Before we get started, I have a confession to make (I do that a lot, because of all the mistakes I’m prone to make). Today I was going to write a wine review of a REALLY CRAPPY wine. I was going to make my best effort at picking something out that looked like it was made from the last minute drippings of jug wine, with flakes of the cap (a “wine cap” is the collection of floating grape skins that floats to the top of fermenting red wine, and has to be pushed down frequently to remain in contact with the wine, it kinda looks like a badly healing SCAB).
So, I grabbed a bottle that my wife picked up at a new wine store that just opened up in our area (http://www.winenation.com) from a vintner that has a long history for making the aforementioned “jug” type wines.
But as I’ve expressed before, quite clearly, in previous Intervals wine reviews; My wife has an incredible palatte and taste in wine (sadly, her taste in men isn’t her strong point: much to my advantage!).
I uncorked a bottle of the 2007 Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma Country (Louis Martini once wrote that his heart is in Napa, but his soul is in Sonoma) and without expecting much (aside from an opportunity to write a bad review about a red wine, something I’ve not yet done on this blog) I breathed in the nose.
Let’s just say I was surprised; but shouldn’t have been. My wife picked this one.
Color (6/10)
The color of this wine is kinda bland, dusty and rusty. This isn’t a bad thing, and to be honest I’ve always been glad that Parker’s scoring system doesn’t give much weight to the color of the wine, because all too often you’re dealing with a “don’t judge the book by it’s cover” syndrome. My low score on the 07 Martini Cab is based on the dull color at the edge of the wine, where the surface meets the glass. I’m not expert (haven’t we established this already?) but when I’m in doubt about the color of a wine: I always look at the edges. If it has a lighter colorful hue, I assume that my vision is being impaired by poor lighting or old age. In this case, the word “lackluster” comes to mind, so I scored it a 6.
Nose (28/30)
Ahhhh, what’s this? Notes of cherry and slate that doesn’t seem to be assaulting my olfactory nerves with a “HEY YOU: CHECK OUT THE FRUIT!!!” signal. This is mild and mellow, but fruity with an undertone of chalky goodness. I let this open up for a half hour after I uncorked it, and it started getting a little buttery notes on the fringes. I wasn’t expecting this (I think I’ve mentioned that a few times already); this had a great nose! I’m marking it a 28 out of 30, which I think is fair. You have to be a little subjective sometimes when tasting wine, and I’m a Malbec/Cab Fran freak: each with a distinctive nose. This 07 Martini Cab isn’t distinctive…you have to spend some time with it before you can figure out what it’s all about: but I loved the subtleness of the nose…it’s classic, simple and not overpowering. It loses 2 points only because I had to work a little harder to figure it out. A Master Sommelier would laugh heartily at me.
Palate (37/40)
On the first sip of this wine, I got a shock of tart…something I wasn’t prepared for with a Cab…but as the finish settled in with sweet persistence, I found myself tensing my cheek muscles (here in Oxford, Massachusetts: we call that “a smile”, New Englanders being a bit on the conservative side tend not to do that too often. A yuh).
I was expecting vinegar. I got sweet tarty joy. I was expecting bland wet dog cardboard; I got cherry, watermelon chunks with raspberry sauce and some Italian herbs in the mix. “Oh man!” I spoke aloud (seriously, I said that out loud), “this is friggin’ outstanding!”
When it came to scoring, I gave it a 37. Well deserved.
Overall (18/20)
In the end, this wine deserves an overall rating of 18. It doesn’t look like it’ll be good, but the nose is sublime and the palate is filled with a rustic juicy goodness. This is a classic Sonoma Cab Sauv, and YES: I KNOW THAT YOU SOMMELIER’S OUT THERE HAVE LOST ALL RESPECT FOR ME, but wine tasting isn’t about yielding to the recommendations of wine critics and aficionados: it’s about tasting new and different wines and drinking what you like.
I like the 07 Louis M Martini Cab Sauv.
Total
6+28+37+18= 89
I really don’t have much more to say about this one. It’s well balanced, it’s a good, solid basic California Cab Sauv and I really enjoyed it a lot. Would I buy it again? Yeah, of course! It’s not the greatest Cab Sauv I’ve ever tasted, but it’s good…REALLY good.
Besides, my wife picked it out and I’ve come to understand that she has supernatural taste in wine…and I’m thinking she didn’t do so bad in the husband department either (I guess).
Salute!
- Steve
