Napa Valley is known for the outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon’s that are produced in this fabulous wine region, and the 2009 season was spectacular. In sampling the 2009 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, you can pick up on how good these Cab’s are, even with a mid-priced Cab that retails for approximately $30. This wine has aromas and flavors of dried currants, blackberries, cherries, blueberries, spice, oak, and a distinctive earthiness. For this mid-priced Napa Valley Cab, it is a nice drinking wine, with firm tannins, and a nice finish.

Jon

Louis M. Martini first came to the United States in 1899, immigrating from Genoa, Italy. He produced his first wine in 1906 in San Francisco, then returned to Italy to study the art of wine making. In 1933, Louis M. Martini built his first winery in St. Helena, north of the town of Napa. Louis Martini said “my heart is in Napa, but my soul is in Sonoma.”
The Louis Martini 2010 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep dark red color in the glass. On the nose are aromas of ripe cherries, black plums, dried fruit, and tobacco. On the palate this wine confirms the nose, and it displays flavors of black plums, ripe cherries, raisins, currants, wood, and tobacco. This is a well balanced wine, with firm tannins, and a long luscious finish. This wine would compliment a grilled steak very well.

Jon

It’s a long holiday weekend, and I am enjoying a few days in Napa Valley with my family. And of course while we are in Napa Valley we are enjoying some of the wonderful Cabs that Napa is known for. I was able to sample a low-end priced Cab, the 2008 Nine Points Cabernet Sauvignon. The color of this wine is a deep purple, with aromas of black currants, blackberries, dark cherries, anise, spice, and a hint of wood. The flavors associated with this Cab are dark cherries, blackberries, black currants, anise, leather, tobacco, and spice. This is a medium-bodied cab with somewhat of a watered down mouth-feel. It had good but not overpowering tannins, and a medium finish. While not a high-end Cab, it was decent once it opened up a bit, and with a retail price of around $20, it’s fine.

Jon

I love a good Cabernet Sauvignon, with its biting tannins, complex structure, and one that is full-bodied. So I am always looking for a good Cab that fits the personality traits of this great grape variety. Over the years Cabernet Sauvignon has found a great home in the various AVA’s of eastern Washington, and I recently had the opportunity to sample a bottle of the 2005 Terra Blanca Arch Terrace Cab. This wine had a nice purple color to it, and an aroma and flavor profile of blackberries, strawberries, raisins, chocolate, violets, vanilla, and it finished with nice flavors of cloves, and a hint of cedar. Overall I enjoyed the aromas and flavors of this wine, but I also wanted it to be a fuller-bodied wine, and one with firmer tannins as I found them to be on the soft side for a Cab. Would I buy this wine and drink it again? Yes, if I was looking for a medium-bodied Cab with less than firm tannins.

Jon