Pulling The Cork

Taste & Talk 2005 Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

If you have been hanging out at Pulling The Cork you know we are in the middle of our first Taste & Talk series with Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines.  You can get caught up by checking out Part 1 and Part 2 of our conversation with Jeff as well as our video review of Artisan's 2008 Red Côte Rosé.

Today on PTC TV we are going to taste and review one more of Artisan's wines before we go back to sharing other parts of our conversation with Jeff.  The wine for todays episode is the 2005 Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. 

Jeff will get into some detail about the wine in today's episode but here are a couple of quick facts.  The 2005 vintage is the second release of Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet.  It comes from the well known Red Hills District of Lake County in California which is highly regarded for its distinct terroir.  The soil composition is mostly red gravely loam which allows for deep root penetration of the vine resulting in small and intensely flavorful grapes.  Temperatures during the day are very hot with very cool nights - ideal growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our final written tasting notes are below the video and we are also providing a link to Artisan's recommended Chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon Cake.  It is sinfully good!  Enjoy this episode of PTC TV and the Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet!

Please note:  Pulling The Cork received this wine as a sample from Artisan Family of Wines.

2005 Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, North Coast, Red Hills Lake County
DAY 1 - Decanted for 1 hour, this wine wine was clear with a deep and intense garnet core and slight ruby at the edge.  The nose revealed rose petals, raspberry, black cherry and plum with a bouquet of vanilla and white pepper.  The nose moderate in intensity but the aroma and bouquet were quite easily identifiable.  In the mouth this was medium bodied with a perfect balance of acidity and tannin.  The tannins were firm and refined.  Unlike many California Cabs these days this was not an extracted fruit bomb but much more elegant with ripe raspberry, black cherry, juicy black plums and meat (game?) with subtle hints of vanilla, cedar and white pepper.  The finish was moderately long with dark plums, dark cherry and raspberry lingering with a touch of vanilla.  There were some nice layers and a decent amount of complexity make this a very nice and excellent value at $14.99 a bottle.  Interested to see how it is fairing tomorrow.  

DAY 2 - The wine has now been in the decanter for around 19 hours.  The nose is now much more intense with black cherry, cassis, blackberry, vanilla, smoke and dark chocolate.  The mouthfeel remained a medium body but was a touch more full with the acidity and tannins still in great balance for such a long time in the decanter.  The acidity made the fruit flavors of black cherry, blackberry, and raspberry really stand up considering the length of time it has been out of the bottle.  There was vanilla, a hint of anise and dark chocolate shavings behind the fruit.  The finish was still moderately long but the wine now had more layers to it and became a tad more complex.  On the finish it left behind black cherry, dark chocolate and vanilla.  I think the tannin and acidity levels should allow this to age well for the next 5-7 years, maybe longer, but it is drinking very well right now.  This is a very elegant and smooth drinking California Cabernet; a very nice change of pace from so many fruit bomb Cabernet that seems to dominate so much of the market.  The price is incredibly low for a wine of this quality.  Highly recommended! 50+5+13+16+7=91 pts (click here to learn more about what these number mean)

Losing Our Taste Live Virginity With Robert Oatley

Last night Pulling The Cork (@pullingthecork for the Twitterati) participated in Taste Live for the first time.  You could say we effectively lost our Taste Live virginity to Robert Oatley Wines.  I will admit to a degree of skepticism about tasting using Twitter but this worked and it is a lot of fun.  The basic premise is that people from all over the world can join together tasting the same wine and share their thoughts about the wine in the same Twitter stream using the Taste Live hashtag of #TTL. 

Does all that jargon freak you out and make you think you are reading Cantonese?  It can be a bit overwhelming for sure but trust me it is pretty cool, easy to use and you should give it a shot.  In addition to the various tweets on the wines in the stream the good people at Hellovino did a live stream from Camp 4 Wine Cafe in Modesto and the entire mixed media approached really worked.  Great job!

We tasted three wines from Robert Oatley and the festivities got under way at 8:30 EST (5:30 PST and, I don't know CST- figure it out for those of you in the middle).  We started with the Pinot Grigio and here are my down and dirty tasting notes and scores (see Tasting Notes & Scores - How & Why) for all three wines from my lowest to highest (least favorite to most favorite):

*Please note, I received these wines as samples specifically for the Taste Live event.

