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What We Say 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
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Mission Codename: Setting the Barr even Higher
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: After a long hiatus, return to Barlow Vineyards, one of our most popular wineries of 2008, and procure their prized 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for our well-deserving Operatives.
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Barlow Vineyards
Wine Subject: 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Corey Beck
Backgrounder: Today’s incredible Cabernet Sauvignon comes to us from Barlow Vineyards, whose work first wowed us back in 2008. Our Operatives made our sale of Barlow’s prior Cabernet vintage one of our best-selling wines to date. Nearly four years later, we are pleased to welcome back Barlow – and we could not be welcoming them back with a better wine. Their 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a fantastic wine that we cannot recommend highly enough.
The Napa Valley is revered worldwide as the ultimate area in which to produce fine Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2006 vintage has produced some remarkable examples and we were lucky to get our spy-hands on today’s fine offering from our new friends at Chateau Manzanita. Today’s wine is a remarkable wine at a remarkable price. We suggest that you stock up during this once in a lifetime opportunity.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deepest garnet hues with evenly concentrated color, right out to the edge of the glass. Tall, skinny, wine-stained tears fall slowly down the wall of the glass.
Smell – Fresh black cherry juice melds with blackberry, wild strawberry and black plum. These are layered atop soft oak, sweet brown spice, hard leather and a hint of savory herbs.
Feel – Plush and medium-bodied, on the attack. Then, as the wine passes the mid-palate, it gains weight and reveals a mineral-rich gripiness. A moment later, plush tannins give the wine a softly chewy feel. Soon after, a gradually spreading dryness begins at the rear palate, spreading its way forward.
Taste – Black plum, overripe blackberry and wild strawberry lead the way. As the wine breathes, these flavors begin to evolve, softening and becoming more authentic. Then, new flavors emerge, including darkly toasted oak, soft spice, leather, vanilla, burnt caramel, dark flinty minerals and subtle savory herbs.
Finish – Long and very flavorful, with persistent black fruit that very slowly yields to red fruit, spice, savory herbs, flint and black pepper.
Conclusion – I am so very pleased to welcome Barlow Vineyards back to our pages. When I learned that Barlow had a small remaining supply of their 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon I sprang into action. It had been some time since I had approached them, as their limited-production made it difficult for them to part with any wine for us. A little bit of begging and some skillful negotiating later, and I was able to secure a small number of cases for our you, lucky Operative. This wine is everything that you might expect from a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, without being overpowering, brash or over the top. This wine shows great fruit depth, wonderful flavors, deep aromatics and an elegant mouthfeel. Approachable, delicious and with just enough brightness to make it a really excellent companion to most foods. 2007 was a vintage to be reckoned with and when I bring you really great 2007, I recommend that you stock up. This is one such wine, so… stock up!
Mission Report:
PROPRIETER INTEL BRIEFING DOSSIER
SUBJECT: Barlow Smith
WINEMAKER INTERVIEW
AGENT RED: Greetings, Barr. We are thrilled to be showing your 2007 Barlow Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon today. Thanks so much for taking some time to answer questions for our Operatives today.
BARLOW SMITH (BARR): Thanks, Agent Red. It is great to be back with you and your Operatives, today!
RED: Was there a specific experience in your life that inspired your love of wine?
BARR:Probably when I took my first rip to Napa in early 60’s. I can still remember sitting in Louis Martini as a 7 year old and watching my parents taste wine in the cellar with all the cases piled around. Glasses were kept in the janitors closet as they were not really set up for tastings.
RED: Who do you make wine for?
BARR: I would say that our wine style is made for us and we hope that it fits in to what consumers want.
RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.
BARR:The 2007 Barlow Cabernet Sauvignon is Estate Grown 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is unfiltered. It has a solid tannin structure that will allow it to mature nicely over time, the pure black currant fruit is interwoven with tobacco leaf, ink, smoke, and forest floor. The aroma shows the essence of our property with black sour cherry, rum raisin and just a hint of French vanilla. Medium to full-bodied, pure, rich, enjoy it over 15+ years.
RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?
BARR: Grilled Rack of lamb with garlic mashed potatoes
RED: In your opinion, what makes the Napa Valley such a special place for Cabernet Sauvignon?
BARR: The weather is the big factor in my opinion. Without the consistent heat we receive during the day and the wonderful cooling at night Napa would not stand out. Add to that all of the different soils in Napa that make the wines so interesting.
RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?
BARR:We are getting ready to bottle the 2010 Cabernets and monitoring the current growing season.
RED: How would you recommend people approach your wines and wine in general?
