Hello friends it’s been far too long, and far too many bottles escaping a recap. I’m fixing that right now, courtesy of the 2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a limited-edition headliner of a wine that commemorates the Wagner family and its Napa Valley roots.
2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 50th Anniversary, Caymus Vineyards, Fairfield, California, USA.
The 2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon pours in a distinctive, deep ruby hue. Swirling it in the glass reveals not only its vibrant crimson color but also dark berry aromas of goodness…probably black cherry or plum? Other tasters cite its “baking spices” and “enticing whiffs of cocoa, tobacco, and leather,” but I’m pleasantly covered in the berry framework of this intriguing bottle and miss a few of those nuances. That may be attributed to our consumption of this Caymus bottle in its (relative) youth rather than allowing its profile to mature over the next 5 to 10 years? Anyway, the 2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 50th Anniversary is a full-bodied wine with layers of ripe black fruit and vanilla, and I find myself doing less sipping and more swirling of the wine. Like many Wagner wines, it’s velvety on the tongue and has a fulsome mouthfeel that leads to a balanced, satisfying finish.
Fruit for the 2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 50th Anniversary was harvested from diverse terroirs, ranging from the cooler Coombsville region in the southern part of the Valley to warmer Calistoga in the north. Also in the mix are grapes from the renowned Rutherford and Oakville appellations—all blended in the production of a complex, intensely enjoyable Napa Cab that is itself a celebration.
From its deep, inky color to its rich, concentrated flavors of dark fruits and spices, the 2022 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 50th Anniversary truly captivates the senses. It’s a milestone for the Wagner family and a testament to their ongoing pursuit of excellence. This 2022 Caymus deserves to be savored and appreciated, both for its exceptional quality and also for the legacy it represents. I’m so pleased we have another one to hold for the future!
I’m remembering this one gladly – a fella’s requested birthday drink to commemorate another trip around the sun. Many thanks to Cara for all the special touches that make for a fun celebration and looking forward to many more.
2021 Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon, Orin Swift Cellars, Napa Valley, Saint Helena, California, USA.
I’ve been privileged to sample the Palermo on happy occasions in the past, and you can read a review of the 2016 at your convenience.
NotesOfNote has suffered throughout 2023 because of my various distractions and competing priorities, but having sampled this Jeff Runquist over the past week it’s high time to get back to spreading the joy of good grapes. Any reasonable reader of Notes may be aware that his 1448 is a go-to weeknight wine for this oenophile. On rare occasions, though, I’ve had the great pleasure of sampling the next tier of Runquists.
2021 R Petite Syrah, Salman Vineyard, Jeff Runquist Wines, Clarksburg, California, USA.
To read previous reviews of the 2017, please be sure to view here or more fully here. Thanks, as always, for coming along for the ride here with Notes.
For this guy, there’s nothing like a great bottle of California Cab…except perhaps when it’s a GIFT bottle like this 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, from Bonnet Hill in Healdsburg. According to my favorite wine store, the 2021 Bonnet Hill has jumped onto the scene in June of this year because of its incredible wine country pedigree.
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bonnet Hill, Healdsburg, California, USA.
You have to know that the fruit for the Bonnet Hill comes from Andy Beckstoffer’s Crimson Ridge Vineyard in Lake County. It’s just to the north of Napa and slowly emerging from its sleeper status for Cabernet. Elected to the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintners Hall of Fame in 2010, Beckstoffer is a legend in Napa for his family-owned Beckstoffer Vineyards, numerous contributions to the quality of Northern California grape growing, and land prescrvation advocacy throughout the Rutherford Viticultural Area. Beckstoffer started investing in the Lake Country region several years ago, purchasing a 1,200-acre vineyard he named “Amber Knolls” in the Red Hills AVA—which is from where this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon originates.
It’s amazing value in the glass, a deep, ruby red that shares whiffs of cherry and plums…innate, inky mouthfeel that rings authentic and terroir as you taste it. Didn’t need to breathe; it was ready to go right out of the glass—no aeration, either. Bottled as Bonnet Hill, this 2021 is complex and had far less tannins than I expected…very easy drinking and a gentle finish.
The first Beckstoffer Crimson Ridge wines all released at over $80 per bottle, as spotlighted here. The 2021 Bonnet Hill is an absolute gem, priced well below that audacious marker, and I’m going to have to head back for more right away. It’s fantastic juice at a fantastic price!
Next time you’re shopping for vino and find yourself lost in a sea of red and white options, here’s a recommendation: try sampling the Hillside 2021 Calistoga Reserve Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon. It’ll take you away from the masses and steal you away for a little quality time.
2021 Calistoga Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside, Napa Valley, California, USA.
I know I’ve been away from Notes for awhile, but suffice it to say I’ve been well acquainted with new world reds throughout. This one, a 2021 Reserve and a limited-production Cabernet Sauvignon (100%), is grown in a “prominent” vineyard in Calistoga, Napa Valley. It reportedly grows in a special block where red volcanic soils merge with volcanic ash—my sense of terroir kicks into overdrive at such notions, and the grapes here show these characteristics in a tangible way. The 2021 Calistoga Reserve is not red and not purple in your glass but rather straddles the line between them.
