I talk a lot about marketing and how people fall for it so easily and I was doing some thinking today. I wondered if there is a difference between those who fall for marketing willingly or knowingly and those who fall for marketing ignorantly or were fooled. I was also thinking, are those who fall for marketing willingly or knowingly any different than those who fall for marketing ignorantly or were fooled I also began wondering which of these two categories do I fall in ? Out of curiosity, I also wonder which person would you rather be? As for which one I am, while I really haven't given too much thought on the subject myself, I have given thought on the reality that there are times (today) that I knowingly allow myself to fall for the marketing. Ya see, today I was at a pretty big alcohol chain (no, not Total) in the Tampa area and I wanted a Cabernet...badly. As I scanned the shelves I came across today's review wine. From the very second I saw the label (yes, marketing) on the bottle,
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| Oakville Grocery |
Today I want to taste and talk about the 2023 -1881 Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa. I paid $29.99 for this wine and the bottle is cork (real) sealed. The wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol and the grapes for this wine come from "prestigious vineyards throughout the Napa Valley". The wine is a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Petit Verdot, 3% Petite Sirah, & 3% Zinfandel and was aged for 18 months in 24% new American oak and finished off for an additional five months in the bottle prior to its release.
Label. Here is the continuation of sorts to what I opened this review with which is marketing. Guys, again I ask you to take a look at that label and tell me you don't want to taste this wine just because of it. Tell me that you could walk past this bottle on the shelf. Tell me that at a get together, if the host brought this bottle out, you wouldn't feel blessed and think they spent a lot of money on the wine. Well...whatever you said, I couldn't walk past it :) From the second I saw that amazingly outstanding, incredible awesome label, I knew this was the wine I was reviewing today. I think this label is the absolutely most attractive, most compelling label that I have ever seen on a wine bottle hands down! As a matter of fact, I will be tracking down the wineries website and leaving them a comment whether I like the wine or not.
I love the brooding darkness exuded by the label and just how that the two different browns used and the way they are used, truly set this label off in the most amazing...spectacular way. By the way, the building on the label is the home to the oldest "general" (Oakville Grocery - 1881) store in Napa. The use of the two different shades of brown is outstanding and provides a very nice sort of clash that in reality actually has both colors complimenting one another.
As far as the nose of the wine is concerned, I get notes of cinnamon and a soft spice that makes me think of sitting by a fireplace in the dead of winter and chilling out with a blanket and of course Ms. Desert Wine Girl. Having tasted wine for so many years now, I feel as if instinctively I already know a bit of what this wine is going to taste like. Is that a weird thing to say? I have an...instinct here that this wine is going to be nice. I do have concerns that at this point in time (vintage) there probably won't be any pyrazine type notes such as bell pepper or herbaceous notes but that is to be expected as the wine is still rather young.
Now, the palate and just as I expected, the wine is big in exhibiting those cinnamon and spice notes that I got on the nose and I have to say, they are delicious. Funny but in all the reviews that I have read on this wine, there is no mention of a cinnamon note but that indeed is what I am picking up. The fireplace is indeed still present in my mind as is the George Michael video of Careless Whisper with the snow falling. That cinnamon and spice are really taking the lead here and I am enjoying...no, actually, loving. Both of these notes are presented in almost the same amount yet there are times when they occasionally seem to switch things up a bit in reference to the forwardness of one another. There is a very nice sense of refined plushness to this wine and I am impressed. As I take yet another sip of the wine my mouth is truly in Heaven. There is a quietness in the room...the angels await my commands :) That cinnamon...that spice......that plushness, oh my. The wine is more though as there is a blackberry here as well and while it is not a dark or brooding blackberry, it is a fresh and lively blackberry and it too makes an attempt to dominate yet in the end does fail in that attempt .
A slight sweetness ( Zinfandel ?) to the wine actually adds to its greatness. I typically do not like sweetness, any sweetness, in my wine whether white or red but here it just simply works. 
You can tell that whomever the winemaker is, they knew their stuff and they knew balance for sure. Notes of cedar & very light leather are present as well. This wine has been described as having a "brown sugar" note and I couldn't agree more. This brown sugar is something that is definitely tasted and a note that I never thought I would enjoy but guys, let me tell ya, it is nice. Acidity here is not on the high side but right on point and really helps the wine move along very nicely. Tannins here are not anything crazy but do seem to latch on to that acidity to work for the wine. My mouth was indeed on the dry side after enjoy a sip of the wine and I loved every minute of it. Oak wise, there was some and that "some" was thankfully enough to be a component rather than a dominate component of the wine. This oak adds to the small bit of complexity that the wine has and I enjoyed it. Dark cherry is here as well folks and it to is on the moderate side but is enough to have its contribution tasted and enjoyed. Woe guys, this wine is killing it.
Okay guys, so for whatever reason, I had to stop enjoying the wine last night because even though the wine comes in at 14.5% alcohol and I did have a nice lunch, I was getting a slight buzz and I don't drink wine (anything) to get a buzz. Today I am back to complete the review so here we go. Prior to placing the bottle on my desk, I placed the cork in pretty tightly and had a wine pourer inserted prior to this. I am curious as to how the wine held up so let's find out now. Taking my first sip, the wine has maintained itself pretty well. While all the energy it originally had has toned down just a tiny bit, the wine is still very enjoyable. The cinnamon and soft spice notes are still present and still delicious. That brown sugar note has maintained itself as well without increasing or decreasing in presentation which is great. I am now also picking up a note of licorice that is not on the strong side but still present enough to be an underlying note that helps in steering this wine very nicely.
Would the wine still receive 94 points (did I give something away?) if it first presented itself originally as it is now? Probably not but that doesn't mean its still not very enjoyable. There is an intermixed note of light black plum here now as well along with a note of violets and these notes all make their impact on the wine in a wonderful way. In the end, this is a very well made and put together Cabernet Sauvignon. So there you have it folks, this review is over and I will see you in the conclusion paragraph.
A word to the wise as I start off here, I do not think this is a wine that is made to last or cellar and I would recommend drinking it within the next 5 possibly 6 years. I found out through some research that the winemakers for this wine are Philippe Melka & Stephanie Putnam (Raymond winemaker). So...in my final conclusion. Originally I would say that this is not a wine that I myself would rate as "cellar worthy" as I generally prefer a Cab that offers up pyrazine notes or at least has that potential and this is not that wine, I do not believe that will happen here. I also normally prefer a Cab that is a bit more complexity to it from the start, putting aside any aging. Having said this, I have changed my mind, I did very much enjoy the wine so having all of this, I believe this is a very wonderfully made Cabernet Sauvignon and on The Desert Wine Guy rating scale, I am going to give this wine 94 points.
For those interested, here (https://www.regalwine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/1881-Napa-Cabernet-2023.pdf) is the tech sheet for the wine.
The Desert Wine Guy
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