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2001
Wolf Family
$54
The 2000 Wolf was
quite an accomplished wine. For
what was considered a “difficult vintage” winemaker Karen Culler
managed to craft a sleek, elegant, and very sexy sexy wine….one that
stood out marvelously and out-classed other wines up to double in price.
We prized the 2000 Wolf for its grace, sophistication, and
first-rate value for premium California Cabernet.
We loved it, adored it, and crowned it our #1 wine of the year and sold over a tenth of its total 550 case
production. Looking to this
years long anticipated 2001 vintage release, it is the superior sequel and
then some. 525 cases 92WS
2001
Palmaz Vineyards $89
One
of Napa's newest wineries and our newest finds is Palmaz Vineyards.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the soul of Palmaz Vineyards and it is the wine that
inspired Julio and Amalia to make Cabernets that may be cellared and
savored for years to come. Palmaz Vineyards
bought a forgotten stone winery, a fine old house badly in need of
renovation, and acres of land that had once produced fine
Napa
wines. An huge undertaking, on an amazing piece of land, and great
help to bring us thrilling premium wines. Randy Dunn is
the winemaker and this is the inaugural release of Palmaz
Vineyards.
Deep, complex aroma of dark fruit, toasty oak and exotic spices, with
generous amounts of supple, approachable tannins. The flavors integrate
smoothly from attack to finish, promising great aging potential and
development this decade and beyond. The blend was crafted for its
complimentary characteristics and to achieve balance and finesse.
Gentle handling that gives Palmaz wines their unique
“hand-made” quality and rare elegance.
2001
Joseph Phelps Insignia
$109
“The 2001 Insignia
(an 18,000 case blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petit Verdot, and 3%
Merlot) is an inky/purple-colored effort representing a return to the
superb quality of such vintages as 1997. Aged in 100% new French oak, this
blockbuster reveals gorgeous aromas of melted licorice, creme de cassis,
liquid minerals, and hints of chocolate and spice box. The finish is long,
full-bodied, opulent, and voluptuous. Considerable tannin is largely
concealed by the lavish richness, extract, and glycerin. Anticipated
maturity: 2005-2020+.” 95RP
2001
Dominus
$109
“The
impeccably made 2001 Dominus boasts a dense plum/purple color in addition
to a fragrant, promising perfume of cocoa, cedar, coffee, roasted herbs,
and copious quantities of black fruits. There are 7,000 cases of this 81%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot
blend. Rich and medium to full-bodied, with sweet but noticeable tannin, a
layered mid-palate, and a long finish with obvious tannin, it will require
3-4 years of cellaring. It should last for two decades.” 95RP
2001 Cloud View Vineyards $59.88
Cloud
View Vineyards is located on Pritchard Hill (home of Bryant and
Colgin) on
the east side of the
Napa
Valley
. Owners
Linda and Leighton Taylor have been growing grapes and living on Pritchard
Hill since 1990. The 2001 Cloud View Vineyards proprietary red table wine is 43%
Cabernet Sauvignon and 57% Merlot.
A
full-bodied, complex wine using only estate-grown grapes.
Linda Taylor makes certain that the wines get the very best care
and she works with a team of experts to assure the highest quality fruit.
Winemaker Karen Bower Turjanis, formerly of Cardinale, Lokoya and
Paul Hobbs Winery spends as much time in the vineyard as she does in the
winery.
2001
Etude $76.50
“A bold, rich, concentrated wine with lots of flavor dimensions and
excellent structure. Dense and
complex, with currant, anise, cedar and fresh earth flavors, it picks up
chocolate and mocha on the finish, and should only get better over the
next couple of years.” 2200 cases 93WS
2001
Clark
Claudon
$79.80
Back
in June at the Fifth Annual Family
Winemakers Tasting in
Pasadena
,
California
we
tasted wine from over 300
California
wineries. The highlight of the
event: Cabernet Sauvignon,
almost every producer pouring a 2001 Cab.
The Cabernet Sauvignon highlight:
2001
Clark
Claudon, almost every would agree it was the wine of the event.
Clark Claudon has not missed a beat since its debut vintage, making
some of
Napa
’s
most provocative very limited production Cabernet Sauvignon.
