Napa Valley, California
Alcohol 14.5 %
Bought: 2015-09-17 at Safeway
Price (w/o TAX 8.25 %): $ 35.99 ($ 46.99)
Tasted: 2015-09-17 & 2015-09-18
Ratings: WA 88/100
Medium clear cherry red. Fruity. Morello cherries, red currants and a touch of melted dark chocolate. A certain sharpness behind the fruits. On the palate at the beginning a very spicy taste which converts after a while into a wonderful bouquet of red fruits. The finish is very long and far at the end the taste is changing again to a spectacular creamy and velvety "hovering" note. Not a typical California Cab, but a damn good wine.
The first candidate - the 2012 Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Double Lariat Cabernet Sauvignon
For my valley vacation of this year I decided to create a small series of 2012 Napa and Sonoma Cabs entries. 2012 was an extraordinary vintage for North Coast Cabs. The wines are usually still very tannic but it is worth to get a first impression of the quality now. All California wines - not only the Cabs and not only from the North Coast - I tasted so far were amazing with huge potential.
For the series I gave me two simple rules - the wines must be available at grocery stores and from wineries I would not visit during my stay. Also I decided to give a little bit more fact information as usual, like the prices and votings from well-known critics. Especially the prices should be interpreted carefully. The original prices of the grocery stores are usually far from reality. These prices shall only give the buyer a good feeling due to the possible savings and shall convince the customer to become a club member. So I noted both prices - the original one and the one I paid after all savings without tax. For my European friends I also add the TAX value.
Furthermore it is worth to mention that buying a bottle of wine in a grocery store is usually not the same as buying the same wine on the winery. Bottles available in grocery stores are often special bottlings. There are several indications to recognize this: Bottles from the winery have an additional remark "Estate Grown" or different labels. But to be honest this is more academic. Important is only one thing: How good is the wine? Nothing more.
My first candidate was the 2012 Jamieson Ranch Vineyards Double Lariat Cabernet Sauvignon. I didn't know the winery so far - at least this was my opinion - but Safeway offered a nice saving (:-)) and the label on the back informed about a interesting fact: This Cab is barrel fermented and barrel aged. The idea of the winemaker for the extra step of barrel fermentation was to "weave together notes of toasted oak, anise, chocolate and raspberry into a seamless and silky blend that finishes with waves of richness". So far the information on the label.
At home I detected in the shop on the Jamieson website (http://www.jamiesonranchvineyards.com/) some other labels - amongst others Reata and Whiplash. Whiplash Chardonnays I bought in the past via auctions in Germany. The wines were OK but not more.
Totally different this Cab. Also on the second day the quality was remarkable. The wine was now more harmonic and didn't fall apart. Still very young. So I would recommend a two hours decanting time or simply cellar for another two years. Then it will be on the top for around three years.
I mentioned before that for my opinion this is not a typical Northern Coast Cab. And I also noted in previous entries that I do not totally support the general food pairing recommendation "steak and Cab". But if I ever drank the perfect Cabernet Sauvignon for a Rib eye, then this Jamieson is it.