Wine Club – Cabernet Sauvignon

Yesterday Wine Club met to taste Cabernet Sauvignon. The first bottle, which is also the bottle Wine Club members were taking home, was a 2006 Ghost Pines Cabernet from California. The second bottle was a 2006 Langmeil Blacksmith Cabernet from Australia which there wasn’t a take home bottle as I’d just picked up a single bottle for comparison purposes for the tasting.

Here is the LCBO information for both –

Ghost Pines Winemaker’s Blend Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Vintages 135376
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Red Wine,
13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Louis M. Martini Winery
Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Tasting Note - Another superb value is the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. A leafy, autumnal vegetal character provides a subtle complexity to the intense black currant fruit. This full-bodied, dense, nicely textured, silky Cabernet Sauvignon should drink well for 5-7 years. These are all super bargains! Made by the Martini family in conjunction with the Gallos ...The Ghost Pines offerings merit serious attention from bargain hunting consumers. Score - 90. (Robert Parker Jr., www.erobertparker.com, Dec. 2008)

Langmeil Blacksmith Cabernet 2006

Vintages 644039
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 22.95

Wine, Red Wine,

15.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: South Australia, Australia

By: Malesco Wine Broker

Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Tasting Note - The purple-colored 2006 Blacksmith Cabernet spent 18 months in French oak hogsheads, 20% new. The nose reveals cedar, pencil lead, black currant, and blackberry leading to a forward, medium to full-bodied Cabernet with excellent depth, spicy flavors, and a lengthy finish. Drink it from 2010 to 2018. Score - 90. (Jay Miller, www.erobertparker.com, Feb. 2009)

Ideally, I would have like to serve the wines with a NY Strip or a Grilled Beef Tenderloin, but lacking a grill at work I went with a rich chocolate cake to pair them with. The wines were interesting, the Ghost Pines was a nice example of a California Cab with its fruit forward and approachable style. The Ghost Pines was also a drink now vs. laying it down for a few years. The Langmeil Cab on the other hand was done in a more earthy French style. The Langmeil Cab seemed a bit tannic and young and could have laid down for another two to three years.

What was fun about this tasting event is even though the wines were done in two completely styles both were very enjoyable and good values for their respective price points. Both paired well with the chocolate cake but more Wine Club members preferred the Ghost Pines over the Langmeil.

To sum up - if you are looking for a Cabernet to pair with some steaks this evening I’d recommend picking up a bottle of the Ghost Pines. On the other hand. if you have the patience to wait a few years, pick up the Langmeil as this wine will be truly excellent in late 2012 to 2014.

Next month Wine Club will be looking at Viognier.

Cheers!

Mark