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| 2012 Gravelly Ford Cabernet Sauvignon - Private Reserve |
So today I am reviewing the 2012 Gravelly Ford Vineyards (
http://www.oneillwine.com/) Cabernet Sauvignon - Private Reserve that I received from the Wine of The Month Club (
http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com/). I have received many wines from them and some of these wines have even gone on to be some of my favorites such as the 2013 MSH Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, which I have reviewed (
http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2015/05/msh-cellars-exceptional-2013-sauvignon.html) previously. The interesting thing about the wine club is that they sell small and virtually unknown wines from small vineyards around the world so a lot of times it seems as if I am the only one reviewing these particular wines which is always interesting since I don't have any idea initially what I am tasting (talk about unbiased tasting). That is the case here with this wine guys. All I could find is that O'neill Vinters and Distillers (
http://www.oneillwine.com/media/16661/OV_FactSheet_03302015.pdf) distributes the wine. Here is another small vineyard / winery that you can barely find any information on. I have to tell you readers before we move on that I love it when I open a wine that is
from a small unknown vineyard and get to experience what I consider to
be a treasure or as it is referred to in a movies as a "sleeper". I love
and feel sort of privileged in a way when I have the opportunity to review an
unknown wine (spoiler alert) and I find it to be a treasure. That is the case
here with this wine folks. O.K, now let's get into the heart of this review and I'll tell what this wine is all about. Oh, one other item of note. I can promise you that there is a surprise waiting for you guys in this review and one that I found pretty cool and perplexing. Well folks let's go ahead and get into this review and see what I thought about the wine as well as just what that surprise at the end is.
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| Jeff O'Neill - Owner of O'neill Vinters & Distillers |
On the pour we are looking at a medium Burgundy in appearance with a nose of incredible Graphite that struck me immediately as simply..... AWESOME. Here is an interesting note on this wine. If you have ever read a review where a nose of wine was described as having a note of "graphite" but have never experienced it, this wine is a prime example and it is truly something that must be experienced for oneself. Prior to going on with this review I feel it is incumbent on me to remind you to keep in mind throughout the review that this note of graphite is heavenly influencing the other notes that I will be discussing. What would normally be a simple note of Blackberry for instance is no longer a simple note of Blackberry, it is a note of Blackberry that is meshing with that awesome Graphite to form a super Blackberry note that coats your tongue with smoothness of pure pleasure. Please keep this in mind because there are a lot of wines that carry the same notes as this wine does but few that I have found that are able to move to this level of brilliance in a wine. There is the note of Tannin's as well that are still rather pleasantly noticeable and still have room to tone down some even after the few years the wine has been bottled and also as I just mentioned, definitely still at a level you would not expect with this age on the wine and from such an unknown wine.
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| Mark Rasmussen- Winemaker |
These Tannin's are bold and straight up in your face way. With an Alcohol level of 12.5% which is not bad, this wine is maintaining itself superbly which speaks to the ability of the winemaker as well as the quality of the grapes grown. Some other notes that are invited along for the ride are a super deep Currant and Cassis that scream their presence and definitely make themselves known on your Palette throughout the wine. Whatever you do here guys, don't shy away from this wine folks. True (as you will soon see) the wine is not for the weak hearted or the medium bodied Cabernet Sauvignon drinker and as we go on further with the description of the notes you will see exactly what the surprise is and what I mean. Despite all these powerful notes the wine also exhibits a sense of velvety smoothness as well that the Tannin's, Cassis & Currant can't cover up or dominate although they do surely try. Just as the Graphite note brings this wine to another level so does the smoothness of this wine in it's own way which also does indeed take the wine to another level. You would think that the smoothness note would sort of diminish the power notes listed above especially with that Graphite that is mixed in but it doesn't it simply adds sort of a free flow on your Palette. So now is the time to present to you the surprise or dilemma that I mentioned in the opening paragraph. The note I am speaking of is that of a lovely and super deep / dark Black Pepper that reminded me way too much of a Syrah than a Cabernet Sauvignon. Yeah, there is the surprise. An unusually powerful Black Pepper that once again raises this wine to a place you would have never thought it would be. It is not normal for the varietal known as Cabernet Sauvignon to expose such a note to this extent. I'm not done though because the next note elevates this wine past the varietal standards of the Cabernet Sauvignon to a place it is not supposed to be. The note of Black Pepper joins forces with a note of Leather as well. I feel compelled to say that if I was originally unaware of the fact that I am reviewing a Cabernet Sauvignon I would bet that I was sampling an expensive and aged varietal of Syrah here folks. If your mouth is watering right now as you read this review you should stop right here and go buy a few bottles because it gets even better and I don't think you can take it :) Not being satisfied with itself, the wine exhibits further notes this time of dark earth that is overflowing in my glass folks. This wine is certainly an in your face, bold, spicy and impressive wine. That is it, it's as simple as that.
