Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 52

YEAR'S BEST US CABERNETS & BLENDS
to fashion a wine with clear lines and detail
to its purple plum and red berry flavors; its
tannins have a quiet mineral intensity and a
fruity chanterelle note. Silken and approachable, this will drink well over the next several
years. (W&S 6/19; 1,229 cases) -J.G.
518353

Here, those, detailed, rocky tannins support
juicy flavors of pomegranate and anise. It
feels cool and elemental, a wine to buy by the
case and enjoy with anything from pasta with
a spicy boar sugo to simple roast beef. -J.G.
516513

$55

2015 Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ Lean and electric, this is a
racy cabernet with rainwater coolness to its
cherry-scented fruit. A spark of acidity brings
out some green-plum flavor while the wine's
light tannins remain in the background,
adding savor without getting in the way of
its drinkability. Its spare elegance brings to
mind Japanese preparations of duck, like the
roasted breast with Cognac-pepper sauce at
Mifune in NYC. (W&S 6/19) -J.G.

92 | Stonestreet

2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Jess Stonestreet Jackson purchased the
Gauer Ranch in the 1990s, renaming it the
Alexander Mountain Estate. It's 5,100 acres
on the western flank of Mayacamas with 900
planted to vines, the parcels ranging in altitude from 400 up to 2,400 feet. Lisa Valtenbergs made this 2016 cabernet from a range
of parcels and elevations. It's fragrant with
delicate scents of red cherries, floral notes of
strawberries and a dark core of pure cabernet sauvignon flavor: That black-currant fruit
saturates a relatively light-bodied red (at least
relative to some of the bigger styles of Stonestreet cabernets in the past); its gentle woodland freshness brings an impression of redwood fronds and ferns. -J.G.
515184

91 | Alexander Valley
Vineyards

91 | Rodney Strong

$32

2015 Alexander Valley Organically Grown
Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ The Wetzels selected an eight-acre parcel of gravelly
loam on the valley floor to farm under organics in 2008. Now certified organic, the cabernet vines produced a rich, succulent wine in
2015, with more clarity and earth tones to the
tannins than their regular 2015 AVV release.
The vibrant fruit is clear and generous, with
some of the coffee-bean richness of oak. Still
a little gawky and adolescent, it should mellow into a silken cabernet after a year or two
in bottle. (W&S 2/19; 2,650 cases) -J.G.

516799

\
518232

518231

91 | Alexander Valley
Vineyards

WINE & SPIRITS

91 | Sebastiani

$25

DECEMBER 2019

$40

2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ Floral currant scents flatter this wine with gamey sweetness even as
its structure is lean, with some bitter mineral intensity gripping the finish. It's tightly
wound and red fruited, with a cactus-like
green edge-a substantive take on the Alexander Valley: generously fruited, tightly
built, delicious with a salad of duck confit.
(W&S 8/19; 4,790 cases) -J.G.

90 | Alexander Valley
Vineyards

2017 Alexander Valley Wetzel Family
Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^
This is remarkably good cabernet for $25,
more elegant than most wines at more than
twice the price, with the stature that's more
often found in mountain-grown tannins.
52

$35

515649

90 | Roth

$30

89 | Eco Terreno

$32

88 | Hobo

$25

2016 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ If you don't mind a little
green in your cabernet, this is an elegant
red with juicy black cherry and coffee bean
notes of oak. It's lean enough not to get in the
way of food, and the green-bean undertones
would be an asset with chicken-liver mousse
or grilled fennel sausages. (W&S 4/19) -J.G.
518672
2015 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ This is clean Alexander
Valley cabernet with supple tannins. Moderate in weight, it offers more oak than fruit
detail, the mocha winning out over the notes
of orange rind and tart cherry. It's simple and
easy to drink. (504 cases) -J.G.
518225
2017 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ A light and airy cabernet
with scents of mint, candied violets and
earthier notes of freshly turned soil, this is
soft and gentle, lasting on pomegranate flavors, plums and green bell pepper. Built for
lamb souvlaki. (1,000 cases) -J.G.

518465
$32

2016 Alexander Valley Organically Grown
Wetzel Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
(Best Buy) ^ Certified organic since 2011, this
parcel of cabernet yielded a wine with redcurrant clarity in 2016. This vintage is a little
soft and simple, the wine gentle yet meaty
enough for steak tartare. (1,050 cases) -J.G.

88 | Stationmaster

$23

2017 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ With freshness in its cherry
and pomegranate flavors, this is a four-square
cabernet with clarity to its simple flavors and
a round, smoky finish. (2,000 cases) -J.G.

https://shop.foleyfoodandwinesociety.com/product/2016-Roth-Cabernet-Sauvignon--Alexander-Valley?pageID=9DA1DF12-F3B2-CF0E-17C4-089F75A95E9D&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=10&&productListName=Roth%20Estate&position=12 https://shop.foleyfoodandwinesociety.com/product/2016-Sebastiani-Cabernet-Sauvignon--Alexander-Valley?pageID=9D2185CD-0A3F-4578-D1F7-120F988975F5&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=10&&productListName=Sebastiani&position=8 https://www.goldschmidtvineyards.com http://shop.avvwine.com/shop/default.aspx http://shop.avvwine.com/shop/default.aspx

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2019