The Desert WIne Guy - Wooden Valley Winery - 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon

1998 Wooden Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

    What an amazing article I have in store for you readers today. Many of you will not believe what I am about to tell you but I am here to tell you that everything in this article is true. I am really excited to tell you folks how a leaking, very old bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon survived against all odds to become a simply awesome bottle of wine. Let me start off by asking you a couple of questions. What happens to a low to medium priced Cabernet Sauvignon after a few years when it has not been drunk? What happens to that same wine when it leaks from the Cork? I think we all know what the answers to these questions is supposed to be. You would answer, the wine goes bad, it goes very bad and if that was your answers you would be right.....but not in this case. Well put those answers aside and give me the courtesy of letting me answer those questions for you because when you get done reading this article you are going to be in disbelief. Here we go from the beginning.

Leaking Through The Foil

Underneath The Foil

The Top Of The Cork

    In 1999 I made my first visit to Napa Valley, California. During this first trip I discovered so much about wine, a whole new world opened up for me and I fell in love with the Vineyards and what ever else went along with them. Lucky me because what better place to learn about wine than the area of Napa and the surrounding areas. One of the important things I learned was what I like and what I don't like in my wine.  On day two or three, I can't remember, I decided to take a little detour while headed back to the Napa Vineyards. While en route to Napa along Highway 5 in Fairfield California there was a little road named Suisun Valley Rd. Getting off that exit put you into farm country, it is beautiful country. I remember there was a great cheese store that made many different types of cheeses from scratch  as well as numerous fruit stands. On this road also happens to be Wooden Valley Winery. As a side note at the time it was also close enough drive from where I was staying that I visited it often while on vacation in Northern California. While I was there the first time (and all the others as well) I did a tasting (or two...or three) and fell in love with their 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon. I purchased a couple of bottles and they got put away on a shelf in my house. When I finally bought a refrigerator years later for my good wines I put two bottles of the Cabernet along with the other wines I had purchased on that trip in it. Around two (2) months ago I got bored and was reviewing the wines that were stored in the fridge and I noticed that one (1) of the bottles was leaking and it happened to be our review wine, the 98 Cab form Wooden Valley Winery. The wine had also leaked a little onto a bottle below it. I yanked the bottle out before it did any damage to the other bottles and I placed it on my counter in the kitchen. The other day in an attempt to clear the counter of clutter I came across this bottle and I decided this would make a great article. I thought everyone does wine reviews on wine that for all intents and purposes was bottled and remained sealed until time to drink it so what would happen if I did a review on a wine that was spoiled ( or so I thought). I was going to do an article on  bad wine. I also decided to document the whole process. I took photos of the leak going down the bottle, showing that the foil was indeed intact. I took photos of the cork itself still in the bottle. I took pictures of the cork lying outside the bottle. Little did I know that that documentation was going to be instrumental to this incredible story.
   Before we get into the actual opening and tasting process let's begin this story by talking a little about Wooden Valley Winery http://www.woodenvalley.com/ since this is where I purchased our wine. The winery is located in Suisun Valley, California. Today the third generation of the Lanza family runs the Vineyard. Mario Lanza & Lena Carlevaro both met in Oakland California in 1934 and got maried in 1937. One day Mario was injured in a workplace accident and it was suggested by his doctor that he move to a warmer climate, away from from the Bay Area. While Mario was visiting his friends who were the actual the founders of Wooden Valley Winery, Salvador Brea and his brother Manuel  he decided that he liked what he saw and decided to move to Suisun Valley with Lena and her two children Richard & Marlene. Mario worked with Salvador and in 1946 Mario was offered a partnership in Wooden Valley Winery. Salvador & Manuel eventually sold their interest in the business in 1955 to Mario with the understanding that the name remain Wooden Valley Winery which was named after the original name of the road the winery was on. The property started as 36 Acres but has since expanded to over 300 Acres. Today Marios oldest Grandson, Rick is the current winemaker for the vineyard.
   Lets now move on and discuss the opening of our review wine. This is the good part. The first hurdle I was going to have to overcome was the removal faulty cork. I started as usual of course by using a foil cutter to remove the foil. The foil was not in great shape and was slightly on the brittle side, it actually almost cracked off (but not quite) rather than came off as one piece. Having accomplished that daunting task and removed the foil successfully I was able to observe the top of the cork inside the bottle. Things were again NOT looking too promising here. The cork looked cracked or split in various places and appeared brittle although there were no pieces coming off. I figured that was going to change as soon as the corkscrew started entering it. To my surprise again the corkscrew entered the cork and still no pieces fell off. The cork almost moved out of the way rather that simply allowed the corkscrew to enter and attempt to go back to it's position as it normally would. O.K, now the corkscrew was fully in. I was feeling extremely lucky to this point and knew for sure that my luck was not going to last when I tried to pull the cork out. I had visions of the cork crumbling or breaking off in large chunks and the corkscrew coming up empty. To my surprise once again the cork started coming up in one piece, this can't last I thought. I continued to pull slowly allowing the cork to use whatever elasticity it had left to grip onto the corkscrew. Slowy but surely the cork was coming up until at last it was out with a soft popping sound. I inspected the cork and saw that the bottom had not lost any pieces so I had hope still that I was going to at least be able to do a tasting. The cork was badly split inside but it held for the opening process. I completed the usual ritual of giving what was left of the foil to one child and the cork to the other. By the way they are where the name "Mirror Image Vineyard" for the Sauvignon Blanc Vineyard I own since they are identical twins. There was now nothing left to do now but the tasting. Are you ready? Here we go.
   Come with me dear friend and take a journey to another part of the Mansion which I call my Tasting Room which I lovingly named Jerrys Loft which is dedicated to my benefactor who will remain undisclosed in compliance with his wishes. Come, come everyone time please don't lag behind time is so short. Welcome, if you would do me the honor to please sit back dear friends on this chair I have prepared for you and allow me to pour you a little wine while we listen to some Depeche Mode in concert on Blu-Ray DVD. Here, sit under the fan as well and we will talk a little bit about politics and world events. Once we have solved the problems of the world we will move onto the other items at hand. We will discuss the complexities that we deal with on a daily basis such as attempting to further establish our fortunes in life and  death. We will than deal with matters a little more pressing such as our families and how it's nice to get away for some adult conversation while the ladies shop and tend to the children.  It would be my privelage if you would indulge me and allow me to pour you a little tasting of a 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon I bought some years ago. I hope you are feeling a little rougish and rebelious today and are in the mood  to do a little experimenting and perhaps a little discovery at the same time. I am also so sorry my friends but I would offer you a Cigar however I gave up the habit some years ago. I pray you will also indulge my request to sample a wine that I know will surely offend your pallet. If you would do me the honor of assisting me with this review I will surely reward you with your gift of a precision crafted and cellard bottle of wine when we are done. Together  we will discover tastes that we both hope to never taste in a wine again. What is that you say? You will? Very good then shall we begin. Now that the narrative is completed let's head to the tasting.