Top quality fruit from
Howell
Mtn.
yields knock out aromas of smoke, graphite, blackcurrant, cassis and
spice. Always impeccably
balanced, rich, powerful yet subtle.
2001
ZD
$34.95
A stunning example of what Napa
Valley Cabernet can be in a perfect vintage, this wine has it all!! The
nose is reminiscent of crushed blackberries, cassis, anise, vanilla and
spice. A slight hint of earth and toasted nuts add to the complex aromas.
Wonderfully balanced on the palate, the silky tannins wrap around the core
of ripe dark fruit, and the oak is integrated beautifully, leading to a
smooth, lingering finish. A
gorgeously intricate wine, and at $30 it’d be a challenge to come across
a better-quality wine at this price.
2001
Ladera
Howell
Mountain
$57.63
The 2001
Ladera
Cabernet
Sauvignon
Howell
Mountain
is a showy wine of rich texture, extract and viscosity. It wonderfully
expresses both the vineyard and vintage characteristics. The aroma is one
of toasty wood and dark fruit-- blackberry and cherry. The palate shows
the terroir of
Howell
Mountain
with its velvety, elegant tannins, in combination with rich, full flavors,
characteristic of an ideal climate. 768 cases made.
93WS
2001
Quintessa
$95.76
Beautiful
fruit concentration, rich flavors in the mouth and excellent balance
leading to a soft enrobed tannin finish with lingering toffee and
chocolate. Quintessa’s
signature softness and elegance will continue to develop over the next
five to ten years in the bottle.
“Bright, rich and deeply concentrated, well-focused on vibrant currant
and black cherry. Intense yet elegant, with fine, integrated tannins and a
pretty aftertaste.” (92-94) –James Laube
2001
Silverado Limited Reserve
$87.78
Deep
cassis color; aromas of black currant and plum, clove and chocolate, hints
of bay leaf and toast; rich, mouth-filling stone fruit and spice on the
palate, with integrated tannins and balanced acidity, full body, dense and
concentrated, with a broad, lasting finish.
2001
Andrew Geoffrey $70.87
Jam-packed with rich crème de cassis, white
chocolate, cedarwood, truffles, plum liquer and earth.
Full-bodied, dense and intense, it exposes a balanced structure of
supple tannin and heavy handed fruit.
We first tasted this one at the Family
Winemakers of California tasting in June.
Among the more than 300 participating wineries, the wines of Andrew
Geoffrey showed outstanding and topped our list as “the best winery
no one has ever heard of”…well, for now anyways.
Wine critic James Laube
deemed the 2003 Andrew Geoffrey Cabernet Sauvignon barrel sample as one of
the top dozen wines of about a hundred that were
“exciting…outstanding” for the 2003 vintage.
Make haste and taste. 1367
cases.
91WS
2001
Hartwell Cab Stags Leap District
$115.58
”Smooth,
rich and creamy, this is a plush and inviting wine with generous black
cherry and blackberry fruit that's ripe and layered, offering depth and
concentration and finishing with a warm chocolate aftertaste.
760 cases made. (JL)”
93WS
2001
Dunn
Napa
Valley
$65
“From
one of
California
’s
most experienced Cabernet Sauvignon winemakers, the 2001 Cabernet
Sauvignon Napa possesses an inky/purple color as well as a restrained, but
sweet bouquet of blackberries intermixed with hints of new saddle leather
and crushed rocks. Firmly structured, with a steely spine, exuberant, rich
fruit, and a powerful, highly tannic finish, it should be cellared for 7-8
years, and drunk over the following two decades.”
(90-93RP)
2001
Lail Blueprint
$45
“Smooth,
ripe and fleshy, with a supple texture and pretty, elegant currant, plum,
cedar, anise and floral scents. Well-focused, with a sense of delicacy and
finesse, it features ripe tannins and a lingering aftertaste. Merlot and
Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2012. 800 cases made. (JL)”
90WS
2001
Versant
$75
“Ultrarich
and concentrated, with extracted currant, blackberry and plum fruit
highlighted by pretty smoky, toasty oak, giving it a mochalike scent.
Focused, complex, with deep, ripe flavors and tannins. Best from 2005
through 2012. 194 cases made.”
93WS
Feel free to call me at
(800) 339-0609 or email me at mike@redcarpetwine.com.
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