New World Cabernet & Blends - Sample Bottle Tasting

My Place - Washington, DC
Tasted Saturday, March 16, 2013 - Sunday, March 24, 2013 by isaacjamesbaker with 307 views

Flight 1 (4 Notes)

  • 2010 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon Cru 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (3/17/2013)

    Dark purple colored. Aromas of dark plums, raspberry jam and sweet pipe tobacco, also some cedar and mocha. Really alluring aromas that transition to rich flavors on the palate. Medium-tannins, medium acid and a rounded use of oak lay the groundwork for the dark plum and boysenberry flavors. Mix in some mocha, toast and cherry liqueur. Add a rich finish with notes of vanilla and cherry wood. A hedonistic wine, but impressive in its concentration. I'd like to revisit this in three years or so because it's just so intensely young.

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  • 2009 De Toren Z 90 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (3/16/2013)

    Tasted and scored blind. Aromas of dark roasted coffee, crushed blackberry, hint of tart cranberry, dried leaves and soil as well. On the palate, firm tannins and wonderfully fresh acid. Interesting mix of fresh blackberries and cranberries, hints of roasted coffee and a hazelnut-toast aspect lingers on the finish. Well-played oak doesn’t overpower the pure fruit flavors. I love the hint of chewing tobacco, smoke and tilled soil on the finish. Very focused, but still very young and capable of cellaring for three-to-five easily. A Bordeaux style blend of 56% merlot, 24% cabernet sauvignon, 14% cabernet franc, 4% malbec and a 2% shot of petit verdot.

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  • 2010 Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva de Familia 86 Points

    Chile, Maipo Valley

    (3/17/2013)

    Tight nose of mocha, cedar and black currants. A young, compact wine with dense tannins, almost bitter like green coffee. Dark fruit dominates, black cherry, black currant, along with flavors of ground coffee, charcoal and mocha. Big, toasty oak and chocolate shavings linger on the finish. A little low on acid. This is a very tightly-wound wine that could probably use a good decant or a year to settle down.

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  • 2010 De Toren Fusion V 93 Points

    South Africa, Coastal Region, Stellenbosch

    (3/18/2013)

    The nose, where to start? Plum cake, fig, currant jam, cedar, pine needles, mocha. Wow. Tart acid on the palate, firm tannins, and generous fruit. Plums and currants mix with earth and cedar, even a hint of black olive. This is granite-structured, but the acid is wonderful. The notes of bay leaf and potting soil pay homage to the Old World, but the fruit has such richness. Aged 12 months in 50% new oak, but the toast and mocha flavors are extremely well-integrated. This wine is showing wonderfully now, but it’s a big one that will be even more interesting in five or eight years. A blend of 57% cabernet, 14% merlot, 13% malbec, 11% cabernet franc and 5% petit verdot.

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