Salexis Wines 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2-Pack
$44.99 (Normally $104.15) 57% off List Price
2006 Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
CT links above
This sounds fairly oaky and low acid. Fans of the cult-style Napa cabs, this one’s for you!
Really like to know a bit more about this; given the high brix and pH and unstated ABV, can this really age as claimed…?
Had a chance to try the reserve with some friends in CT (the state).
Here are some notes:
Decanted for four hours, and it needed more
Oaky (aged in 100% new oak it turns out)
Dark fruit nose – dark berry and cassis
Strong tannins; seemed dusty reminiscent of a Rutherford wine
Slight bitter finish
This opened up more in day 2; still tannic, but oak had stepped back and let more fruit in
This wine clearly will benefit from some more aging given the long decant. Given how it showed on day 2, this should age to a nice wine.
Not much online on this wine, but what the hell, I’m in for 4!
Sounds like a tannin monster to me… Not a fan of that much oak unless I was one of the 3 little pigs. Some inconsistencies on their website too. The Reserve wine FAQ says aged in 50% new oak (Taransaud barrels), but on the main website, it says 100% new oak and no listing of the ABV?
It is interesting that they give you tons of info. On each wine in the specs tab but don’t mention ABV anywhere, not even on the front label.
Edit: where’s our designated cab guy to come buy all this up?
I received a bottle of the regular cab as a X-mas gift from a friend and tried it the other day…
Popped and poured a glass and sent the rest to decant for two hours, on the pop and pour the nose was plum’s and blackberry and a little oak, taste was plum blackberry cassis, chocolate and a little bit of baking spice, the oak was not overbearing the fruit was out front. The tannin was very mild.
After two hours not much change other than the spice was pretty much gone. I believe the listed ABV was 15.2 but the fruit covered up the alcohol completely. I will say that due to the very mild acid this is a drink em up now wine. It would be a crowd pleaser at party’s and at 22 bucks will not break the bank YMMV.
I’ve emailed to see if we can get ABV numbers for y’all. Might be later in the morning though.
So, interestingly enough, Santa left a bottle of the regular Cab for me in my stocking this year. I happened to decide last week that Thursday night would be a good occasion to try this bottle, and what better to eat with a Cab, then a nice Ribeye. The occasion (and need to drink) become much more appropriate when I found out yesterday that a coworker and fairly close friend was leaving at the end of the month and moving out of town (not a good time to quit for an accountant, more stress and work for me).
Onto the wine. Pulled the cork and was blasted with wonderful dark cherry and currant aromas. My wife kept catching wiffs from the decanter while sauteeing the mushrooms and onions to go with the steak. We had a small taste right after opening and despite the intoxicating aroma, it was fairly muted and tight. Decanting was definitely in order and already in the process (there is some fine setiment that you will want to decant off anyway).
Once the soy (and other spices) marinated steaks and yellow squash were grilled to perfection, it was time to pour another glass. By this time the wine had begun to open up a bit more. It paired perfectly with the meal. Nice dark fruits, hints of leather, tobacco, spice/pepper and just a touch of oak. This wine was very well balanced, though at the time still seemed a bit muted and tight, with a short to medium finish.
After a little more time we each poured a bit more to enjoy with some Candy Basket Cabernet Truffles (WD, GET THESE). At this point, the wine has really opened up. Balanced and complex with the above notes more pronounced. The fruit fades a little and the leather and tobacco take a slight step forward. The finish has really evolved since first opening and is now medium to long, and very pleasant. While I think there is still some good tannin here, this wine seems to be drinking pretty well right now, and I would guess for another 2 years, though I think it would hold up 3-5 with no problem (I am no expert with aging though).
For all of you wooters, this reminded quite a bit of the Wellington Morhardt Ridge Cab I had about 2 months ago. IMHO, this would be great QPR at about $20 and still very good QPR at about $25 (making these notes in random anticipation of future woot offering, to copy and past if/when it occurs).
Based on my above QPR assessment, I had actually hoped the offer would be 2 of regular for $50. The fact that that $50 includes a bottle of the reserve makes this a no brainer for me.
Someone say Cab???
in for 2
Last Wooter to Woot:
fredrinaldi
Cesare posted the notes from our tasting. About a dozen wines, with a large group of people, so notes are not as extensive.
But this will definitely age some. After decanting about 7 hours, we poured the remaining quarter bottle or so back into the bottle and corked over night. I drank it the next evening and it was very nice. Much better balance. So I give the Reserve good aging potential. And would recommend a few years before opening or a long decant.
Had the chance to have the '06 reserve with a couple of friends on Wednesday night, and Thursday night also, even had a sip just now so I could write my opinions with a full picture.
My overall opinion of this wine is two fold… 1) Very high tannins and needs 2+ years before opening. 2) And this will sound odd, but I think it has multiple personality disorder.
Wed: popped the cork; poured. Dark red, thick, heavy coat on glass. Barely any arome could get through the smell of alcohol, but did get a sense of red/black fruit jam. Taste: In a word, awful. After 10 mins in the glass, one friend who admittedly knows a lot less about wine than even I do, said taste was mellow. I tried again and he was right. It was almost tastless.
My apologies, I was just recruited to take my parents dog to the vet, she’s feeling really sick. I’ll finish this in a couple of hours. Trust me, if you like multiple personality stories, you’ll love what I have to share…
Cliffhanger. Though this may slow the pace of buying until you return. Hope all goes well.
For the regular CS @ 25.6 Bx that sounds about right, but the Reserve @ 26.9 Bx suggests ABV somewhere in the high 15’s to mid 16’s unless there was some manipulation to lower it.
A couple or few years to smooth things out, sure, but I was questioning that 10~15 year statement. Really? Any chance we’ll be getting some producer comments?
CT had the 2005 reserve at a community value of $56, but the 2006 reserve at $27. I know the community value is not exact and is a small sampling, but that seems such a large difference (and i just use that as a point of reference). Was 2006 as good a year as 2005 (in general) for Napa cabs?
It definitely was nothing like that decanted… I think if you want to drink it now you’ll need to pour a glass or so into the decanter, recork, do the power aerate, and then pour the rest into the decanter and leave sit a few hours though.
It was oaked in 100% New French…don’t let that scare you off! The oak is not over-powering. The fruit is still the all-star player here. John is a phenomenal winemaker and pays much attention to every little detail ensuring a well-rounded wine!
Thank you for your lovely notes! -Salexis