By Rick Riozza
Last week, we all agreed the quintessential red wine produced in California is the town favorite: Cabernet Sauvignon. And we recommended some recently released, reasonably priced, California Cabs for the season.
This time around we’re doing our annual “dream team” nominations. Because the Cal Cabs we’re recommending this time are the Cabs we dream about; are the Cabs we’ve been saving up for all year long to be enjoyed on the coming holidays; are the Cabs that are on our Christmas list destined to grace the likes of our connoisseur relative or friend; or finally, for the investment hound—are the Cabs that indeed impress and are capable of cashing-in, sooner or later, on the stature and value of our super-classic California juice.
Of course there are the “gold standard” California Cabs that most enthusiasts already know and may have a stash of already. These include the likes of: Screaming Eagle, one of the first “cult wines” back in the ‘90s, that zoomed to a thousand dollars a bottle because it could in Silicon Valley times. The last time we checked, the 2018 vintage was selling at around $3,700 a bottle—at a Northern California Costco no less! (Good luck finding that deal again—most “club members” have to wait up to a decade to get their wine.)
Some say the 2018 Screaming Eagle wine has aromas of blue fruit, rose petal, wild strawberry, graphite, creme de cassis, lavender, and spice. The palate has flavors of perfectly ripe blackberries, black cherries, red & black currants, licorice, candied violets, cedar chest, clove oil, and sea spray. Most folks admit that the wine will not really come around for another five years and will evolve for two to three decades. Here, we have to wait and dream—but great to stare at and flirt.
Another new cultish wine is the 2021 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvingnon Spring Mountain District, which has just been released at $550. a bottle, comes with these poetic tasting comments from Wine Spectator: “This is gorgeous from the get-go, with the distilled essence of mulberry, boysenberry, and blackberry fruit pouring through, all harnessed by a racy iron note and flecked liberally with anise, sweet bay leaf and iris accents. The finish shows terrific cut and drive as the fruit sails through. Dense for sure, but with purity, freshness and energy. Drink from 2026 through 2046.” We hear patience is a virtue so now we get to practice.
The 2021 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley RBS Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard ($525), simply reeks of pedigree and fame since the fruit for this baby bomb is one of the most cherished vineyard properties in the wine world. If you own a Beckstoffer To Kalon wine—it’s your time to shine; you can hang out by the Christmas tree and save on the electric bill.
Anyway—since I’ve yet to receive a sample for tasting, we’ll have to borrow the notes again from our go-to WS publication: “So packed and dense with blackberry, black currant, and boysenberry compote flavors that this seems like a black hole, but there’s coiled energy buried deep within, in the form of tensile graphite girders. In the meantime, exotic accents of violet, anise, and iris dart out from the core as this opens in the glass, adding remarkable range. This impressive, large-scale wine offers a sense of guile and mystery when all is said and done. Drink now through 2050.” Finally, a stocking-stuffer bottle that’s ready to pour!
The 2021 Cardinale Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley ($400) is on our holiday radar as it “offers a frankly toasted frame of licorice and apple wood wrapped around a more than adequate core of plum and blackberry preserves, all laced with a violet note. Sleek and reserved through the finish, with an iron hint peeking out amid the fruit, this offers length and lovely mouthfeel and should develop well in the cellar while soaking up its toast. Best from 2026 through 2038.” WS gave the wine 95 points!
Speaking of “points”—one of the highest scoring, newly released wine at 99 points, is the 2021 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville, selling at “only” $225! “This seamless, driven, coiled red manages to marry lush notes of black currant, blackberry, and fig reduction with burlier accents of walnut, tobacco, and warm gravel. Shows and undeniable inner tension but needs considerable time to unfurl. Just when you think you’ve got this figured out, a bolt of cast iron emerges, adding a vibrato echo of terroir that stamps the superlong finish. This is a special wine. Drink now through 2050.”
Note to the wise: If you’re really interested in this wine, at the “good price”, look it up quickly to order as there were only 525 cases produced.
For the older gentle person in the house, I’m recommending the 2021 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Volcanic Hill ($500). I mentioned the age differential only because in the ‘80s, Diamond Hill Volcanic was one of those wines to pine for. And many of us back then couldn’t really afford it—but we surely desired it.
The current tasting review states: “Dark and winey, with steeped red and black currant fruit flavors and rumble through, laced with a prominent iron minerality and streak of ash, plush wild herb and savory notes. The finish is grippy and long, with lingering hints of singed mesquite and alder.” 96 points. Cheers!
Rick is your friendly neighborhood wine steward and sommelier tasting through all of the Christmas Cabs you wish to share with him. He can be reach at winespectrum@aol.com.
