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What We Say 2009 Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:
Very highly recommended – Today’s wine, made by one of our favorite winemakers, is so outstanding that it easily earns this special alert. We only showcase wines that we love, but when one really rises above, we issue a special alert. Don’t miss out on this fantastic and (in our opinion) under-priced Cabernet.
SECRET SAVINGS ALERT:
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Mission Codename: The Wandering Minstrel
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: For our special Elite Operative Saturday, return to Troubadour Cellars, in the Napa Valley. Extract an allocation of their Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – a true California gem – and make it available to our Operatives at an extraordinary Secret price.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Troubadour Cellars
Wine Subject: 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon – Knights Valley
Winemakers: Jason Moore & Andy Byers
Backgrounder: Sonoma County’s Knight’s Valley sits at the easternmost edge of the County, far from the cooling of the Pacific Ocean. The fact that this high benchland AVA (American Viticultural Area) gets so much hot sun during the growing season makes it the perfect region for growing richly extracted Cabernet Sauvignon. Delicious, concentrated, elegant and approachable, today’s wine shows off the winemaking skills of our long-time friend, Jason Moore. All at price that is hard to resist. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report to learn more about this fantastic Cabernet.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Darkest black plum, with inky dark core. With perfect concentration of color from core to edge, the wine shows the thinnest band of garnet where wine meets glass. After swirling, skinny, wine-stained tears run slowly down the glass.
Smell – Bold and very dark, this wine leads off with intense black cherry, pronounced blueberry, blackberry, braised black fig and dusty bramble. Just behind these wonderful aromatics of dark chocolate, dark cured meats, cigar box, sweet brown spice, sweet tobacco and black pepper.
Feel – Soft and round, at first, the wine becomes quickly grippy and weighty. A spreading dryness is accompanied by flinty minerals. Medium tannins give the wine a mouthcoating and almost chewy feel.
Taste – Bold and concentrated, the darkly juicy wine leads with black cherry, blackberry, black plum, braised plum and dark chocolate. After some swirling, the wine really opens up, revealing additional flavors of leather, toasty oak, subtle brown tobacco leaf, subtle anise and black pepper.
Finish – Ultra long, with sustained black fruit that very gradually gives way to spice, leather, chocolate and flinty black pepper.
Conclusion – Very highly recommended, this rich, concentrated, dark wine a remarkable and delicious expression of fruit from Sonoma County’s Knights Valley. Winemaker, Jason Moore, is one of our very favorite young winemakers. His work for Troubadour has always been exemplary; the 2009 Napa Valley Cab that we featured earlier this year was an instant hit. Todays 2009 Troubadour Cellars Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is even better! This richly layered wine is a true delight that we cannot recommend highly enough. Pair with braised ribs or a nicely charred t-bone steak. Drinking beautifully now, this wine will continue to improve with age. Drink now, but be certain cellar a few bottles for the next several years.
What the Winery Says
Troubadour Cellars
About This Wine:
Black cherry and dark chocolate on the nose lead to a palette of fresh picked wild blackberry pie, and hints of espresso. It has a silky texture with just enough structure to stand up to the heartiest of steaks.
This delicious wine is produced from a single vineyard in the Knights Valley AVA. We have been working with this vineyard for the past few years and continue to be impressed by the concentrated and complex wines it produces. Dollar for dollar this wine will compete with the best of them, for your enjoyment.
About The Winery:
They say it all begins with the soil, the vine, and the grape. This is true for most, however at Troubadour Cellars, it all begins with the dance. The story of Troubadour Cellars begins, like only the best stories do.
Once upon a time in Las Vegas. It all began with a whirlwind, six-week long dance date between two UNLV students, Andy Byers and Beth Wellar. Both were unable to travel home to their families during the Christmas holidays and at the request of Beth’s beau, who was Andy’s roommate, the pair spent time together so Beth wouldn’t get lonely. How nice of Andy! They soon discovered a shared love of dancing and indulged in this passion for 43 straight nights at a small nightclub called, The Troubadour. With never a hand held or a cheek pecked, Andy and Beth spent those six weeks forming a bond and a friendship rooted firmly in a passion for fun. They’d dance the night away from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., share a sunrise breakfast special, and then go their own way until 10 p.m. rolled around again. So tangible was their connection that the beau picked up on it upon his return to campus, and graciously stepped aside. Andy and Beth’s bond was strong, and it would soon turn into love and family, careers and children and they all lived happily ever after. Or at least 30 years until their new story can begin…
Now nearly 30 years later, with the help of our four sons we are channeling that passion and love into every bottle that Troubadour Cellars produces. We believe that wine, food, family, fun and music make the world go ’round, and there is nothing that embodies our belief like our wines. We are a family-owned and operated boutique winery, which specializes in small-lot Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Our family takes great care in hand-selecting the grapes that ultimately make it into our bottles. We take only the best the vineyard has to offer, resulting in wine that enchants the palette and intrigues the senses. What began as a love of dancing has evolved into a passion for wine making and living our lives to the fullest.
Take a moment to peruse the web site and read more about our story. In addition to the wine listings and notes, you’ll find our recipe page where we share some of our original creations and wine pairings with you. Be sure to get on the mailing list, because you won’t want to miss our newest releases and infamous get-togethers and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to always be the first to get the latest news.
Join us in “the dance” and experience for yourself how our passion is reflected in each glass we pour. Enjoy!
Technical Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.6%
