Pick My Next Bottle – 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The October installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. I plan on opening the winning bottle on Sunday and will publish a Bottle Note shortly thereafter.

Napa Valley’s 2007 Cabernets were highly acclaimed from the start. The growing season was almost perfect with just 3 inches of rain between March and September. Critics have claimed the wines are too ripe or even too powerful but I think they are exceptional. The best wines from the vintage should be entering a very long drinking window.

The contenders:

• 2007 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon – Bright medium ruby. Knockout ineffable nose combines blackberry, blueberry, flowers, minerals, spicecake, iron and miso. Silky-sweet and highly concentrated, conveying an almost candied quality to its blueberry, blackberry and espresso flavors but energized by almost shockingly bright acidity. With its outstanding density and refined texture, this is clearly the product of a great site. This velvety, sappy wine utterly saturates the palate and tongue without leaving any impression of dryness. A superb wine with a long life ahead of it, but even today it’s balanced and sexy. (3/17) 94 points from the Vinous.
• 2007 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon – Deep garnet colored with a lingering hint of purple, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon comes sashaying out of the glass with provocative notions of warm cassis, blueberry compote, blackberry pie and violets with chocolate box, licorice and menthol nuances plus wafts of wilted roses, lavender and kirsch. Medium-bodied, the intensely perfumed black and blue fruit flavors glide gracefully across the palate, revealing a myriad of earth and spice accents, all framed beautifully with super ripe, fine-grained tannins and invigorating freshness, finishing very, very long. Wow. (8/18) 100 points from the Wine Advocate.
• 2007 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red– Medium to deep garnet in color with a hint of purple, the 2007 Proprietary Red Wine absolutely sings of violets, chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries, star anise and cinnamon stick with a core of cassis, spiced blueberries and warm red plums plus a touch of unsmoked cigars. Full-bodied and jam-packed with opulent black fruit, the palate has a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins and just enough freshness, finishing long and perfumed. (8/18) 97 points from the Wine Advocate.

 Loading ...

Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another. Also, let me know if you have any suggestions for the Thanksgiving installment of Pick My Next Bottle.