I love tasting a new wine that is so compelling, it reminds me just how stunning a varietal can be. Meticulous farming practices, vineyard source, clonal selection and winemaking all combine to make the sum of the parts much greater than the individual pieces.  I experienced this excitement in a bottle of Kinsella Spencer Vineyard Cabernet, which is absolutely one of the finest examples of Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon.  It’s made by Thomas Rivers Brown, whom you may recognize from Schrader, Revana, Maybach, and Outpost…  The 2015 Cabernet from Spencer Vineyard is stunningly elegant, rich and extracted, offering pulverized dark berries intertwined with graphite, dried violets and black currant… The previous vintage scored 95 points from Robert Parker, and I think the new vintage is even better. 

 

With clones hand-picked by Thomas River Brown, Kinsella’s organically farmed vineyard is composed of three separate blocks.  Heirloom, Jersey Boy and Spencer.  The 2015 Spencer stole the show with our panel and we were captivated by the wine’s elegance and authoritative flavors that unwind methodically across the palate. The 2015 was built for the cellar and will effortlessly go for 15+ years, but if opened now, it will surely put on a performance of a lifetime.

 

 

Winery Notes: “This vintage certainly picks up where the 2014 left off. Engaging right out of the bottle, this bright cuvee is chock full of notes of ripe black currant, graphite and clove. Cigar box and violet mesh wonderfully with this higher acid cabernet and would be smashing with a dry aged ribeye!” Cabernet Sauvignon 92% | Petit Verdot 8% 

 

REVANA CABERNET SAUVIGNON  2015 TERROIR SERIES   Your Price: $105/btl  Click to Order     From The Wine Spectator: “Strikingly vibrant, featuring complex flavors, innate balance and pure dark berry, spice, licorice and light oak shadings, with a long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2030...”  93 Points

KINSELLA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 JERSEY BOY   Retails at: $124.99/btl Click to Order   Winery Notes: “The 2012 Jersey Boys Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a stunner. The wine possesses a very aromatic nose of orange blossoms, fennel, and freshly picked raspberries. This gorgeous, heady fragrance leads into a juicy mouth-feel with flavors of bright red raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and mocha. A full-bodied pallet with fine, precise and well-integrated tannins is followed by a long finish.”