2016 Saunter Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 685 Red Head Vineyard
Community Tasting Note
JLuch1 Likes this wine:
Thursday, February 17, 2022 - 30 minute decant and consumed over a couple hours. Approachable after the decant and during consumption. Sweet red berry fruit, some spice and vanilla notes. For me a bit more fruit forward than what I would have preferred. So much so that I felt the acidity was not enough to overcome the juiciness of this wine and it made it feel out of balance for me. Perhaps a savory element would have helped balance this out for me.
Otherwise, the quality of the fruit and winemaking were all there, just missed the mark a bit for me. I have enjoyed the wines coming from their Eagle Summit Vineyard bottling, overall more structure and balance comparatively.
I saved half the bottle for day two and will amend my notes if the wines changes.
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6 comments have been posted
2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (1,578 views)
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
2/17/2022 3:35:00 PM - I have generally preferred this one over the ESV, however....just had a 3 day old ESV '16 and can't believe how much better it was! It is a severe PITA to try to figure out how/when these things are drinking their best!
Comment posted by JLuch1:
2/17/2022 4:30:00 PM - I have enjoyed other vintages of red head and I enjoy the style of thomas brown, which I typically find to be a nice blend between classical and modern styling. This vintage, at present, has seemed a bit more one dimensional compared to what I’m used to. Have had a few of these with similar results, but it also comes down to preference.
The eagle summit on the other hand takes come coaxing, but when it does come around I have found them to over deliver for the price.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
2/17/2022 6:07:00 PM - I agree on all counts!
Comment posted by Decanting Queen:
2/18/2022 4:37:00 AM - Interesting I found this too tight last year but sounds like it has opened up a bit since then. I am also a fan of the eagle summit vs the red hen’s I have tried so far.
Comment posted by Mark1npt:
2/18/2022 4:55:00 AM - DQ, maybe the Hen needs a 3 day slow ox, too? Lol......
Comment posted by JLuch1:
2/18/2022 9:37:00 AM - It was a bit better the second day, but the fruit was still in your face. Not saying it is a bad wine by any stretch, just a little below what I prefer from TRB and the Saunter team. I will add, I don't mind a fruit dominant or modern style as I thought the 2016 Becklyn NV I had last week was stellar. That wine had it all going on, balance, structure, finish. It was excellent and considering the two wines are priced similar, the Becklyn was in a different league, in my opinion.
Where as the last 2014 ESV I had, while stylistically a different wine, would compete more with Becklyn NV.