2008 Pinot Grigio, South Australia - Could not find suggested retail or case production numbers
Composition: 100% Pinot Grigio
Region: Currency Creek, South Australia
Barrel Ageing: None
Alc/vol: 13.5%
RS: <0.40g/100mL
pH: 3.27
TA: 0.645g/100mL
Closure: Screw Cap-Stelvin Lux  

The nose was blowing some sauternes like elements behind grapefruit zest, star fruit and spice.  A light mouthfeel with super zingy acidity that almost had me drooling gave up a palate of more grapefruit zest, granny smith apples, some tropical fruits and white pepper.  A rather short finish with tropical fruit and white pepper lingering.  The pepper was an interesting and nice compliment to the bright fruits.  I thought it a bit thin compared to other PG's I have had recently and I did not find it to be varietally correct.  It gave off more of a Sauvignon Blanc profile than a Pinot Grigio profile to me.  Someone in the stream said there is 5% Riesling in the wine but I didn't find that on Oatley's website as it says it's 100% PG.  Oddly, after the wine warmed in the glass to the mid to upper 60 degree range it started to give off an aroma of armpit body odor.  To be fair, it was awfully warm at that point but it was something I have not experienced before.  50+4+11+15+5=85 pts.

2008 Rosé of Sangiovese, Mudgee, Australia - Suggested Retail $18.00 - 3,100 cases
Composition: 100% Sangiovese
Region: 100% Mudgee, New South Wales
Barrel Ageing: None
Alc/vol: 13.0%
RS: 0.30g/100mL Dry
pH: 3.42
TA: 0.61g/100mL
Closure: Screw Cap - Stelvin Lux

The nose was rather muted at first and I couldn't get much from it except a hint of fresh strawberries and herbs I couldn't make out.  I was tasting it at what should be an ideal temperature of 48 degrees so I don't think that muted the aroma.  As it warmed above 50 degrees (used the trusty static fish thermometer I recommended in our post on wine temps) the nose came out to play with soil covered strawberries, herbs, vanilla and rose petals.  The palate was strawberry creme, pound cake and thyme sprigs.  Refreshing acidity in balance with the flavors. Again, a bit of a short finish but strawberry shortcake, thyme and minerality left behind.  I am not a big Rosé drinker but this might make me think twice about that.  It is actually quite good.  50+5+11+17+6=89 pts. 

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Mudgee - Suggested Retail $20.00 - 5,600 cases
Composition: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot
Region: 100% Mudgee, New South Wales
Barrel Aging: 12 months in French Oak Barrels
Alc/vol: 13.0%
RS: <0.07g/100mL
pH: 3.70
TA: 0.670g/100mL
Closure: Screw Cap – Stelvin Lux  

Without question this was the wine of the night for me.  Decanted for 2 hours before the tasting though I snuck a peak taste on the pop and pour into the decanter.  This wine is EXACTLY why I recommend decanting big young red wines - see our post on that here.  On the sneak taste it was very tight and all wound up like a 5 year old on a sugar rush - very little being revealed.  2 hours of decanting made this wine sing.  The nose had a bit of Bordeaux fertile soil/barnyard funk I enjoy (some don't but I love it) with black cherries, blackberry, oak and smoke.  Actually quite interesting as I have never experienced that Bordeaux funk trait in an Aussie Cabernet blend before.  On the palate it was a medium edging toward full mouthfeel of lush black cherries, plum, baking spice, vanilla and old leather.  A wee bit tannic still but mostly in balance with good acidity.  A moderate to long finish of dark fruit, vanilla and smoke was pleasing.  It had some Bordeaux characteristics that I like though I am going to stop way short of saying it is on the same level as good Bordeaux.  A really good wine for the price though I don't think it is going to be something you can keep around for more than 5 years as it just doesn't seem to have enough structure for long term ageing.  50+5+12+17+6=90 pts.   

As the tasting started to draw to a close I was asked by a few people to take a pic of me drinking the Cabernet Merlot (which became known as the Caberlot in the tweet stream) directly from the decanter. 

I obliged and lest you think I did so as a result of drinking too much wine I was spitting most of the night and only began to drink AFTER Taste Live was over.  

