The Desert Wine Guy - 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

   Have you ever been excited by something that really in the big scheme of things in reality is nothing special? That is how I was the other day when a local grocery store named Smiths (Kroger) opened a new location near my house. The store was double their normal size as it now sold clothing and also had a section for a few small appliances. Basically it was almost a mini Walmart but without some of the..... unique Walmart clientele. What really was the exciting part for me was that Smiths has always had a pretty nice Wine and Beer section so I figured that since I was going there anyway I check out the wine section that was supposed to be huge and use my new Go Pro Camera at the same time to make a video for my new Brighteon Channel (https://www.brighteon.com/5812832805001) that I had just established. Guys, please go check out the video to see the fantastic wine selection & bar they have. By the way for those who don't know, Brighteon is just like YouTube but without the censoring of speech (Liberal or Conservative) and I STRONGLY suggest that you check it out. Anyway, while I was there doing the video I of course had to pick up a bottle of wine. The wine that I decided on was the 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (https://www.bvwines.com/en-us/wines/napa-valley-portfolio/rutherford-cab/2015).

At the stores normal price of $39.99 it was fairly expensive in my book but as luck would have it the wine was on sale for $31.99 which while not much better is still cheaper and closer to "wine for the average person". By the way, the wine at the winery itself sells for $42 (higher of course). Let's get started digging into this wine now and see what it's all about shall we? One thing before we begin however is that I want to give you guys a heads up. Please read the entire review as the wine changes drastically as it opens up and I think you will be interested in this change. I won't go into any further detail right here but I will tell you that things certainly do take a turn for the..........oh never mind, read on.  So, without any further delay, here is my review of this wine.
   Let me begin this review by talking about the label the bottle carries on it. From time to time there comes a wine that has a label which just simply outright sells that particular wine. The label on this bottle appears to stand out and it conveys in my mind at least, a wine which is pure, elegant and of ultimate perfection. The label of the 2015 BV Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon folks conveys all of that and tons more. This particular wine is represented by a label that looks as if whatever is inside the bottle is certainly fit for royalty, or to be served at a presidential celebration. The different fonts chosen as well as the different sectional coloring completely brought this wines to life on the shelf as it screamed to get my attention.

Take a break for a second and actually study the bottles label and see if you are able to break away and come back to this review. Okay, I see that you were indeed able to break away and you made it back, that's great. Now, before I go on with anymore of this review I have to tell you something that you must know and I just....want to tell you in general. I am extremely partial to BV wines as a whole as well as a very limited few other Napa Valley standout wineries (Peju anyone). I will also admit that, yes being "extremely partial" played a part in my purchasing of this wine. I will also tell you  that I never make it a habit to purchase the BV Coastal wines as I feel that this expression is far inferior to the Napa one. Okay, moving on now to the bouquet of this wine, let's see if it holds up to this wines label presentation. 
   Moderate oak on the initial nose presentation along with cassis and pipe tobacco come barreling through, SUPER wow! A sense of darkness and depth continues to creep into the nose with a deep note of mocha combined with light coca that also comes rushing from the glass and up to your nose. A nice note of oak comes to the nose as well but nothing too dramatic or at a level to scare those of you who wish to stay away from the "Oak Monster" (thank you Gary Vaynerchuk), you will certainly appreciate it nonetheless.  As the wine opens up a bit there is a nice note of caramel as well. So think about this for a second. oak, mocha, cocoa, caramel and cassis as well as a true Napa Valley, Rutherford, Cabernet Sauvignon presentation. Are you guys getting the picture yet? I hope so.

   Moving now to the wine on my Palate. Yep, this is a serious, straight out awesome wine and a near perfect representation of the Cabernet Sauvignon varietal. Let's back up though and allow me to talk some more about this wine as I've jumped far ahead. From the minute this wine graces your Palate you will know that you have come across Gold. If you have ever read about "Rutherford Dust" and either have never experienced it or doubted that it exists then you simply must taste this wine. The Rutherford Dust is throughout the Palette and mixed with fresh blackberry that are themselves not overpowering yet present enough to let you know that they are proud to be there for sure. A semi rich and yet moderate fruit forwardness is without a doubt present and elevated in the sugar area by the molasses on the Palette and comes in honestly as slightly overwhelming although it was certainly proud to show itself off here. If you are scared of oak you won't have any concerns here as it is indeed present yet not approaching overwhelming although you will inhale it every time you you take a sip of the wine, weird huh? How about talking about the Black Plum that is evident on the Palette.Take a medium sip of this wine, breath and let it gently flow across your entire Palate. Tilt your head back and gently allow it to continue to spread across your Palette......go ahead, I'll wait. Now, what are you tasting? This note of plum is outstanding and the fruit is ripe and ready. If you have ever heard of the expression when it comes to a particular wine that it considered to be "generous" wine then you have without a doubt found one. If would have ever heard that a wine was "approachable" then you would probably not be looking at this wine as it is very forward in it's Napa Cabernet Sauvignon presentation and is not for the weak of Heart.

   Folks, here is where a major problem comes into play with this wine. In order to understand what is going on here you have to know that when I review a wine I am also helping the kids with school, reading wine magazines, and just relaxing in general. This might at times entail a half an hour or more break between sips when tasting the wine. This time can at times work to the benefit of a wine and unfortunately as in the case of this wine, work to the detriment of a wine as well. Keep in mind as well that I generally do not decant my wines, perhaps that will now change though.
   Okay, so after drinking this wine for about an hour and a half and basically letting it to open up, the wine has changed dramatically and as I already said, here is where the problem(s) started. Let's get to this unfortunate aspect and discuss them a bit. Guys I have to admit something, at first this wine was going to come in at 95 points as it was astonishing but the more it opened up, the more I have to tell you that it has proceeded to the point of being way over the top concerning fruit forwardness, what an ultimate disappointment. I'm not sitting here saying that this is a bad wine but what I am sitting here saying is that as I continue to drink this wine my palette is being without a doubt, simply and utterly overwhelmed (attacked) by sugar or fruit forwardness.This is to the point that I can no longer recommend the wine to the point that I was going to recommend it. After all is said and done I am forced to rate this wine at 87 points. A very serious drop in rating I know but a bigger disappointment in general, I am devastated! This wine went form exceptional to one which simply couldn't break the 90 point mark. Folks, I don't know what else to say. For $31.99 I expected so much better. For BV,  my expectations are always very high to begin with so I expected incredible things from this wine. For a wine that gets it's grapes from Rutherford California and is carrying the BV name all I can say is what a let down. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I give this wine 87 points.

                                                                                                                The Desert Wine Guy

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