The Desert Wine Guy - 2016 Louis .M. Martini, Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma County

   The other day I was in the Airport here in Las Vegas awaiting the boarding for my flight to Florida (what's up with that) when I suddenly realized that I was hungry. Since I had about an hour and a half to kill before the flight boarded I thought that I would grab a quick bite to eat. I decided I would eat at the Las Vegas Chophouse & Brewery located in the Airport and since I was by myself and had no kids with me, I also very happily sat down at the Bar. After reviewing their Menu I decided on the Crab Croquette which itself was just incredable but what made this an even more delightfull meal was the glass (or possibly two) that I had of the 2016 Louis .M. Martini - Cabernet Sauvignon that I chose to go along with it. Now hold on a minute there DWG, did you say that you had a red wine with Crab? Yes, I most assuredly did say that, and you know what, it was FANTASTIC. Being straight with you guys as always, I didn't really expect much from this wine. I guess I fell into the trap of judging a wine by its price tag.

My expectations of the wine changed however when I took my first taste of the wine, it was also at that point that I also decided you guys needed to know about this wine which of course was going to be accomplished by me reviewing it for you. One last thing here. The stares that I received while sitting in an Airport restaurant while judging both the visual and Bouquet presentation of the wine were amazing by the way. Anyway, it's been a few weeks and here I am, back from Florida and sitting in my Loft with a bottle of that particular wine so let's get into this review.

   This is a wine that is fairly common as I seem to see it everywhere wine is sold and for a very reasonable price as well. Speaking of price, the wine cost me $13 but does sell for $20 at the winery. The wine is also of course Cork sealed and comes in at a moderate 14.5% Alcohol as well. The grapes for this wine come from the Frei Ranch vineyards in the Dry Creek Vally AVA (Sonoma County) as well as the Barrelli Creek Vineyard in the Alexander Valley. The wine is a blend of  Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Merlot with unspecified percentages of each varietal and also sat for 16 months in French & American Oak.

   As for the label now guys I think that while it is obviously nothing flashy, it does present a certain element of clean simplicity to it. While it is on the plain side it is not too plain where it is what I would consider to be bland. I thnk the words are well placed and the Fonts were fairly decent as well. Overall a very simple label one hand yet on the other it does the job and I'm comfortable with that.

   Let's now go ahead and actually look at the wine. You know that while looks aren't everything (lucky for me) they can form an impression(s) on others, in this case the wine consumer. These impressions might carry on to their overall view of a wine or a product in general as well. Holding the wine glass up to direct Sunlight I will tell you that the wine is exposing itself an absouletly wonderfull Burgundy in color. If I were a betting man I would bet that the wine also probably looks as dark as the day it was bottled. What a wonderful & impressive visual presentation this wine is showing putting on display. Legs, legs on this wine were numerous, fairly thick and ran quickly down the sides of my wine glass. At times the wine also seemed to almost coat the glass, almost like a light oil.

   So now we discuss very briefly the Bouquet of this wine. Yeah, what's up with the Bouquet of the wine there DWG? Well red wine lovers, let me tell you about what's up with the Bouquet. I'll start off with the fact that the wine exposes a very nice inital yet moderate oak note on the nose. Along with this oak came some light Black Cherry which is also in the mix here and is so very welcomed as it fit perfectly here. The Bouquet simply screams of a wine that is going to be wrought with complexity and overall development if ever one could. A good note of Cocoa and smoke is certainly exposed as the wine opens up to it's implied greatness.

   We move now onto the wines Palate presentation. Straight up I will tell you that at a half an hour into the wine being opened and my initial tasting of it, this wine is showing that it is on its way to demonstrating it is very serious concerning its presentation. Now, whether or not the wine will develop into a fruit bomb or not is unknown as I guess that remains to be seen but with inexpensive reds it is unfortunetly a common fault that crops up. Some forward Black Plum comes lunging out at you here on the initial Palate presentation but is subdued to an ever so slight extent by a note of the very same oak which I picked up on the Nose. In perfect tune with that oak and Black Plum is a note of almost ripe Black cherry. Real quickly here I want to tell you that this is a juicy wine on the Palate and your Mouth fills with robust & ripe red fruits, amazing. The fruit notes are very concentrated which also assists in making for an "Old World" type expression which you guys know I prefer in my reds. Now I did say the wine was of the "Old School" type expression right? Keep this in mind as I mention that there is a slight bit of fruit forwardness to it but that doesn't mean that this bit even has thoughts of dominance or even to makes the attempt at trying to steer this wine towards a Generation X type wine because it does not.