BARR:Wines are made to be enjoyed. Find wines that you like and don’t pay attention to what others say.
RED: Thank you so much for your time. We learned a lot about you – and your wine. Keep up the great work, we are big fans!
What the Winery Says
Barlow Vineyards
Awards & Accolades:
91 Points – Robert Parker – “The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon may be the fnest wine of this group. It needs some time to resolve its noticeable tannins, but I love the pure black currant fruit interwoven with tobacco leaf, ink, smoke, and forest floor. Medium to full-bodied, pure, rich, and convincing, give it 2-3 years of cellaring and enjoy it over the following 15+.”
About This WIne:
The 2007 Unfltered Barlow Estate Cabernet Sauvignon may be the star of the 2007 vintage. It has a dense tannin structure that will allow it to mature well over time. The pure black currant fruit entwine with tobacco leaf, ink, smoke, and forest floor. The aroma shows the essence of our property with black sour cherry, rum raisin and just a hint of French vanilla. The 2007 Cabernet is medium to full-bodied, pure, rich, and substantial, and develop beautifully with a few years of cellaring.
The 2007 summer growing season was mild to cool, with few days topping 100 degrees, even in the warmest locations in the appellation. Tere were also notably fewer days in the 90s, and harvest followed a traditional, even relaxed, pace. Tere was a brief period of heat that spiked around Labor Day, with temperatures reaching into the 100’s and humidity in the teens. Tis heat spike added to the boost of sugar development that we were looking for to complement the excellent favors that were developing.
About The Winery:
In 1995 our two generation enterprise, Warren and Jeanne and Barr and Ann Smith, replanted the original Cabernet Sauvignon block with phylloxera resistant rootstock and clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon. The same year we added another parcel (4+ acres) of Merlot. Since that time we have planted a block of Zinfandel and a block of clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our entry as a wine producer came about as the result of making a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was originally meant for family consumption. The winemaker informed us that the 100% single vineyard fruit had produced an outstanding big bodied, high glycerol wine with marvelous flavors and finish and a great mouth feel. He suggested that we sell the wine instead of using it for family and friends’ consumption, which we did. All 25 cases! It was an instant success.
Since 1997 we have made larger quantities of wine exclusively from these lyre-trellised, down-slope vineyards fruit and are approaching our goal of 2000 cases per year. The vineyard has it’s own Napa Valley microclimate, with characteristics of warm days and cool nights plus good wind protection. As the vineyard reaches maturity, so do the wines it produces.
Barlow produces 1500 cases of wine a year. A 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, a 100% Merlot, a red wine named Barrouge that is a Bordeaux style blend and a Zinfandel. All of the fruit that we use is from our vineyard in Calistoga so we are able to keep the wines very consistent year to year. The Zinfandel is only available from the winery as we produce about 70 cases a year.
Barlow Vineyards is a 50 acre estate founded in 1994, located between Calistoga and St. Helena at the upper end of the Napa Valley in an area well known for producing intense red wines. The first year the existing 25 year old Cabernet Sauvignon block was found to be badly diseased and was eliminated, leaving only one smaller block of disease resistant Cabernet Sauvignon which was planted in 1992. An eleven-acre block of Merlot was planted that year in a parcel that had been fallow for many years.
In 1995 our two generation enterprise, Warren and Jeanne and Barr and Ann Smith, replanted the original Cabernet Sauvignon block with phylloxera resistant rootstock and clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon. The same year we added another parcel (4+ acres) of Merlot. Since that time we have planted a block of Zinfandel and a block of clone 7 Cabernet Sauvignon.
Our entry as a wine producer came about as the result of making a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, which was originally meant for family consumption. The winemaker informed us that the 100% single vineyard fruit had produced an outstanding big bodied, high glycerol wine with marvelous flavors and finish and a great mouth feel. He suggested that we sell the wine instead of using it for family and friends’ consumption, which we did. All 25 cases! It was an instant success.
Since 1997 we have made larger quantities of wine exclusively from these lyre-trellised, down-slope vineyards fruit and are approaching our goal of 2000 cases per year. The vineyard has it’s own Napa Valley microclimate, with characteristics of warm days and cool nights plus good wind protection. As the vineyard reaches maturity, so do the wines it produces. Our fine wine maker, Corey Beck, is a graduate of the enology program at UC Davis and has hands on experience with many of the finer wineries in the Napa Valley.
Technical Analysis:
Varietals: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Harvest: October 2007
Bottling: June 2009
Aging: 20 Months in French Oak
Alcohol: 14.7%
Production: 549 Cases
