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Brian Pasch Expert Wine Reviews

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• 06-15-2008 - Restaurant Nicholas Our Top Pick
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A Review of Some Wonderful California Cabernets

This past week I recovered from my Italian travels and got back home to taste some California Cabernets. I enjoyed two weeks of Italian wines and as I have noted, discovered some wonderful new producers with the highlight being Tenuta di Trinoro.

One stand-out since I have been home is the 2000 Matriarch Cabernet from Bond. The Matriarch is the "second" label of Bond and one of the six Cabernet's that they produce. The wine is mainly distributed through their mailing list but you may see Bond wines at fine restaurants with stellar California wine collections. The 2000 Matriarch is a good example of how Robert Parker scores can be misleading. Robert Parker gave this wine a score of 89 and for maturity gave it the deadly "?". The question mark is one of Parker's wine killers, he basically is saying he has no idea how this wine will age. Three years have passed since his review of this wine in December of 2003; it is delicious in July 2006. I score this wine 94 pts and make it clear that everyone at the dinner table enjoyed the wine. If you have an opportunity to taste this wine, give it a try; you will not be disappointed. This wine retails for around $100 per bottle on the auction market due to the low score it received from Parker.

This was the first time I tasted the 2003 Carter Cabernet produced by Nils Venge which used fruit from the famous Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard. The tasting group was split on this wine; some loved it and others were not impressed. The wine at this point in its evolution is tannic an it would be easy to dismiss this wine as out of balance. However, the fruit concentration and aromatic flavors in the glass speak to a wine that is just too young. This is the same reason you can not enjoy the First Growths of Bordeaux until 15+ years of aging. Early on they taste putrid.

I suspect that this wine will be more approachable in 5-7 years but may take 10 years to fully evolve. When a wine has strong tannins, the fruit must also have a strong presence in the glass or the wine will never be in balance. With the 2003 vintage, the nose and initial fruit flavors give me confidence that this wine will come around in time. One Burgundy producer shared his thoughts about young wines saying that if the wine smells great in the glass, but tastes tannic today, it has the potential to succeed. If you plan to purchase this wine, DO NOT open it for at least 5 years. This wine retails for around $95.00 a bottle and you can find some of this limited production wine at Dean & DeLuca in St. Helena, California by contacting Chris Langston at 707-967-9980.

The 2002 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet from the Santa Cruz Mountains was a wonderful surprise at $38 per bottle. My friend Chris Langston at Dean & DeLuca recommended this wine along with some other new producers on my last visit to the Napa Valley. It has been at least 10 years since the last time I tasted a wine produced by Mount Eden Vineyards (www.mounteden.com). The wine had a wonderful balance of fruit and tannins and could be enjoyed with a hearty dish today. I predict that the 2002 Cabernet will benefit further with 2-3 years of cellar aging. It is hard to find a nice California Cabernet under $40. This wine would make a great "house" Cabernet that would impress your family and friends, once the wine has a bit of aging behind it. I would give the wine a score of 90+ points. The 2002 Mount Eden Cabernet will pair well with most foods because it is not overly extracted; it is made in a more traditional California style.

Brian Pasch - July 23, 2006

Bond - Matriarch

PO Box 426
Oakville, CA 94562

info@bondestates.com
707-944-9445