This featured wine is no longer available for purchase on Indie Winemakers.Join our mailing list to be notified when a new featured wine is offered.2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 50 Cases Produced. Pre-Release available only on Hotcosts. This wine won top 8 Cabernet Sauvignon's of Napa Valley by Dan Berger and Alan Goldfarb. About the VineyardSol Rouge is focused on producing wines similar to that of the Rhone and Bordeaux regions of France. We currently partner with vineyards in California who produce these varietals with the distinct soil profiles similar to our terroir and those of France. Our "non-intervention" philosophy helps to bring the true flavor and characteristics of each vineyard through to our wines.Our featured wine comes from the highly acclaimed To Kalon and Dr. Crane vineyard's in Napa Valley. To Kalon is the site that started the California cult cab mania. It has produced many legendary wines, including 100 point scores from Robert Parker. The fruit is sourced from several blocks of clones 4, 6 and 337 that were planted in the mid 90's. Consisting mostly of clay loam, it drains well and doesn't retain nutrients. The effect is natural devigoration that results in smaller, more concentrated clusters of fruit. Wines produced from this site have a phenomenal combination of power and silkiness. Dr. Crane's well-drained gravelly loam soils help create wines with a tremendous concentration of cassis, graphite and other characteristics reminiscent of a great grape. Summary of Tasting EventThis wine was tasted on January 6, 2008 by a panel of 4 tasters in a blind tasting format and paired with Spaghetti with Meatballs.The opening impressions show ripe, sweet fruit that rolls around in your mouth and coats it with a velvety smooth texture. The net result is refined, with soft to medium tannins and more gradation than most wines of this style. It is impeccably balanced but due to a short decanting period, initially showed modest depth and intensity. After allowing more air on the wine, the wine showed much more depth and intensity, with cassis and a touch of acidity on the finish. If you can't cellar this wine, we recommend decanting before tasting during the first year of this release. This wine should mature nicely for 2-5 years.
Tasting NotesOur mission is to provide unbiased opinions of the wine being offered. These notes come from up to 10 guests who tasted this wine in a blind tasting format (wine is concealed so their identity is unknown). Why this format? Tasting blind completely throws out any hype associated with a certain winery, style, price point, etc; it forces the taster to accept what is in the glass without any predetermined notions. Our guests utilize Robert Parker's Glossary of Wine Terms for their comments for consistency purposes. In addition, we utilize the wine aroma wheel to enhance ones ability to describe the complexity of wine flavor. Notes are posted on this wine during the tasting to ensure they accurately reflect the impressions.Selected Wine Tasting Notes
BH: Very smooth, coats your mouth. Dark color and chocolate nose.
RLA: Chocolate and casis nose and taste. Full-body but very very smooth.
JH: Very nice, smooth wine. Medium bodied with a very long finish.
MA: Very smooth and rich without being heavy. Noted chocolate and cinnamon on the nose and taste. The finish brought out some ripe berrys.
Technical Data
Winemaker's Tasting NotesOur 2005 Sol Rouge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits classic aromas of cassis, licorice, and chocolate with a slight hint of vanilla toast from the French oak. This wine is rich and full-bodied, with sweet tannins, a multi-layered mid-palate and a finish that possesses accessibility and opulence. This balanced wine exhibits good concentration without being over extracted retaining characteristics that are true to its terroir.Recipe: spaghetti with meatballsINGREDIENTS:
Steep the bread in milk or broth to cover for 5 minutes, and then squeeze the excess liquid from the bread (the crumb should be moist but not dripping). In the meantime, saut the minced onion until golden in a tablespoon of the butter. Put the ground meat in a mixing bowl, crumble the bread over it, and add the remaining ingredients except the butter. Mix well and shape the mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. You should obtain about a dozen meatballs. Preheat oven to 350. Heat the remaining butter in an ovenproof pot and gently brown the meatballs on all sides; while you are browning them bring your marinara sauce to a simmer. At this point add enough marinara sauce to cover the meatballs a little more than half way, add the red pepper flakes, cover the pot, and bake them for a half hour. While they're cooking, bring pasta water to a boil and cook your spaghetti. Drain the pasta, season it with the sauce, and serve it with grated cheese. Serves 4 |
Featured Wine
2005 Napa Valley Cabernet SauvignonTo Kalon and Dr. Crane Vineyards - Napa Valley$47/bottle Free shipping! Indie Winemakers Mailing List
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