Do you guys look for specific areas or AVA's when you buy wine? As much as I love to explore all wine areas, I do have to admit that I have my favorite areas or AVA's that I like to stick to. I wonder though, is there any science behind this preference or is it just that we have fallen into a marketing ploy? I don't know about you but when I see a Tempranillo from anywhere other then Spain, I kind of move on. I am not quite as bad when it comes to a Cabernet Sauvignon but I would prefer to have one from the Napa Valley, preferably the Rutherford AVA as I am in love with that "Rutherford Dust" note which some argue really doesn't exist but those in the know, know :) When it comes to Sauvignon Blanc I usually head over to Marlborough, New Zealand (not literally) for that varietal but there are times in which California is visited as well when I want to change things up a bit. I think these places know that people come to them for a specific reason and they in turn price their wine accordingly. My final question to you before I move on is, what percentage of the time is it worth spending that extra money?
So guys, today I will be taking a look at the 2019 Textbook, Cabernet Sauvignon (https://textbookvineyards.com/) from the Napa Valley. I paid $25 for this wine and the bottle is cork (real) sealed. The alcohol percentage of this wine comes in at 13.3% and the winemaker of this wine is Abi Horstman. The wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2.5% Petite Verdot & 2.5% Cabernet Franc. For those out there who love the tech stuff (me), the wine sat in 90% French Oak with 35% being new as well as 10% American Oak for 18 months. All of the grapes for this wine come from the Napa Valley in the form of four sub-AVAs which are Oak Knoll, Yountville, Rutherford, and Calistoga. One last note here of interest is that the wine is part of the Kirin Holdings Company (https://www.kirinholdings.com/en/)
Let's talk label now. Ya know, there are times when plain, or simple, is a good thing provided it's done right that is. Folks, this label is in a way, plain & simple and is a perfect representation of what I am talking about as well. This label doesn't have any fancy colors or bright, eye catching graphics yet it just works and I think it is well done. I love the border around the label, both the front as well as the back actually. The fonts used are not what I would consider to be fancy or over the top but they definitely presents a very classic type wine imagery. Clean and certainly sophisticated, this label is one which you wouldn't be surprised to see in a photo of some dignitaries at a dinner party or even on the table of some degenerate housewives on T.V.
Let me go ahead and check out the nose of this Cabernet Sauvignon now and see what it has to say for itself. Spiced, sweet smelling French Oak is being thrown out here and let me tell you, it smells absolutely amazing. Nice blueberry is here as well but doesn't give off the impression the note will be crazy or over the top on the palate. Dark cherry follows up here and it appears to add a sense of a lovely plushness to the nose of the wine.
Okay, so far so good but how does the wine taste? Let's find out. Okay so, first up here is that same spiced/sweet French Oak that I picked up on the nose and Ladies & Gentlemen, let me tell you, it is just as nice here as was portrayed to be on that nose. Not overpowering in the least bit, this Spiced/sweet French Oak really knows how to come forward and show itself off just beautifully. While not acting as if it needs to be the Oak Monster (thank you Gary Vee) and certainly not pushing itself on you, the oak also doesn't come across as if it was added into the wine as an afterthought either. This spiced/sweet French Oak understands that its role is strictly to impress which it certainly does in a big way. Next up here is a very adequate and delicious note of Rutherford Dust folks, yes, Rutherford Dust. If I didn't already know that some of the wines grapes came from the Rutherford AVA, I definitely would have no problem letting you know they did. This dust is certainly picked up and makes a beautiful impact on the wine overall as well. This dust adds like an earthy sense to the overall palate and boy is it good. As far as the acidity goes in the wine, The wine has an acidity presentation which is very nice as well and without causing you to sit back in you chair. As far as the acidity being just as effective as that oak and dust, yeah, it is right up there. In my humble opinion, all three notes together are elevating this wine into a category that it should not be in at this price point. If you were to me you paid $100 for this wine, I would believe you without question. The wine is also throwing out a smoke note and while it is not overpowering, it is flavorful and intermixes with everything else the wine is pushing out. Here with this note which I was not expecting but am glad is here the overall texture of the wine is elevated and balance in the wine is continued. Next up is a note which I have to be carefully telling some of you about and that note is of Plum
and it is fresh and juicy. This plum adds just a hair
bit of jamminess but I still hate to say that word because 99% of the time
when I say it, it is followed by the following words, "......it flat out killed the wine", thankfully that is not the case here. Folks, in this particular case that plum is perfect and I don't use that word lightly guys, I do mean perfect. So if you thought I was done with this review, you would be wrong because tobacco is present here as well and it is fresh like if you just opened a bag of fresh leaves and smelled them. 
To me, one sign of a serious Cabernet Sauvignon is a note of tobacco. This tobacco is not only fresh and pretty robust but I have to say, adds complexity to the wine. As far as tannin's go, they are present and on the softer yet crumbly side but they do add to the other notes which help in elevating the wine into (again) another price point. After
taking a sip of the wine my mouth is left with a deliciously light coating of those tannin's which keeps
telling me that the wine is both young as well as still there helping it to have a fairly long finish. Guys,
I am sorry, the wine is half done but it is time to end this written review as I am
saving the other half of the bottle for my YouTube channel
(https://www.youtube.com/@TheDesertWineGuy/featured) as the wine truly
deserves more coverage. I will see you in the next paragraph to wrap this all up.
What else can I say except for the fact that this wine is structured, phenomenal and I enjoyed it very much. Between that spiced sweet, French Oak, the beautiful tobacco, the plum and everything else, this wine is rocking it for sure. There is nothing about the wine that I would change other then perhaps it being perhaps a little more full bodied. On The Desert Wine Guy rating scale I am giving this wine a strong 94 (cellar worthy) points. Right about now I am going to go ask Mrs. Desert Wine Girl if she can hook me up with some wonderful lamb as I seem to have that stuck in my mind...thank you Notebook :) My recommendation to you is that you go out and buy a couple of bottles of the wine because if you love old school Napa Cabs, I know you will enjoy it.
The Desert Wine Guy
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