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| Mark Federighi as Senior Vice President / Chief Sales Officer |
I am not sure why this wine didn't take off when it came to market perhaps the winery didn't have the financial resources to pay for advertising, I don't know but I guess this does show the power of the establishment wine magazines as well. I have read a few reviews of this wine and honestly they score around 89 points. I think that the reviewers are stuck in the fact that the wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon. I forced myself to jump out of that box as you will soon see. Another great aspect of this wine is that it is also one of those wines that I can describe as almost a meal except for the fact that it is not super rich and the richness that it does have is complimented rather nicely by the Graphite and the other notes that bombard your palette in a superior way. Your Palette is mostly distracted from the fruit forwardness that is present but is layered deep beneath. Spread evenly across your tongue there are notes of a deep and not sharp too Cranberry as well that is assisted in it's toning down of it's usual sharpness by that graphite I mentioned earlier that also appears by the way elegantly on the Palatte. I can't tell you enough folks just how impressed I am by the notes of Graphite, Leather, Tannin's, Cassis and Currant among the others. Five key notes that not just pull but forcefully and steadily push this wine away from the pack of not so much Cabernet Sauvignon lovers but Syrah lovers and wines Syrah that cost more than double what this wine does.
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| O'Neill winery - View #1 |
This wine costs $12.99 at the time it was sent if I wanted to buy more. If you love the deep note of pepper (as well as the other notes previously mentioned) in your reds (Syrah anyone) you MUST, absolutely MUST find this wine if it is available. I recommend three bottles since you will be drinking one right away. A little more (sort of a warning actually) on the surprise I mentioned. If you love the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal and the things it is noted for, you might find it very hard to enjoy this wine and probably won't like it and if that is the case I certainly can't blame you. On the other hand, if you love the full bodied Cabernet AND the Syrah varietal you will absolutely love this wine. While this wine came from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, when it grew up it evolved and became a VERY serious Syrah type wine. I myself am lucky because I happen to love both varietals (as well as the Spanish Tempranillo) so I am lucky in that sense and extremely pleased with this wine other than the issue of it seriously not meeting varietal standards. With all this being said now I believe it is time to wrap up what has become a rather perplexing review.
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| O'Neill Winery - View #2 |
So, we are at the end of another great wine review but as you can problem guess I have a issue. Here is a wine which is presented in reality to be a Cabernet Sauvignon yet mirroring and presenting itself as an absolutely incredible Syrah. I would pay anything to have a Sommelier review this wine blindly and be informed it is a Syrah and see what their rating was. I guarantee that particular review would bring the winery, vineyards and wine maker to the wine worlds attention. I personally have reservations rating this as a Cabernet Sauvignon because it really doesn't have the characteristics of a Cabernet on one hand yet it is an awesome Syrah on the other. Another interesting item of note here is if this wine can sustain itself like this from a small unknown winery and winemaker since 2012 and not skip a beat AND appear to still be on the upswing than you are looking at least another 10 years in proper Cellering life. I will be researching purchasing this wine because my wine cellar is screaming for this. In another life this wine would have surely been born from Syrah grapes and not from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Unfortunately that is not the case, so what to do, I am left with a problem. Here is what I have decided to do and I may be wrong for doing it but what the heck. I am going to give this wine 86 points as a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal and rate it as a Syrah instead, at 94 points on the Desert Wine Guy rating scale. I highly recommend this wine if you love Syrah but suggest you might want to think again if you are in the market for a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal.
One last item and I feel that I have to say the following. While searching for some information on the Gravelly Ford label from O'Neill Vinters I found it impossible to uncover any information on it including the technical aspects such as if the wine is a blend or not. This was extremely frustrating as a consumer let alone a reviewer. Why a company should insist on hiding useful information on a product they make is beyond me and bothersome. Hopefully in the future this will change.
The Desert Wine Guy
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