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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.2 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 49 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by tc from santee on 10/14/2022 & rated 92 points: 15 years in and still drinking well. Drink by 2027. (634 views) | | | Tasted by Wine Warrior 1 on 9/29/2018 & rated 93 points: Dark dark garnet color with intoxicating nose. This is a heavyweight boxer, no finesse, just flexing muscles the whole time. Dark cherry, blueberry, chocolate, vanilla and oak. Flavor is extremely consistent throughout. Seems like just a touch of eucalyptus on the end. This wine has the flavor of a 94+but does lacks the finesse I like. This wine has plenty fo life in front of it. If you can let it decant for at least an hour, you will be rewarded. Really nice wine. (1813 views) | | | Tasted by MDDW on 5/14/2018 & rated 93 points: 3 hour decant, subtle earth tones, perfect balance of dark fruit with nuanced charcoal under pinning a very smooth and lovely wine, second day lost most of its charm so if you still have a bottle drink same day (2224 views) | | | Tasted by Combo on 7/8/2017 & rated 93 points: Exceptional. Popped, dechanted, and drank with a grilled bone-in fillet. Drinking great right now. Tannins have softened revealing rich, dark fruits with a very nice, soft texture. Only one of these left in the cellar - wish I had more! (2802 views) | | | Tasted by leachriscellar on 12/5/2016 & rated 93 points: Juicy blackberry, Cocoa, currant, some heat on the nose. Continues in the flavors with a strong finish. (3232 views) | | | Tasted by Lazerlar on 12/25/2015 & rated 93 points: Smooth, medium full body with lots of dark fruit. Tannins mostly resolved. Purchased upon release and drinking great right now. Hard to beat at the $25 I paid. (3864 views) | | | Tasted by mflesh on 11/16/2014 & rated 92 points: Enjoyed with company. VERY nice wine. Poured a dark red crimson with some violet notes. The nose on this wine is INTOXICATING. Blackberry core, and actually very similar to an Alexander Valley Silver Oak that has been aged closer to 10 years. On the palate, this wine packs a punch. Blackberry core with a touch of age. Leathery and smokey, NO acid on the entry. The wine is very thick in the middle. GOOD solid core of black fruit, but very silky. I love the darker ripe fruit characteristics that the 06 Napa Cabs have turned out to have. Finish is long and dense with some mild to moderate pepper, but was a little unidimensional on the finish. This wine would do good with a game dish or something with a heavy creme sauce, but can certainly stand alone (was served today with some sausage meatballs that were very tasty!). I don't think this one has a LOT of life left in it, but it certainly has a few more years. Done by 2018 with proper cellaring. (4426 views) | | | Tasted by n2wine on 10/25/2014 & rated 92 points: Still drinking very well. Great wine. (3888 views) | | | Tasted by Bam_Man on 12/23/2013 & rated 93 points: A terrific California Cabernet that is unmistakably Sonoma. Shows a beautiful, complex nose of dark berries, cassis, and dried herbs. Full-bodied, rich and silky - but not at all overdone or hot, despite its 15.4% ABV. Lots of delicious blackberry and dark currant fruit that displays excellent depth and concentration. The long, velvety finish is loaded with dark fruit character and subtle notes of chocolate and licorice. The tannins are well integrated and wonderfully polished. So beautiful, satisfying and delicious, this wine really exemplifies how good Sonoma Cabernet can be. Would undoubtedly be two or three times the price if it was from Napa.
50+5+13+17+8=93 (4628 views) | | | Tasted by jinks on 12/7/2013 & rated 98 points: KW Epic tasting/ mens best bottle (KW): tasted blind amongst 7 other top wines including Lafite and two vintages of Penfolds Grange.
Blind notes:
young. aromas all over the map. HUGE in the mouth but in perfect balance and harmony, soft tannins go on forever.
I guessed this was a young bordeaux blend.
I think this is just in a perfect spot right now. (4641 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie.Gail on 6/15/2013 & rated 95 points: Decanted for 3 hours....wonderful! (3890 views) | | | Tasted by aslan-m on 6/13/2013 & rated 93 points: Requires a three hour decant to overcome the high alcohol "bite". Then it settles down and is smooth and full bodied. (3150 views) | | | Tasted by Motz on 8/8/2012 & rated 90 points: I agree with Rossodio in many regards about this wine. It is over-extracted and the alcohol is not at all integrated. It is a wine of phases. First a big tannic hit, then fruit, which tastes port like, then oak, then alcohol. The alcohol burn constitutes the majority of the finish. The actual finish is short. Similar in profile and taste to the 2006 Glaetzer Anaperenna, but that wine is a little better. Rated 90 on the basis of concentration and general hugeness.
