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Brian Pasch Expert Wine Reviews

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Fuccawee Cabernet Sauvignon - Review

I first wrote about Fuccawee Cabernet back in January when I received their mail piece. The wine finally was shipped and tonight was the night to give the wine a test run. I invited over two friends to taste the wine with me so I would give it a fair opportunity to be evaluated.

Tonight we tasted the 2002 and 2004 Fuccawee Cabernet, part of a mixed six-pack that I received which consists of two bottles of 2002, two bottles of 2003 and two bottles of 2004.

At first blush the Fuccawee Cabernet smells much like a California Zinfandel. As the wine evolved in the glass, the 2002 vintage started to smell like a wine from Piedmont, Italy.

The nose on both wines was sweet, jammy and displaying scents of exotic spices. The wine is much lighter in color than a Zinfandel; you may even mistake it for a Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir. In a blind tasting the color and nose might lead you to believe that this is a Chatenuef du Pape. However, once in the mouth, the wine shows that is a unique experience that defies easy comparisons because of its sweet edges.

My wine arrived in February so I hope that the shipment was not damaged by the cold since the wine 2004 Cabernet was a bit cloudy. The 2002 Cabernet was much clearer in the glass. This could be a result of the wine not being filtered or the wine was deep chilled during shipment causing a separation in the wine.

The Fuccawee Cabernets are not a super concentrated fruit bomb like many of the wines made for "parker scores". These wine are lighter and their sweet edge frankly was a bit of a turnoff. It's hard to believe that this is a Cabernet. People who like sweeter red wines or wines that don't show too much tannins, may enjoy this wine. My guests did not.

I'm not sure what to make of the wine, which leads me to say "What the Fuccawee drinking?"

I'm going to have to ask Fred Schrader about the wine and the filtration process before I make a final judgment. The jury is still out on this one. If you have tasted this wine, send me a note on what you thought. I need to get to the bottom of this story since this is one of the few Cabernets I have tasted from Lake County, California.

Brian Pasch - March 6, 2007

Fuccawee Winery Project

Phone: 707-942-1212
Fax: 707-942-2147