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| Community Tasting Notes (average 86.1 pts. and median of 86 pts. in 9 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by granikmw on 1/2/2016: Deep ruby color; remarkably youthful. Elegant nose, with ripe berry/cherry character, touch of sandalwood and dried herbs.
Elegant, seamless palate: medium-bodied, lightly sinewy and layered, with moderate acidity and moderate tannins - which, while integrated on the palate, seem to be drying out on the finish. The fruit still has freshness and flesh. Lovely wine, holding on, but if you've got any, drink it up. This wine was well stored. Medium finish. (915 views) | | | Tasted by Acohen on 12/7/2008 & rated 86 points: Big rich blend that is slightly cedary with dark fruit and medium finish (1910 views) | | | Tasted by tthorn on 8/30/2008 & rated 89 points: Started was wonderfully, with a lush blend of blackberry, oak, cedar, and moderate tannin. It thinned out after a couple of hours, though, so it may may on last legs. (1885 views) | | | Tasted by johnwine on 7/2/2008 & rated 85 points: This wine was relatively unremarkable and ordinary. The nose showed scents of herbal cherries and rhubarb. The taste was not balanced but very concentrated with flavors of red and black cherries and mixed fruits. The finish was medium short on fruit with a lingering hot finish of alcohol. Maybe with time this wine will come together but it is not ready today.
(1678 views) | | | Tasted by Chicagojon on 10/11/2007 & rated 86 points: Pleasant, but simple. Nice blackberry flavors. Loses a lot on the finish. Would be a good everyday wine if it cost $12. A real disappointment at $70 (2149 views) | | | Tasted by JoeGr on 2/18/2007 & rated 84 points: I felt that this showed better on previous tastings. Of course this was the first time for me that this wine had to follow 95 Cos Estournel, which I enjoyed most of the afternoon and evening. While still "good" this wine was simple in comparison. (1998 views) |
| Iron Horse Vineyards Producer website
9786 Ross Station Road
Sebastopol, CA 954722002 Iron Horse Vineyards Benchmark T Bar T Vineyard2002 T-bar-T Benchmark
Benchmark is our finest achievement. The first word that comes to mind to describe this wine is luscious. It has exquisite fruit and soft, silky tannins. Both qualities speak to the wine's roots in the Alexander Valley. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot - all grown on the T-bar-T Vineyard in the northeast foothills of the Alexander Valley. This release is made entirely from the finest barrels, cherry-picked from the vintage.
Food Pairing: Rich, yet superbly elegant, we recommend pan seared lamb chops with turned potatoes and thyme, grilled venison tenderloin with a sauce of sun dried fruit, tian of charred tomatoes and summer vegetables with chevre, red wine braised guinea hen with pancetta and tiny onions, oven roasted sweet peppers stuffed with aged Cheddar and fresh corn.
Total Production: 400 cases. (800 6-bottle cases.)
Accolades: Wine Enthusiast awarded the prior vintage 94 points, ranking Benchmark in the top 15 of 150 Cabernet based wines. Wine & Spirits recommended Benchmark with 93 points. It also received 90 points and a "Bravo!" from Robert Parker.
TECHNICAL DATA
Iron Horse 2002 T-Bar-T Benchmark
Appellation: Alexander Valley, Sonoma County.
Winemaker's Tasting Notes:
The name says it all. Our first vintage of Benchmark was 1997. The next was 1999. And now, 2002. We will only name a wine Benchmark when it meets or exceeds the standards set by that first vintage. Every barrel was individually selected to create this blend. There is no greater thrill for a winemaker than crafting a wine of this caliber.
Natural Farming Philosophy: We believe wine is made in the vineyard. In fact, partner and chief winemaker Forrest Tancer calls himself a "wine grower". The creek beds intersecting the property have been allowed" to return to their natural state, harboring a natural balance of insects, allowing for minimal intervention. The soil is enriched with compost from the neighboring Redwood Hills goat dairy mixed with our own grape compost.
Vineyard Specifics: The grapes for this wine come from the T-bar-T vineyard in the northeast corner of the Alexander Valley, which partner and chief winemaker Forrest Tancer first planted in 1968. The property sits in the foothills rising to an elevation of 800 feet. It is very steep and rugged, yielding wines of exceptional finesse.
Average Age of the Vines: 10 years at harvest. Most of T-bar-T was replanted in the 90s due to Phylloxera.
Harvest Dates September 15 - October 3, 2002
Winemaking Techniques: Hand harvested grapes are destemmed into stainless steel tanks where they were cold soaked for seven days prior to fermentation. When fermentation is half-way complete, the new wine is gently pressed from the skins and transferred to French and American oak barrels. The fermentation goes to completion in these barrels, where the wine is aged until blending and bottling.
Barrels: French and American oak
Blend: 75%CS, 12%CF, 12%ME, 1%PV
Malolactic Fermentation: 100%
Date Bottled: March 2005
Residual Sugar: Dry
Alcohol: 14.3% v/v
Acidity: 0.67 g/100ml
pH: 3:36
Release Date: March 2005
Total Production 400 cases (800 6-bottle cases)
Suggested Retail Price $70/bottle
Source: http://www.ironhorsevineyards.com:80/index_current.html'> Archived Winery Web Page Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican 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 Sonoma CountyMendocino CountyAlexander Valley Alexander Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
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