Community Tasting Note
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davidandrose wrote: 89 points
December 4, 2021 - After the fact so no detailed notes; delivers what you expect from a wine that’s 50k+ cases, unless (as others note) it’s been 10 years since you last tried their Napa Cab.
Fruit driven without a lot of nuance or depth. Reasonable wine, but there’s A LOT at this price point that outperforms this.2 people found this helpful 4,580 views
6 Comments
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mcromain1021 commented:
12/14/21, 1:57 PM - Curious which others you would go for at this price point. Always looking for Napa cabs, but so many are well into the $100s now. Any cool recommendations?
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davidandrose commented:
12/14/21, 5:09 PM - I often talk about Lewelling, which makes great cabs and is one of the best QPRs (if not the best) in Napa; their almost exclusively mailing list with a wait to purchase, but $114 for a pair of their higher end and lower end cabs is great. You'll see several Lewelling vineyard cabs from other producers, and they keep enough to make 1500-3000 cases/year. They've owned the land since the late 1800's which is a key part of the formula. Asst winemaker and 5th or 6th gen Haley Wight makes Hayfork using some of the family's fruit as well.
Foley is another solid citizen in this price point, and his merlot's @ $52 could be taken as cab's by many. Cabs run from $90-200, he's only releasing '16s now, and they're great people as well!
On Spring Mtn Keenan makes some solid wines as well, though not as consistent as either of the above. You can sometimes get good deals on their wines through vivino.com.
And another great QPR though also with a wait list is Washington's Quilceda Creek. Their CVR Red blend @45 represents my largest holding, and while their cabs are $125-150, they'd be alot more if they were in Napa. Hope that helps and happy to offer more thoughts another evening! -
mcromain1021 commented:
12/14/21, 5:31 PM - This is great! I'm going to check some of these out for sure. Thanks for the response!
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davidandrose commented:
12/21/21, 5:50 PM - Another thought....I've come across Buena Vista cabs several times in the last 2 years, periodically on WTSO and sometimes when one of our local supermarket chains has a steep sale. Popped a bottle of their '16 and '17 cabs on recent weekdays, and for ~$30 its a great everyday drinker.
Also see you found a bottle of Lewelling somewhere! Kudos and enjoy! And I appreciate your selection of Tuscans. We spent 10 days this fall just to improve our understanding of Tuscans and while still learning about Montalcino and Montpulciano/environs, we're really enjoying its versatility and food-friendliness. -
mcromain1021 commented:
12/22/21, 7:09 AM - Hey--Thanks for the follow up note. I found the Lewelling at Sokolin Wines--$67. Scored one to try it. I will look for Beuna Vista in addition to the other ones you mentioned. Robert Foley has a large offering on their website which is cool, but I'll likely stick with the base cab as that single vineyard one is around $200. Sokolin also convinced me to try a $32 Cab from Napa, the 2019 Royal Prince. I have not tasted it yet, but my guy there says it is really good for the $.
In terms of Tuscans, yes, that is my sweet spot and happy to offer some options if you want them. I have found most things from 2015 and 2016 are just awesome, some ready to go now, others needing some time, especially Brunello. 2017 was a hot year as I understand it and I have only had a couple from that vintage so far, but 2018 is looking promising again. Great values from '15 and '16 are Chianti. Many punch way above their price point. The 2016 Bibbiano Chianti Classico Riservra is one of the them that is just awesome. Should be mid $20s if you can find it. Happy to help further if you want. Cheers. -
davidandrose commented:
12/22/21, 1:34 PM - Thanks for the Tuscan comments, appreciate the suggestions and will see what I come across locally or on WTSO/Last Bottle; as our cellar is over capacity I'm on self-imposed wine probation, but that doesn't apply for great deals! We struggled for years to find Italians we enjoyed (other than Mrs DandR who speaks Italian as her first language) which prompted our trip this fall to begin exploring first-hand. As for Foley, we've also found his merlots are really heavy and are for cab-lovers; as they also sell 375's of many wines, you could mix up a few for trial purposes if you like. Enjoy the holidays and thanks again, David