I am in actuality talking about a presentation which adds just a hair bit of softness and sugar that is mostly noticed at Mid-Palate and is from 1 - 10, a 2.5. I know that I mentioned oak earlier but I need to expound on that for a minute. This oak is at a level where it is just enough to make a slight yet defenitly positive impact on the Palate. That slight, positive impact is however just perfect as it does not even come close to dominating here, this is not an oakey wine. The oak is simply.....perfect. Let me go ahead and throw in a serious Leather note which is present just after the opening notes here guys and brings along with it lovely Tannins. Speaking of Tannins, the wine does have some nice yet not exactly subtle Tannins folks so be ready for that. As I already said, this is an "Old World" style Cabernet Sauvignon to a massive extent so be warned. A Black Pepper note is present here as well and it is evident as well but not overpowering. Ripe Blackberry guys, do you wnat that as well? Well if you do, you are in luck. Ripe Blackberries just thrusts forward on the Palate and I think plays a big part bringing out that bit of fruit forwardness as well that I mentioned earlier. Black Currants are massive here guys and helps this wine to create a sense of big money being spent on it. Acidity is well balanced and is not an issue here if you are sensitive or dislike that particular note although there is some present. The wine also exhibits a taste of Brown Sugar which works in coordination with any fruit forwardness the wine presents. Have no worries here guys as the wine is not what I would consider to be a sweet wine but there is a underlying slightly sweet component to it. All of the other notes do a great job at adequately covering up this Brown Sugar to a good extent and what is left is really well presented. There is a "grip" to this wine as it coats your mouth and you struggle to find out just how for this price such a wine can be created. Some Graphite and Clove is presented here in this wine as well and I have to say that this wine is very powerful and tastes so much higher then its price point suggests guys.

   Okay so we are in the final paragraph. Before I give you my closing thoughts and my rating on this wine, I have to make a comment on the Louis .M. Martini website in relation to this wine. When you first read the page the winery presents to you (https://www.louismartini.com/wines/sonoma-county-cabernet-sauvignon-2016) in referance to this wine you will notice that they say that the "Varietal Content" of the wine is Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Merlot. As you get to the "Winemaker Notes" section you will see that they say the wine now has Cabernet Franc. I ask you, which is it? One other issue here is if you read the "Viticultral" section you will notice that we all of a sudden jumped backwards to the 2015 Vintage. One final issue here is that the Winery doesn't state anything about the French/American Oak in referance to the oak being new or old (neutral). For those of you who are unaware if indeed the oak is "neutral" then it really doesn't matter what type of oak it is or for that matter, how long the wine sat in it because a "neutral" it no longer imparts any flavor onto the wine. Alright then, let's finish up this final paragraph now. If you blind taste this wine at a party or perhaps another tasting venue, your guests will suggest prices of at least $50 if not more, that is how mpressive this wine is. If I hadn't seen the price per glass at the restaurant I also would have thought of that price range as well. This is a very textured wine and one which presents a rather nice plushness to it. I see that Mr. James Suckling has rated this wine at 92 points but on The Desert WIne Guy rating scale I am going to up him by one and give this wine 93 points.

I was very impressed by this wine and it's complexity as well as the fact that I have tasted many wines double the price which couldn't even hope to reach this score. By the way my Dinner at home that went perfectly with this wine was Hamburgers made from Wagyu Beef placed on the Smoker and cooked to perfection by Mrs. desert Wine girl. Lastly I will say Good job guys, keep up the great work.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

www.desertwineguy.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?fref=nf

https://twitter.com/DesertWineGuyLV

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCUb3w1n2S_UGU2yYRkFYQ/videos

https://www.brighteon.com/channel/thedesertwineguy

The Desert Wine Guy - 2017 Baus Family - Sauvignon Blanc

   Today I watched an interesting video about a guy named Gary Vaynerchuk. For those of you who aren't familiar with who Gary is Gary started a successful wine store named Wine Library (https://winelibrary.com/) as well as a YouTube channel called WineLibraryTV (https://www.youtube.com/user/WineLibraryTV/videos). On his video channel he talks about and reviews wines which most of the time are the same types of wines that I review and that is, wines for the average wine drinker. What Gary talked about in this particular video was about marketing a wine business. Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4T84SGUGDk) is a link to the video as I think that you might find it interesting. One big item that I personally took from the video is that Gary (mostly) agrees with me in as far as wine is meant to be fun and that wine can also be chosen because of mood or atmosphere. There should be no stuffiness when it comes to wine.

Now I myself do think that when you are spending some good money on a wine that the presentation of the wine by both the winery (label) and the restaurant (pour) are super important however those things alone are not the sole determiner of whether or not a wine is good or bad or for that matter whether you will enjoy that particular wine or not. As The Desert Wine Guy, these factors were really why I started my whole on line presence in the first place. It is great to see that someone who started as a wine nobody, has actually become a "marketing expert" and for the most part, agrees with me. Yes, it is at times nice to experience the pomp and circumstance surrounding proper wine etiquette but when it really gets down to it, wine is really about enjoyment. One other thing and as I have always said, wine is VERY subjective. My trash wine may very well be your wine to Cellar and vise verse. There is actually a ton more that I want to say about this subject but it will have to wait for another day. Until then please check out the WIneLibraryTV videos, you will enjoy them. So, here we go guys, a new wine review.
   So just what am I reviewing today? Well folks, today I am reviewing the 2017 Baus Family Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc. I am also going to at times be comparing this particular vintage to their 2016 vintage which I recently reviewed (https://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-desert-wine-guy-2016-baus-family.html) and which I rated at 89 points. Let's go ahead now and get into the heart of this review and see if this vintage fared better or worse then the previous vintage.

