Community Tasting Notes 7

• yurcek Likes this wine: 90 points

  January 8, 2023 - Dark Cherry, medium bodied. Flavor traveled the whole tongue

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• Muledog71 Likes this wine:

  September 5, 2022 - Don’t remember drinking this bottle

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• Matthew_Vance Likes this wine: 88 points

  June 25, 2022 - Black cherry and licorice on the nose. Notes of black pepper and spice on the back end of the palate. However, the spice is fleeting and the finish is rather smooth. Great value for the quality.

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• Hi.its.Don.4.Wine Likes this wine: 91 points

  December 30, 2021 - I'm Not a Food and Wine Snob - - Weeelll, Sort Of
  
  It would be difficult to say I’m not a wine snob, after all, even the profile on my blog lists me with the credentials of C.W.S. That’s not a misprint from the usual C.S.W. (Certified Specialist of Wine), no, my means Certified Wine Snob! Please let me explain.
  
  When it comes to buying wine for myself, I am, and always will be, a snob. Without unlimited resources (money), I have to be a little more careful about what I want to take home with me (meaning wine). So, yes, in those cases I am a snob.
  
  Unfortunately, my proficiency at cooking and my knowledge (that’s what I call it) of wine sometimes classifies me as snobby to others; maybe a better term they would use would be uncompromising. When I did more cooking for friends, I found that there was a hesitancy by those folks to invite me to their abode to reciprocate. The reason; they thought that I wouldn’t or couldn’t appreciate whatever they made or what wine was poured, that I would be too snobbish. Au contraire mona mi.
  
  I’ve told my friends I would be happy no matter what they served, just so long as I’m not making it; it could be franks and beans, grilled cheese, or hamburgers, it wouldn’t matter, but to no avail. The wine situation is not any better. If I get an invite to attend an event, what do they want me to bring? WINE! I guess they figure if I bring it I can’t complain.
  
  It’s probably the backdrop for why I rarely get wine as a gift; too much pressure to give a wine they will think I most likely won’t like. But that changed recently. To my surprise, a friend of mine gave me a very nice birthday card and a bottle of wine along with it, the
  
  Routestock Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018
  
  Bless her heart. Now I’ve heard of Routestock, but like so many other labels, hadn’t done much research on the wine or winery; meaning she also gave me the gift of “research.” My desire to delve into the world of Google and extract as much information as possible. Side note: You’d think after all this researching, I’d be a lot smarter. Anyway, it was my opportunity to pull up my chair to my desk and computer, alongside me sits my coffee mug filled with coffee (after all I usually write in the morning), and start plugging away finding all I can about the wine(ry).
  
  The most difficult part of this process is to try and decide what information that I find should be included in my post. I do try and limit the words so as not to bore anyone and to make my posts on Instagram, shall we say, manageable.
  
  So here goes: Routestock is a brand created by none other than the family-owned importer and marketing firm of Wilson Daniels. For Routestock, their story goes “it’s their commitment to source great fruit from high-end vineyards along well-known routes in the Napa Valley.” For this wine they use grapes from the Yountville region, the warmer St. Helena, the mountainous Mount Veeder, and the valley floor in Rutherford and is comprised of 91.3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3.3% Merlot, 2.2% Cabernet Franc, 2.1% Malbec, and 1.1% Petit Verdot (first time I’ve seen decimals used!). They practice minimal intervention in their winemaking to help the grapes show their true character, using native yeasts, natural malolactic fermentation, 100%-barrel aging, and no chemical additions. Aging is carried out with the wine spending 21 months in 98% French oak with 15% being new.
  
  Bottom line; I found the wine to have a nice perfumed nose and on the palate the traditional cassis cabernet notes of blue/blackberry fruit, combined with softer tannins and spice notes to finish the wine with nice length. This was to be a fine showing for a twenty-something Napa Cab.
  
  Wilson Daniels, er Routestock, makes other wines; Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir. I do wish to point out one last item; that Wilson Daniels has a tremendous and impressive portfolio of wines from around the globe, if you see them listed, it’s a good chance the wine will be great!
  
  Now back to my snobbiness.
  
  Cheers

  2 people found this helpful Comments (2)

• thomas667 Likes this wine: 90 points

  December 18, 2021 - Deep purple color. Great bouquet that serves a reminder of Napa Valley. Taste of dark cherries, licorice. Some tannins and fairly dry with a medium finish. Really like the composition. Great buy for the price.

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Wine Definition

• Vintage 2018
• Type Red
• Producer RouteStock Cellars
• Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation Napa Valley
• UPC Code 9776875042230

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• Pending Delivery 0 (0%)
• In Cellars 134 (49%)
• Consumed 138 (51%)

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