follow QRW on facebook

30th Annual Best of The Best:
California Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet-Based Blends

QRW Tasting Team



cabernet sauvignon bottles tops showing lying on bed of colored leaves and bunch of cabernet grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon and other Red Bordeaux blends continue to dominate
the California wine market, as the following list shows.

 

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩  Five-Star Wines  ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

Wines of extraordinary character and quality —
in a class by themselves.


2011 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley), $65.
Rich, ripe, plump, deliciously seductive, black fruit, mocha and spice flavors.

2011 Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley), $120. Beautifully ripe, pure, silky, round, utterly compelling, blackberry and vanilla crème flavors.

2010 Corley Proprietary Red Wine, Napa Valley $55. Rich, deep blackberry, with dark chocolate and coffee aromas, big body, easy tannins, and elegant finish.

2010 HALL Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley), $125. Big, rich, fat, succulent, elegantly turned, black fruit and cappuccino flavors.

2010 Ridge Monte Bello (Santa Cruz Mountains), $160. 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. Big, deep, rich, earthy, resonant, French roast and dark fruit flavors. A “powerhouse,” in the finest sense of the word. BEST OF SHOW

2010 Saint Supéry Cabernet Sauvignon Dollarhide Estate Vineyard, $100. Lush, spicy, well-structured, multi-layered, black fruit, licorice and vanillin flavors. 

2009 Shafer Hillside Select (Napa Valley/Stags Leap District), $240. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Big, deep, rich, muscular, well-structured, dark chocolate, oak vanillin and blackberry flavors; long, authoritative finish.

2010 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon “One Point Five” (Stags Leap District/Napa Valley), $72. 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot. Deep, concentrated, age-worthy, black fruit, licorice and nutty oak flavors. 

2010 Viader, Napa Valley  $150. Deep, complex wines. Give it time. Blackberry and cherry with oak spice, rich mocha notes, firm texture, with soft and slightly sweet finish. 



Related articles:

• 29th Annual Best of The Best: California Chardonnay
• 29th Annual Best of The Best: Champagne Tasting
• 29th Annual Best of The Best: California Pinot Noir
• 29th Annual Best of The Best: California Zinfandel

More...

Is Dining Dying?

Château Margaux at Blantyre

29th Annual Best of The Best: Best of Show Winners

29th Annual Best of The Best: California Chardonnay

29th Annual Best of The Best: California Zinfandel

Photo Feature: A Nostalgic Look Back

29th Annual Best of The Best: California Cabs and Bordeaux Blends

29th Annual Best of The Best: California Pinot Noir

All Things Grape and Small, Winter 2012/13

QRW Vintage Wine Chart [PDF]

Gaia and Gaja: Italy’s First Wine Family

29th Annual Best of The Best: Champagne Tasting

Wine’s Decline: Wither Romance?

Aristocrats of the Table: Julia Child, Eating, and Dining

Whining about Downton Abbey

Cellar For A Lord: Downton Abbey, Part II

All Things Grape and Small, Autumn 2012

Best of The Best: California Cabs

Best of The Best: California Pinot Noir

Best of The Best: California Zinfandel

Wine Scene

Best of The Best: Vintage Champagnes 2008–09

Best of The Best: Non-Vintage Champagnes 2011

Wining and Dining at WGBH Studios

QRW Covers by Photographer Jim Scherer

Wining & Dining in Morocco

Wine Quiz: Varietal Variations

An Afternoon at Caymus

Shafer Vineyards: Treasure Trail; Wine, Love and Rock and Roll

Blending Buzz at Rutherford Ranch

QRW Wine Diary

Wines of the Quarter: Two Great Reds

Dernier Cri: What’s a Good Wine?

Style Doyenne: Profile & Book Reviews on Mireille Guiliano

Hugh Johnson Praises QRW and Publisher Richard Elia in the Boston Globe

Hear Publisher Richard Elia on NPR