Thanks to all the new friends we made last night and thanks to Craig Drollet from Bin Ends Wine(@bindendswine for the Twitterati) the innovator and brain behind Taste Live.  Also, special thanks to the guys at Hellovino (@hellovino and @calebsexton on Twitter) - can't wait for you to come by and taste that Grange and deliver the 3 Decanter Salute! 

We will definitely do Taste Live again - good times! 

1999 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate

We are about to embark on a series of Taste & Talk posts and videos on wines that are recent releases.  These will include conversations and interviews with the people behind the wine because, as I am sure you know, we believe in sharing the stories and placing the wine tasting note in context. 

We will occasionally inject some more mature wines into the mix as well because we want to share wines from different vintages, different price ranges and hard to find wines to help you make informed decisions if you have these in your cellar, come across them on a wine list somewhere or are looking for a special occasion wine. 

Since we will be starting into a string of recent releases soon I wanted to share my experience a couple weeks ago with a 10 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from one of my favorite California producers, Chateau Montelena. 

First, some context to put the tasting note into perspective.  If you need immediate satisfaction and just want the tasting note go to the bottom of the post.

The Wine Neophyte Experiment - Blind Tasting 2 Cabernet

I have always wondered if two neophytes to wine could tell the difference between really great wine and really good wine.  In a blind tasting would they choose, as their favorite, the wine that is widely regarded as one of the best or the wine that is a decent wine for the buck?

My opportunity to perform such an experiment occurred on July 4th weekend when my Father In-Law and Brother In-Law were in town for a visit.  I have done guided wine tastings with them before but their wine knowledge and experience is, to say it nicely, limited.  For example, Dad sometimes puts energy drinks and ice cubes in his red wine to, as he says, "cut down the chalkiness".

Now that you know the wine experience baseline of who is involved let me set this up for you.  Two wines were randomly chosen from my cellar by someone not involved in the tasting.  The only guidelines given to the chooser were:

1. The wine should be California Cabernet Sauvignon within two vintages of one another.

2. Use the Cellartracker community average scores to determine quality and be sure there is enough of a spread in average score to ensure a difference but not so much as to be easy.

3. The differential in price had to be more than $50.  In the interest of full disclosure I was told, priot to the tasting, that one was over $100 a bottle and one was around $11.99 a bottle. 

Each wine would be wrapped in aluminum foil and labeled A and B and each would be decanted for the same amount of time.  This video is a bit longer than I would normally like at 12 minutes so I broke it into two parts both available below.  I cut a ton of it out in the interest of time but couldn't cut anymore without losing substance...and some humorous moments.  If you just want to see the tasting notes they are below the vids.  So those are the rules and here is the video of the blind tasting.

Ok, just to make sure I clear something up.  I tasted these wine's blind and at the end the two wines were a surprise to me.  I was told, as noted above, that one wine was above $100 and clearly I mispoke when I said the Robert Mondavi was over $100 a bottle.  As I went back and checked what I paid and the current value I discovered I was clearly wrong.  I paid $95.99 a bottle and the average selling price according to Winebid.com is $91.09 at the time of this writing. 

Here are the tasting notes. 

WINE A - 2004 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve California, Napa Valley
Decanted for 1 1/2 hours for video tasting and decanted an additional 2 hours for a total decant of 3 1/2 hours prior to tasting again and writing tasting notes. Dark and dense deep purple with some ruby on the edge. An intense nose, filling the room and my nose with gobs and gobs of rich and juicy dark fruits, like walking through the dark fruit section of a high end grocer - ripe blackberry and black cherries with oak and chocolate. On the palate it was bursting with more of the dark fruit, blackberry, dark cherry, currant and plums with some spice, oak and vanilla. I also got a touch of mint. It had a long and delicious finish that just kept going and going.  Very well integrated and smooth tannins that give the fruit lots of backbone and a nice splash of acidity to liven it up. This is an elegant, well balanced and complex Cabernet - really what California Cabernet is all about. It is drinking incredibly well right now but the structure is in place for another 5 to 10 years of ageing I think. Robert Mondavi's memory and legacy live in this bottle. Wow what a wine! $95.99 retail.  50+5+14+18+9=96 pts.

