Some bottles of wine are just too expensive to pick up and try. A bottle of Dom for example is easily $200, not the kind of money most folks have laying around. How then, can one try great wines at a reasonable price to see what’s upscale?
Aside from going to the actual vineyard and getting samples from a tasting, the best way is flights. The most common place that typically serves flights are wine bars, and while traveling, Vino Volo has thankfully placed delightful wine bars in the airport. This also happens to be a great way to explore some of the best wines out there. While they do offer a sommelier series tasting (typically for about $20 for two glasses), their Winter Cabernet Series caught my eye. Full bodied and packed with lush black fruit and spice, Cabernet Sauvignon is a great choice for the chill of winter, but is anything delightful upscale in Vino Volo’s tasting that deserves a place on your table or under your tree?
Vino Volo’s Winter Cabernet Series
- Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
- Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
- Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
2012 Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon
Sight: Deep purple with a light magenta edge.
Smell: Deeply chocolately, packed with figs, plums,boysenberry mixed with chocolate covered cherries spiked with Grand Marnier. The smell is amazingly complex, channeling deeply from the earthy chocolate, chocolate cake, and jammy black fruit side.
Sip: The deep chocolate grows through the nose, and then explodes into the palate. The body is silken and large, loaded with brooding black cherries, thick skinned summer plums, dark chocolate, preserved figs, and a deep complex spice mix. The flavors build with time, but never inhibit the luscious text that starts.
Savor: The ending pops a touch bright before growing soft and smooth, as the tannins display an elegance and fine grain. The flavors continue complexly through ripe jammy blackberries, toasted spicy oak, and ripe cherries. There’s a subtle cigar box and smoke note to the ending that lasts.
It’s not hard to see why Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is one of the most well regarded Cabs out there. The flavor profile of jammy plums, figs, and brooding black cherries mixed with cigar spice and huge chocolate flavors is undeniably amazing. I can’t overemphasize how delicious Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is. If there is any flaw, it’s the price, which is typically at least $70 a bottle. For special occasions, or if you have the means, Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is definitely worth a try.
Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Artists Series
Sight: Slightly lighter than deep purple, leaning into the red spectrum with hints of brick
Smell: Black cherries, eucalyptus, melted jello, herby mint all jump off the top. The scent brings in more darker fruits like black berries and plums. There are hints of spice and chocolate, but not at the forefront.
Sip: The body is moderate to heavy, and adds in a moderate brightness. The eucalyptus grows at the start adding elements of tea mixed with black cherries and a subtle amaretto like note. The flavor builds on that with a touch of chocolate and currant.
Savor: The ending is quite bright, and the tannins are a little bit on the larger end. The amaretto notes grow and build into something more nut with lots of blackberry and plum.
Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 has some really interesting things going on, as it ranges from amaretto to black cherry to tea. While not the biggest, fruit forward cabernet, the more herbal notes are right in key for a slightly more reserved, earthy style. For those that like their Cabernet Sauvignon sleeker and more traditional, this might be a great splurge at almost $50 a bottle. Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 also earned a Wine Enthusiast’s Editor’s Choice, if that sort of thing matters to you.
Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Crossbarn 2012
Sight: A hint of brick around the edge with a purple-garnet body.
Smell: Boysenberries, violet, and a baked chocolate bomb. There’s a good amount of spice backing the nose with hints of anise and clove. The fruit smell of berries is concentrated, and borderline syrupy
Sip: Smooth, and hint sweet on the pull, there’s a hit of concentrated blackberries, raspberries, boysenberry, and more, all layered into a mix of amazing of subtle clove, anise, strawberry licorice and jello. Violet liqueur also jumps to mind thanks to the floral flavors. It hits on the most amazing notes of few olives, almond, and fresh sunlight in a floral menagerie.
Savor: Blueberry continues to be incredibly bold mixed with boysenberry and violets. The finish has a beautiful softness that is reminiscent of velvet (more coarse) . The finish drives on the flavor for some time.
Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Crossbarn 2012 gave me an out of body experience with it’s amazing mix of spice and fruit on the palate. The ripe concentration of the boysenberry and blackberry mixed with the floral and spice notes felt like it channeled the vineyard on a summer day baking under the sun. The ending is beautifully soft as well, with a velvety texture to go along with the syrupy fruit flavors. Around $50, Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 is a must try for those who like fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Verdict:
As Vino Volo’s Winter Cabernet Series goes, there are nothing but winners. In my personal opinion, I would rank them:
- Cakebread Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – Brooding Black Cherry, Silken, Deep Chocolate, Spice
- Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Crossbarn 2012 – Herbaceous, Black Cherry, Amaretto, Spice
- Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 – Syrupy Boysenberry, Concentrated Black Cherry, Spice, Velvety
Despite the order, I want to emphasize there’s very little daylight between these wines in this ranking. All of them are wonderful, and the difference here will come down to primarily preference for most drinkers. If you’re looking for a special gift these are great choices, and anything on the Winter Cabernet Series will do on well on the holiday table, or even Valentines day.