, then ethereal fruit, then soft road tar-like tannins on the backside, with a long finish. Can't wait to see how this evolves, but I guess I have to. (1671 views) | | | Tasted by zylmanj on 4/9/2022 & rated 92 points: I thought this was very good but not quite great. It is almost 50 percent Napa Cab and 50 percent Bordeaux in taste. The tannins are fully integrated. It has a medium plus body with medium acidity. In all fairness to this wine, I prefer Napa Cabs over Bordeaux. The taste profile is dark fruited and pleasant with slight complexity. (1662 views) | | | Tasted by rustyRudy on 3/4/2022 & rated 92 points: Rock solid mature cab with preserved bright fruits, tart, good depth and went marvelously with beef stew (1833 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 1/19/2022 & rated 94 points: See notes from three months ago. Nothing much has changed - slightly softer and slightly more complex. Drinks more like a Bordeaux, not an overblown Napa fruitbomb. (1795 views) | | | Tasted by pmarlo on 1/7/2022 & rated 95 points: Short cork, bottom fifth wet and infiltrated just a bit. Deep purple, heady full bouquet of chassis and yeast and grape must, really nice. First taste fruit wonderful and fully ready. Oh so rich, tannins still in the fight but now not astringent but a part of the wine. Really great cab, so thick with flavor, so youthful, so mature. This is so cabernet and a prime example of why its my favorite varietal. CT ratings say 2037 but if you have any try now. It won't disappoint. One of a few wines I was sorry to have the last of. Recommended, and CT says until 2037. I would feel comfortable with 8 more years but it wouldn't surprise me to see it make that distant mark. (1728 views) | | | Tasted by AusTxJim on 12/31/2021 & rated 81 points: Check your bottle. Just pulled this and it’s pushing past it’s prime. A bit funky without the complexity of earlier years…. (1552 views) | | | Tasted by Night Train on 10/25/2021 & rated 94 points: No reason to change my score from a previous bottle 20 months ago. Holding up just fine and gaining complexity. Nice nose, slightly restrained on the palate, medium body, and a killer finish. In a blind tasting, I would have pegged it as a 2nd growth Bordeaux, not a Napa cabernet. Not flashy and showy, but Yowza. (2005 views) | | | Tasted by drrobvino on 10/10/2021 & rated 94 points: 5th of 6 bottles. Beautifully made Napa Cab, luxuriously chewy tannins, moderate acidity, and a long and yummy finish.
This is a great California wine, showing all the glitz and glam that comes with Napa, but Conn Valley Vineyards doesn't go "too far" by becoming gloppy or too unctuous. Drink through 2024. (1800 views) | | | Tasted by Philasinger on 9/1/2021: This was simply fantastic. Absolutely the right time to open this bottle. I love it when a good winery will hit a home run with a particular vintage. I really like Conn Valley but this was on another plane. What a bargain in terms of QPR from Napa. I wish I had more. (1976 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, Vintage Retrospective: The 2008 Napa Valley Cabernets (May 2018) (5/18/2018)
(Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, New Releases from Napa Valley (Dec 2011)
(Anderson's Conn Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Producer website
Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Winery is managed and operated by Todd Anderson and his wife, Sarah. Both of whom share an immense appreciation for fine wines and their creation. Todd's passion and expertise for producing world-class cabs and bordeaux-style blends, however, did not come overnight. Since 1984, when he began staking-out the vineyard's trellis system with his father, Gus Anderson, Todd has been involved with every phase of planting, growing, harvesting and crushing their estate grown grapes as well as vinification - the transformation of grapes into wine. The Anderson Winery staff also includes chief vintner, Mac Sawyer, who was recruited to spend a year in France mastering the fine art of wine making at the Superior School at Montpellier. He studied the Bordeaux, Provence and Alsation wine making styles and is the second American to ever attend this school. Mac's assistant, Cuko, continually tests and re-racks vintages so only the finest barrels of our wine are bottled. Traci, the office manager, keeps shipments moving and the office running like a Swiss watch. During the fall harvest, dozens of part-time laborers pick the grapes while Miguel and Cuko help Todd and Mac to crush the harvest and to process tons of grapes into juice.
BACKGROUND: Since 1983 Conn Valley Vineyards has been family owned and operated by the Anderson's, and since their first release in 1987, Conn Valley Vineyards has been dedicated to producing world class wines. The 40 acre Estate is located just south of Howell Mountain in Conn Valley. When you visit, they provide a personal and highly educational experience. Located just 3 miles or 10 minutes east of downtown Saint Helena, you'll feel worlds away from the hustle and bustle of busy tasting rooms.
TODD ANDERSON: After graduating from University of Pacific in Stockton, CA with a degree in Geology Todd went to work for a small geophysical firm that was on the cutting edge of technology for seismic oil and gas exploration. Todd soon realized the corporate world was not for him. Although he loved the industry he was in, he continually had thoughts of the outdoors and getting back in touch with the soil. These thoughts, along with the mention from his parents of starting a “small vineyard”, are what led to the creation of Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards.2008 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
- Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% Estate grown; blend of numerous clonal varieties
- Aged in the hillside caves located on the Conn Valley Estate
- Harvest: September 23 - October 15, 2008
- Brix: 26.1
- TA/pH: 0.64/3.71
- Bottled: August 2010
- Released: April 2011
- Alcohol: 15.3%
2008 SEASON: Began with intense storms that brought high winds and heavy rains to the region, but that soon waned and Napa Valley experienced a dry Spring. The drier soils prompted vines to push out early, providing the “perfect storm” for frigid, dry air to create conditions for the deepest and longest frost period in decades. As Spring progressed there was cooling and rain at bloom, a relatively cool Summer delayed verasion, requiring careful crop thinning then a big hot spell came along in early September. The heat spell ratcheted everyone into high gear as several varieties were coming into ripeness all at once. The red varieties however benefited from long hang times in warm weather providing excellent ripening and a balanced structure. While a lighter than average vintage, 2008 looks to be another where vintners and growers in Napa Valley will continue their well-earned reputation for excellence in the world of wine.
Cabernet SauvignonCabernet Sauvignon is probably the most famous red wine grape variety on Earth. It is rivaled in this regard only by its Bordeaux stablemate Merlot, and its opposite number in Burgundy, Pinot Noir. From its origins in Bordeaux, Cabernet has successfully spread to almost every winegrowing country in the world. It is now the key grape variety in many first-rate New World wine regions, most notably Napa Valley, Coonawarra and Maipo Valley. Wherever they come from, Cabernet Sauvignon wines always seem to demonstrate a handful of common character traits: deep color, good tannin structure, moderate acidity and aromas of blackcurrant, tomato leaf, dark spices and cedarwood.
Used as frequently in blends as in varietal wines, Cabernet Sauvignon has a large number of common blending partners. Apart from the obvious Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the most prevalent of these are Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenere (the ingredients of a classic Bordeaux Blend), Shiraz (in Australia's favorite blend) and in Spain and South America, a Cabernet – Tempranillo blend is now commonplace. Even the bold Tannat-based wines of Madiran are now generally softened with Cabernet SauvignonUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
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