2005 Cafaro Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 91 points

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  3/31/2018 - europat55 wrote: 92 Points

  Nose: B++/A- Palate: A-
  This is in a really good place right now!

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  4/17/2012 - Cujo wrote: 91 Points

  Had bottle while in San Antonio, deep in color, superb nose, good body, lots of tannins, fantastic finish

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  8/28/2011 - joraesque wrote: 87 Points

  With big tannins and chewy yet on the smooth side. Unfortunately I didn't get much on the nose, and the finish is not much to talk about either. Overall, this is very quaffable but not too complex. Paired tremendously well with filet mignon.

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  5/11/2010 - StainedGlass wrote: 92 Points

  I'm going from mostly memory here after tasting this wine during a restaurant meal, but what a pleasant memory, even though I paid $95 for this wine on an otherwise overpriced wine list. I usually don't decant wine, preferring to taste it as it changes over the evening in my glass during the meal, but the waiter urged us to reconsider given this wine is unfiltered and there was quite a bit of sediment. It was a good suggestion, as the wine held up well through the process. Dark purple, almost chewy, and surprisingly complex with notes of dark cherry fruit, cocoa, and pepper. New world with plenty of fruit but not a bomb. Long finish. Maybe it was the food or the company, but this wine gave California Cab a good name.

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  3/29/2010 - cabrnay wrote: 93 Points

  We had the good fortune of tasting the individual Cafaro blending wines out of the barrel in Napa this last week and I was ready to offer to buy the individual varietals, they were that good. Unfortunately, we never got to taste the finished product.... until now. 91% cab, 6% Franc and 3% petite Verdot, just 427 cases produced. In our discussions with Joe Cafaro, owner/winemaker, it was obvious that he was targeting quality wines that go as well with food as with glass.. I think he met his goal. This wine has a beautiful nose, extremely aromatic, like a nice cognac, it can take your breath away. Fruit, acids, and tannins are in near perfect harmony, this is not an over the top, can only drink 1 glass before getting queezy wine.. this is a large wine with a great balance of fruit and acids, nice soft mouth-feel but not overly so.. Too many big cabs go for the Shiraz-like velvet glove texture that is so sensual at first but isn't a wine that you'd want to break out another bottle of over dinner with guests. I enjoyed the journey that this wine offered from first sip after being opened to the last sip given time to open a bit. With 50% new oak and 20 months in a combination of 95% French and 5% American using 50% new barrels, the oak is not overpowering, and I like the flavor that a little American oak gives the wines, a bit of an extra oomph on the tannins because if this, but never an overabundance of oak (and tannins) versus fruit. Overall a very nice job by a truly small production winery in Napa. Oh, and did I mention the price ? At $39 a bottle this is a much better wine then so many others at $50 - $75 a bottle. Joe Cafaro has been making wines for some time and his balance of all the appropriate nuances of a great wine is an obvious result of those years of experience.
  
  Just as a side note... my wife and I tasted nearly 50 wines in 3 1/2 days in Napa last week... anyone who says finding great small production wines in Napa is easy should be put away, we're still recovering (The Cafaro cab helps).

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