By Rick Riozza
And how about that! This past year has to go down in American history one of the most craziest when it comes to politics & social culture. Who would have thunk!? No wonder hard liquor sales are off the chart here in our country!
So in these past few weeks we’ve been entertaining a slew of holiday and seasonal wines, priced from $15 to $1500! From 90 points to 99 points, still wines to shining sparklers. We try to cover the waterfront and hopefully some of you folks are enjoying some of the wines we’ve covered.
Not certain that many of you folks are aware, but our CV Weekly publication does a magnificent job in culling the Vino Voice webpage. Catch our complete year of wine articles at https://coachellavalleyweekly.com/category/food-and-drink/the-vino-voice/ .
Now let’s comfortably talk about a couple/three of our favorite wines of the past year, selling at comfortable prices that can be the perfect toast to the new year:
Every Cabernet Sauvignon enthusiast knows well of the Opus One Napa Valley brand, which was created in 1978 by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, the legendary owner of Château Mouton Rothschild, and the famous Napa Valley wine producer Robert Mondavi. By combining both families’ winemaking traditions and innovations, the partners aimed to create an exceptional wine in the heart of the Napa Valley. The wine became famous for being a big tannic bomb that needed ample cellaring to exhibit its delicious fruit
I recall a New Years Eve celebration around 1991, where I was in charge of supplying some premium wine for my client and his guests aboard a real ship that was to be trolling around the Newport Beach Harbor for evening. We had a 1927 Chateau d’Yquem—with an Illinois tax certificate attached (we’re thinking Al Capone perhaps had his hand in acquiring the bottle—who knows, it made for a good story) for those wine folks who knew their stuff, and would see my client has an impressive wine guy.
We also had a very nice selection of bubbly for the New Year’s toast along with other tasty wines to sip on and chat as the grazing platters appeared. But for some reason, I had forgotten to grab some ultra-premium Cabs for some of the serious drinkers on board. I made a quick dash to Hi-Times Liquor close-by in Costa Mesa. I needed some magnums, but the only ones of top quality available were the just-released 1988 Opus One Cabernet. What could I do—I had to buy the three remaining, hoping that would suffice.
Now back in that day, a magnum of such a huge wine would take seven to twelve years to come around. And I knew that opening the young wine now would be sacrilegious. However I was hoping that such an error would be swept under the carpet per the “party rule” of enjoying the New Year’s celebration.
The large bottles of great (albeit very young) California Cab looked stunning sitting atop the bar. Perhaps a bit too stunning—no one really reached for them. Was this crowd that sophisticated that they knew that wine would be too tannic? When it comes down to it, we think bubbly was best for the year’s celebration.
The festivities continued on, but soon after the stroke of midnight, the ship’s captain & staff let us know their desire to get home themselves, so we were quickly ushered from the ship. I had lost track of the remaining wine during the rush. Whoever captured those Opus One Cabs made out like a bandit. Let’s hope they gave the wine a proper sleep-over.
Quite at length, that brings us to recommending the new Opus One Cab blend on the block: 2021 Opus One Napa Valley ($455). (Yes—we did mention above that our recommended wine prices would be “comfortable”—but we also mentioned this was a “crazy year” and this is what happens: “uncomfortable”.) Anyway—this classic wine is a blend of Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Petite Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec. It has that “old school” Cab feel with black cherry, tobacco, leather, cedar, bay leaf, and savory spices. Delish!
And here’s the kicker—as opposed to the tannic Opus One wines of yesteryear, the new modern batch is made to drink right now! That’s how things are going: it comes right up to your doorstep and is ready to enjoy without all the wait! Cheers!
Alright—let’s salvage this year-end article by recommending a couple of reasonably priced California sparklers that are a perfect toast to the New Year! We promise: very comfortable
Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley NV ($32) “Dynamic yet sleekly elegant with rich strawberry and apple flavors that are accented by cinnamon & yeast roll as this danses toward a vibrant finish.” Wine Specatator scores this bubby at 93 points! All you need is love with this baby!
Another great recommendation at the lowest of prices for the quality—hovering around $20, is the Mumm Napa Brut Rosé California NV. We know that these California bubblies, Mumm and Chandon take turns year in and year out on high scores. This year it’s Mumm Napa that is vibrant and steely with fresh strawberry, rose petal, and cinnamon. A very festive wine! Cheers to all!!