   Let's begin by talking a little about the basics of the wine first. I bought this wine from one of the usual alcohol warehouse type stores here in Vegas for $10.99 which is slightly less then the average price for this particular wine as the average price is around $15. This by the way is also the same price as last years Vintage. As for the Alcohol percentage it come in at 12.5% and last years was 13%, not much of a difference at all. The Label appears to be identical as well other then for the Vintage change. There still is no Baus Family Vineyards at that I can find but what little I did find is that Great Domains & Estates LLC which is a Marketing company made the Label for whoever actually made the wine. The Baus Family Vineyards name is also trademarked by Great Domains & Estates LLC as well. Whoever the producer is they have held to using a Cork to seal their wine, I am super glad to see that.
   Lets take a look just at how this wine sits in the glass. Once again as with last years Vintage, when you look straight down the center of the glass the wine appears clear like Water. Looking at the wine from the outside, the wine presents itself as being an extremely pale and Straw in color wine.
   On the Nose the wine is certainly putting on a display of a fairly mild yet a certainly effective note of White Peach mixed with the same Nose level of ripe Nectarine. There is a super nice Note of Honeysuckle here as well which stands above the other two notes as far as it's presentation. In my opinion this Bouquet is somewhat more pronounced then last years expression of the varietal. Now, as I have said MANY times in the past, a Bouquet no matter how bad or good it is has not much to do with the actual taste of a wine.

   Now, the part we have all been waiting for, the Palate presentation. This wine simply explodes with flavor guys. Oops, did I jump the gun with that comment? Let's get back to the beginning of exactly how the wine comes across in the Mouth shall we? Taking a first sip of the wine straight down the middle of my Tongue reveals flavors of the same ripe White Peach and Nectarine notes that I picked on the Nose. Now, as the wine slides to the side of my Tongue I am getting a note of a fruity & forward Lemongrass that allows just a small little bit of sweetness to invade its personal space. This Lemongrass really shines in the wine and is very apparent and forward from the opening of the wine all the way through to the Finish of the wine. Oh yeah, speaking of the Finish, there is a bit of wonderful lively and semi bright Acidity on that end that I am really enjoying. Let's go ahead and throw in some totally evident Honeysuckle as a partial reason for the sugary type note that the wine moderately presents. This Honeysuckle is another note which transfers from the Nose and is so super refreshingly bright on the Palate that I can't help but want of this wine. I have this feeling that the Honeysuckle is also preventing the wine from becoming too Acidic and therefore doesn't even let the wine come close to that point so there should be no worries there at all.

By the way, this is as you would expect, is a fruit froward wine as I believe all of expressions of this varietal are when the grapes are grown in hotter climates which I truly believe these grapes were. Now, I don't want that to throw you off guys as this wine is not some poorly made, generic "white wine" by any means, it simply is very tropical. To add to these notes there is a mid Palate note of light Lemon Meringue that while it carries onto the Finish it doesn't present any overly tangies to the wine which I appreciate, its not a Chardonnay folks. There is a sort of sharpness to the wine but you can tell that the Honeysuckle does it's job expertly and allows just a bit of that note through yet covers the rest with its sweeter note. Quick interruption folks and I may be jumping ahead of myself here but I am loving this wine. This is a prime example of the grape and what can be done with it when properly done. All right, let's get back on track now. Lets discuss the Tropicalness (is that even a word) of the wine. Folks, this wine is just that, tropical but not to the extent where it is offensive, repulsive or a sugar bomb, there should be no worries at all pertaining to these things. Finishing up the description of this wine is a note of almost a tanginess throughout the wine that matches or passes for that Acidity and is what elevates this wine from the average hot weather expression of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal. I have just now taken a sip of this wine again and actually am clapping my hands at the awesome taste that is in my mouth. Well I am done with this review so let's move to the closing Paragraph and wrap this up.

   Readers I simply must be done now because I have a half of a bottle of this wine left and I am going to kick back with my home made Blu-Ray of both 70's & 80's music videos and enjoy both. Right about now there are visions of the spring time and the Heat. I am thinking of going swimming in my Pool because this wine brings that to mind but then reality hits and says that this review is being written at the end of November so I just sit here in my Loft wishing. Wine lovers, there is a time and a place for the cooler grown grapes of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal but as for the expression of the Varietal from the Napa Valley region or regions where the heat dominates, this is the wine to beat in my book. if you have ever heard a reviewer refer to a wine as leaving a "fresh mouth feel" but didn't know what that means then drink this wine and you will have no further questions. Folks, this is not a Wine Cooler by any means and if you are looking for one that you need to go buy some. This is exceeding all expectations for the $10 range or for that matter, the $30 range of the varietal. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine 93 super well deserved points.

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

www.desertwineguy.blogspot.com/

www.facebook.com/DesertWineGuy?fref=nf

https://twitter.com/DesertWineGuyLV

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgCUb3w1n2S_UGU2yYRkFYQ/videos

https://www.brighteon.com/channel/thedesertwineguy