The Cork After Being Removed - Notice The Cracks Along The Sides

   I poured a glass of our 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon and sat down. I wanted to hurry up and finish the couple of sips I had planned to take and move onto a real wine I had been dying to taste for a while. At first at the pour I fully expected to see cork floating in the wine. It was a nice surprise, more of a shock actually when that did not happen. Was this going out to be a pleasant event after all? On the pour the wine appeared a dark Blackberry with a slight tint of a medium Cherry tossed in. As I have said previously there was no sign of Cork even when held up to bright sunlight the wine appeared to have held up visually. There were no apparent discolorations or streaks of different colors that would lead me to believe the wine was tainted in any way. What I did notice when the glass was held up was that the alcohol that is left temporary on the side of the glass did not form streaks but rather took the shape of the wine that came to the side of the glass. This is a change from what I have noticed is usually streaks on the side of the glass once the wine has left it
   We will now move onto the bouquet of this wine which is of fairly heavy Oak followed by enough Cherry to make its presence known. These aromas were followed by Plum and finished with a hint of Cocoa. The Bouquet was simply great and there were no strange or offensive odors detected in the wine. The wine smelled very nicely balanced and had the hint of cocoa aroma at the end set it off perfectly. There also a hint of Alcohol.
   Now onto the next incredible aspect of this wine, the taste. This wine was supposed to taste like Vinegar, it was supposed to be Brown, it was actually supposed to go in the trash without being opened. Thankfully it did not go in the trash. This wine quickly opened up with a rich yet smooth Blackberry taste that was very deep and fresh tasting this was followed closely with just enough of an Oak taste to compliment the Blackberry. There was even a sufficient amount Cassis in combination with everything else to set this wine off wonderfully. On top of all this  there was even a rich Plum flavor followed by  Cocoa which was buried  deep inside the wine waiting to come out  to help with the finish. To my disbelief the wine even still exhibited some Tannins  to give extra life to the wine believe it or not.
    Lets sum up this review. I must pay my compliments to the wine maker at the time. He deserves all the credit for making such a perfect wine that it held up all these years and under harsh conditions. I don't believe that this Cabernet was meant to last this long. I remember it as a low to medium priced wine and I would never expect this result. I do remember that when I went back some years later the women behind the tasting counter told me that that year of Cabernet had become a classic but I never imagined this. Once again my compliments to the wine maker. The next thing thing that I want to address is that I think you the reader is going to ask is how is this even possible? Do you mean to tell me Desert Wine Guy that you enjoyed a 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon and to top it off the bottle was leaking? This wine is supposed to be spoiled, bad. Yes readers that is what I am telling you. I am fully aware that this wine normally should have been thrown away simply because of the age let alone that it leaked. This wine, for what ever reason even exceeded the taste and quality of many of today's Cabernet's. This wine is in my mind, a classic. On The Desert Wine Guy scale I give it a very solid 95 points. This is a classic Cabernet Sauvignon with all the power we have come to expect of a Napa Cab only not from Napa. There was no hint of this wine being anything but a premium wine. The Oak was a very powerful part of this wine but everything else blended in perfectly and the Oak simply completed the wine. Why did this wine hold up to the test of time? How did this wine hold up to the test of time? I simple do not have an answer for you, I don't know. I can only tell you it did. Thankfully I do have another bottle and this one is not leaking. I think I'll hold onto it for a while.



                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy