D'Argenzio Winery

Here’s another California Cabernet that’s keeping the faith with the tried-and-true French model for the king of grapes: surround him with worthy courtiers who complement his size and strength with additional texture and nuance. This time the grapes are the traditional Cab companions: Merlot, Cab Franc and Petite Verdot.

The wine carries a Sonoma County appellation because it comes from multiple AVAs (Dry Creek and Russian River), but it has an artisanal feel that plenty of single-vineyard wines just can’t hang onto after being laminated with new wood and then de-alcoholized to take the heat off. Richard and Raymond Anthony D’Argenzio prefer a more low-key approach, and the result in this Cab is a wine that feels both European and Californian – a great combination when you can pull it off.

The aromas are rich and thick, blending red and black berries and cherries plus telltale clove and vanilla from 100% new French oak (20 months). You get all these as flavors when you sip, along with classic bell pepper notes. As the wine expands to fill your mouth, the pepper notes integrate into the sweet, plump fruit. Though the wine’s already got some age on it, the tannins are still chunky and buzzy and the wine lifts off into a long, black-fruited finish. I’d probably hold this another year or two and then decant before a rich meal.

Reviewed February 16, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.