Decidedly not my thing. (4417 views) | | | Tasted by drdebs on 4/8/2012 & rated 93 points: A textbook California Cab, rich and full, with currant, chocolate, and spice. A bit and bold wine. A lovely, long finish. Just coming in to its own. Drink over the next 5-7 years. (4022 views) | | | Tasted by The Lonz on 4/1/2012 & rated 92 points: I am currently on a spanish wine bender and was looking for a tempranillo. A worker there recommended I try the rockaway. Even though I am trying to shift from fornia he said he weould give me the bottle for $30 from $50. Sold. Took this home and decanted for 2 hours. This wine smells great. tons of dark fruit and not oaky at all. This has great mouthfeel and az nice finish. my only qualm is that personally I thought it was a bit hot on the finish at 15.4% alcohol. However its not over the top sweet and I wouldnt havew regretted paying full pricde for this wine. Reminded me alot of CLIO from Jumilla. However I thoguht the CLIO was better balanced. Cheers. (4122 views) | | | Tasted by n2wine on 2/12/2012 & rated 92 points: I was looking for something with some body to have with some bone-in ribeyes and I found it. Lots of dark fruit on the nose. Very smooth and well balanced. A nice long finish. A very good CA cab. (3426 views) | | | Tasted by Charlie.Gail on 12/11/2011 & rated 95 points: This is a wonderful, full-bodied wine from Sonoma. Great bouquet, and very smooth and lasting finish. The taste is wonderful. It certainly can compare with the best from Napa. (4227 views) | | | Tasted by KC Lawyer on 7/10/2011 & rated 93 points: Very smooth and full of berry tones; no harshness upon opening, but became even smoother over 2 hours; enjoyed with rack of lamb - great match. Depth not so great - started fine, finished fine, never blew us away. Not complex. (4495 views) | | | Tasted by Ajtrader on 5/27/2011 & rated 93 points: Beautiful cab. (4474 views) | | | Tasted by MattTM on 3/31/2011: Wine Festival Tasting Room, quick notes. Lots of cherry on the nose, along with some plum, rich dark berries, and a touch of heat. Slightly tart palate of cherry, plum, anise, and a touch of blueberry. Very dry with good acidity. (4588 views) | | | Tasted by jschmeling on 2/18/2011 & rated 93 points: California Cabernet done well. Deep purple, with a bit of translucency. Good nose, blackberries, blueberries, cassis, forest floor. The taste adds pencil lead to the rest, as well as a bit of spice, black licorice maybe. Intense fruit, great depth, good concentration of flavors. Terrific balance, well made, though it's high in alcohol for a Cab at 15.4% you can't tell. It's got medium length of finish, 20 to 30 seconds, lingering with mouth watering components. Great wine if you find it at the right price. (4979 views) | | | Tasted by Jhcwine on 11/3/2010 & rated 93 points: November-02-10 - LCBO "Sonoma Superstars" Taste and Buy Event - October 21, 2010. Sorry, no or limited tasting notes. Just a score. Too many wines, too little time for notes. Here's the note, if any:
Nose - 93
Palette - 93
Medium body. Overall, very nice. One of the better cabs at the event. (5092 views) | | | Tasted by Xfactor on 6/5/2010: Black cherry and soft plum nose, leather and plum palate. (5028 views) | | | Tasted by Rossodio on 5/6/2010 & rated 82 points: Muddled, overextracted, and alcoholic, much like the other Rodney Strong wines tried at this tasting. No thanks - especially for the price tag. Even with 5-10+ years in bottle, while the stiff tannins will certainly soften up and some of the hard shell will melt away, the in-your-face alcohol and overextracted richness of this wine, I am afraid to say, will never let the redeeming qualities of this juice show themselves. (5194 views) | | | Tasted by PeteNJ75 on 5/2/2010 & rated 92 points: Tasted at the winery yesterday. This is still very, very young and probably needs 5-10 years to really blossom, but I could see this being a 94+ wine when that time comes. It shows great complexity, depth and power for a wine at this price point. (5115 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Rodney Strong Producer website
Tom Klein
Proprietor
A fourth generation California farmer, Tom earned a business degree from Stanford and spent the first part of his career as a management consultant at the San Francisco office of the prestigious global management firm McKinsey & Company. One project during this time was evaluating a small winery in the Russian River Valley called Rodney Strong Vineyards and, in a chance meeting, he was introduced to founder Rod Strong and winemaker Rick Sayre. Already developing an interest in wine, this encounter planted a seed that would grow into a lifelong passion.
Rick Sayre
Head Winemaker
Rick began his winemaking career at the age of 19 as an assistant winemaker and cellar master at Simi Winery in Sonoma County. He had the opportunity to train under the world-renowned winemaster André Tchelistcheff, who instilled in his young trainee a deep passion for the art of winemaking and a desire to not only master his craft, but continually push the boundaries of creativity. “André taught me that a winemaker must live with his wine,” Rick recalls, “from walking the vineyards to the careful craft of guiding the wine into bottle. Even the smallest details can have a lasting effect.”
When Rod Strong decided to take a step back from the demanding role of winemaker, he called upon Rick Sayre, who joined the team at Rodney Strong Vineyards in 1979. In more than three decades in the cellars, Rick has guided the wine collection to include world-class Reserve, Symmetry and Single-Vineyard releases, an outstanding line of Estate wines and best-in-class Sonoma County wines that continue to please vintage after vintage. His voracious appetite for new winemaking knowledge has taken him around the world, including trips to the wine regions of France, Australia, New Zealand and Spain
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 SauvignonRockaway On weinlagen-infoUSAAmerican 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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