The Hillside 2021 Calistoga Reserve Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is created with attention to detail, produced from grapes that were exposed to draught conditions. Winemaker Nicholas Bleecher indicates that growing pattern “resulted in a more natural load on the vines, requiring less pruning and dropping of fruit”—and also packs the grapes full of flavor.
What about a few notes, you say? The 2021 Calistoga Rserve is plums, blueberry—dark fruits for sure—and has little interwoven hints of earth and spice. Its tannins are very gentle, and this is a full-bodied, pleasurable red. I’ve sample in a variety of ways, accompanying meals and soloing after a long work day. Lot of the latter lately, and not enough of these fine wines. Here’s to the rest of the summer fixing those types of inequities!
2019 Attila’s Selection Zinfandel, Buena Vista Winery, California, USA; 2019 Machete Red Wine, Orin Swift Wines, California, USA; 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, M by Martellotto Paso Robles, California, USA; 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Robert Story Reserve, Napa Valley, California, USA; 2019 Shirttail Ranches Cabernet Sauvignon, Hess, California, USA; 2018 Bodega de Edgar Migrant Red Blend, Paso Robles, California, USA; 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Prima Materia, California, USA. 2020 Gold Label Cabernet Sauvignon, Central Coast, California, USA; 2019 Grenache McKahn Family Cellars, Amador County, California, USA.
For this guy, usually it’s the wine that makes the memories. The wine that marks time, shines a light on special occasions. And while wine was part of this year’s holiday celebrations, it was more about the unusual circumstances that makes the 2017 Napa Bridge Red Wine stand out from many Napa reds I sampled in ‘22.
We’re in Brockport, having snuck into town among the unfriendly swells of a big rainstorm that accompanied Cara and I all the way up the 95 corridor. We started our trip in the unfriendly “green” radar of RDU and flew with the storm all the way up to Washington and then again to the ROC. Good pilots and friendly attendants balanced out rolling turbulence until we were on the ground and headed for family and Christmas treats. As the temperatures plummeted and precipitation picked up last night, flight cancellations were suddenly national news and made us feel lucky to beat the storm into town.
This morning we woke early and did a walking tour of the neighborhood before the storm really took hold. The pavement was wet and skies ominous, but that was all just prologue to the real weather events of Christmas weekend in western New York. We had just started clearing breakfast dishes when the power flickered for a few hesitant moments and then died. Looking out through the snowflakes to the neighbors’ houses it was obvious the entire ‘hood was impacted.
2017 Red Wine, Napa Bridge Vineyards, Napa Valley, California, USA.
Early afternoon, I bet the power would be restored by 4:05pm (it wasn’t!). We checked the local power company websites (not by WiFi obviously!) and saw the confirmed outages affecting much of the area, and many others. The snowfall didn’t seem to be the chief factor, but rather the howling gusts that bent limb and landscape to their will. At that point, I was pleased Mom’s recent siding and window project was complete, as you could almost see the house bleeding heat to the elements.
Funny moments? Those were the times you checked an appliance for the time, or when you automatically flicked a light switch when entering a room. Those moments when great neighbors called to check in on us, or when we reflected back on the last time (1991ish?) power was lost for an extended period. Less fun was reading that power crews are not able to get up poles and bucket loaders when winds exceeded 35mph, readings I was positive we exceeded several times each minute, or when your brain wondered how long the outrage would really last.
We broke out a puzzle and then cards, throwing hearts and that queen of spades hammer until it was so dark that we were calling out our discards to one another. Then it was Parcheesi by candlelight, wrapped in blankets and warm hats, until finally this guy had to break out the Napa Bridge. Maybe this was to fight through the doldrums of the powerless afternoon, maybe an appeal for warmth, or just because I knew several were ready, willing, and able?
At first taste, I was not overly impressed with this 2017 Red Wine from Napa Bridge Vineyards. Vanilla notes (not always my favorite) were definitely present, and the wine was slightly dry, tannic, and acidic. Red fruit flavors of cherry, and maybe blackberry were notable. Having ordered this online several weeks prior to Christmas I had anticipated a welcome treat that could be shared with the entire family. Check…ish? I would have bet it a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and maybe Cabernet Franc—at least upon initial sampling? Generally I found it “meh” but, since our entertainment options were limited by Mother Nature’s fury, I sunk into this reality and enjoyed it with the great family time.
Once the wine had an opportunity to breathe, it was much more enjoyable. Since a powerless afternoon zapped us of stove or appliances, we opted for local pizza dinner (thanks Steve!) and carried the Bridge into the evening hours. The house was a balmy 51 degrees when power was finally restored around 730pm. Phew! Special thanks to all the dudes braving the swirling snow and icy winds to get back our comforts of home.
Later on, I discovered that Napa Bridge Vineyards combined nearly equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot for this fruit-driven 2017 Red Wine. Other reviewers described its plum and cherry notes as well as “cedar and herbal inflections in this mouth-watering, velvety blend.” I would not use “velvety” in my recap but warmed to this vintage over several subsequent tastings over the weekend.
Be assured, I know the day was nothing like Buffalo residents faced, nor those traveling by Southwest Airlines during Christmas 2022. It was inconvenient at times, to be sure, but somehow melded us all together more closely. It’ll be a Christmas that we’ll be talking about well into the future, and that’ll always be the place I keep too the 2017 Red Wine from Napa Bridge Vineyards. Happy holidays, friends!
NotesOfNote 