WINE B - 2006 Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles - California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Decanted for 1 1/2 hours prior to video tasting and decanted an additional 2 hours for a total decant of 3 1/2 hours prior to tasting again and writing tasting notes.  Deep garnet with some reddish hues. Even after the long decant this was very tight and resisting. The nose was holding back but there was some Bordeaux style funk, red fruits and green vegetal aromas.  Medium bodied on the palate with more red fruit, plum, spice and smoke. The tannins were very forward and rough but there was some decent fruit structure and acidity in place. This may get better with some age, though I am not convinced of it, but right now the tannins are just way overpowering and a bit bitter. It could just be that it is such a baby and very tight.  I thought it would get better with 3 1/2 hours of air time but that thinking didn't come true.  It needs a ton more air time or a minimum of 3 more years of age to even find out if this could be something. $11.99 retail.  50+5+11+13+7=86 pts.

Bottom line, the best wine is the kind of wine you like and the kind of wine you drink regardless of price or pedigree.  Drink what you will!

Let us know if you have a suggestion for a tasting or a blind tasting and we will do our best to do it. 

Have you ever done a blind tasting?  If so, what has been your experience?

If you haven't done one and you would like to now, go ahead and record it and we'll post it here on PTC. 

2005 Switchback Ridge Peterson Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot

With this post you get two tasting notes for the price of one.  Ok, so you aren't paying anything but it sounded good.  I guess you get two tasting notes just for spending a few minutes with us here at Pulling The Cork.

Today's tasting note(s) comes from Rob MacKay, @RoundersRob for the Twitterati.  I met Rob through Cellartracker (he is Über Knowledgeable about all things Cellartracker) and I loved reading his tasting notes and his insights in the CT Forum so much I asked him to become a contributor to PTC.  He agreed, though I don't know yet if that is going to cost me a bottle from my cellar, and we are going to be better for his presence here.  ~Michael

Rob MacKay

Switchback Ridge was the first winery waiting list I ever joined. Back in late 2005 I tried a bottle of  their Merlot that I purchased on a whim at auction and was completely stunned by the quality of the wine. I promptly went in search of more, only to discover that the wines are highly allocated and you have to be on the winery allocation list to purchase direct from them. I joined the waiting list and nearly 4 years later, in January of 2009, I received word that I would be getting an allocation of my own. To a wine obsessed freak like me, that’s pretty exciting news. In fact, allocation and waiting lists will be one of the topics covered in a future article about the ups and downs of wine obsession.

Switchback Ridge is owned by John and Joyce Peterson and the fruit is sourced exclusively from their Peterson Family Vineyard near Calistoga, in Napa Valley.  Their website describes the vineyard as:

...rich, rocky soils of this beautiful vineyard property consistently produce low yields of intensely flavored fruit, resulting in extremely concentrated, fruit driven wines that are the hallmark of Switchback Ridge.

They produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petite Sirah crafted by the very well known winemaker Robert Foley. The wines are made in the big, bold style but carry a complexity and depth that must be tasted to be appreciated. If that sounds like the type of wine that appeals to you, do yourself a favor and try to track down some of this wine.

In the past few months I’ve had both the 2005 Merlot and 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon and I thought I would share my tasting notes on each with you.

• 2005 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (7/13/2009)
  A big monster wine which explodes out of the bottle with mocha, blueberry and blackberry fruit scents that can literally fill the room in seconds. I did detect a slight bit of alcohol on the nose but the fruit quickly took me aside and told me not to worry about that. Bold and expressive on the palate with very ripe fruit and an excellent smooth texture with a bit of a vanilla bean element to the finish. Slightly hot on the back end but you wouldn't really think it has as much alcohol as indicated on the label (15.7%). If you are looking for a big, bold California Cabernet, this fits the bill nicely but I prefer the Switchback Ridge Merlot to the Cab at this stage. (92 pts.)
• 2005 Switchback Ridge Merlot Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (4/24/2009)
  I've been wow'd by a Merlot. Rare is the utterance of such statements. The nose exploded out of the bottle when I poured this into the decanter a few hours ago and I'm just starting the final glass now. Awesome tobacco and cocoa notes dominated while decanting and have faded a bit to let the lush ripe fruit join in the mix. On the palate this wine is velvety, luxurious, and rich with ripe blackberry fruits framed by cocoa, spice, and fine tannins. Awesome now and will be a great wine to drink at this stage while waiting on the Cab. My wife tasted this completely blind and guessed it to be a high end CA cab or very young Bordeaux. Considering how this wine shows, that's not too bad of a guess. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker