CASE PRICE = $55.99 per bottle (add 12+ quantity to your basket)
Notes from the Winemaker:2006 Vintage:
The 2006 growing season began with flooding but did little damage to dormant vines, as cover crops stabilized soils in vineyards while rain continued into Spring. Bud break was delayed by a few weeks but by June, the weather had turned and vines began to bloom and set fruit. In mid-July a record setting heat wave lasted about 10 days. Most growers agree that the heat helped catch the vines up to a normal place. A long growing season made for long hang time for the vines, which in turn developed very complex concentrated flavors.
Aged: 22 months in French oak 60 gallon cooperage, 90% new oak.
Alcohol: 14.9%
The Wine:
Conn Valley’s Cabernets are made from 100% estate grown grapes from the vineyards located at the winery site in Conn Valley. This vintage is a blend of numerous clonal varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon, each of which contributes to the character of the wine and adds complexity. Prior to blending and bottling, the 2006 vintage was aged in the hillside caves located on the Conn Valley Estate
What Does It Taste Like?
Color: Dark ruby
Aroma: Wild berries and blackberry mingle with the subtle scents of mocha, violets, sage, and cigar box
Taste: Rich black cherry flavors coat your mouth with noticeable hints of earthy minerality. The sweet, short tannins are perfectly balanced with just the right amount of oak to make the fruit in this wine more pronounced. This is wine has a long, concentrated finish. It is an age worthy wine, so will improve over the next 12-15 years.
Ratings & Reviews
94 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (12/2010):
"As I indicated last year, the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a brilliant effort. Made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, it has begun to shut down slightly, but reveals an opaque purple color along with deep, sweet, cedary, black currant aromas intermixed with hints of tobacco leaf, licorice and graphite. Full-bodied, powerful and rich, this impressive 2007 needs 4-5 years of cellaring and should keep for 25+ years.
Tucked away in the sometimes seemingly forgotten Conn Valley, this winery is run with considerable gusto by Todd Anderson and his winemaker Mac Sawyer. This is an undeniable source of very complex and potentially age worthy wines. As did his father, Gus, Todd Anderson has consistently done well with Chardonnay from a cool climate site in the Green Valley south of the city of Napa. The 2008 and 2009 Chardonnay Fournier are both non-malolactic, barrel-fermented Chardonnays that have lots of minerality and little evidence of wood. They are made from the newer Dijon Clone rather than the clone preferred by most of the outstanding practitioners of California Chardonnay, the Old Wente and occasionally the Mt. Eden clone. The Right Bank cuvee is made from Merlot, which usually dominates, and the rest Cabernet Franc. This offering has been a winner since its debut release and it continues to be one of Napa Valley’s most interesting wines. My favorite offering from Todd Anderson is the Eloge cuvee, a distinctive effort of first-growth quality. One would think this wine would be somewhat Medoc-like as it is generally one-half to two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon combined with a significant amount of Cabernet Franc. However, one can’t really compare it to a Medoc since there is never that much Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux Medocs and there is not that much Cabernet Sauvignon in any St.-Emilion or Pomerol. A project I had not tasted before is the small lot (500-750 cases) of the Cabernet Sauvignon Black Label. Aged longer in barrels than its siblings, it is meant to be a super-premium wine. If you have not yet discovered the wines from this nearly 28 acre vineyard tucked away a few miles east of the famed Meadowood Resort, it’s time." - Robert Parker (12/2010)
93-95+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (12/2009):
"Pure creme de cassis intertwined with floral and licorice notes are present in the inky/purple-colored 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. Rich, full-bodied, and meant for long-term aging, it should hit its peak in 7-8 years, and evolve for 25-30 years. These brilliant 2007s are some of the strongest efforts that have emerged from Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards over the last decade." - Robert Parker (12/2009)
94-96+ Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (12/2008):
"The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is, not surprisingly, loaded with potential. It is flamboyant and silky-textured, a real head-turner thanks to the sweetness of the tannins, the purity of the black and blue fruits, and the full-bodied texture that comes at you in waves of lush fruit. This is a beauty, but don’t be deceived, given how forward the wine shows, into thinking it lacks aging potential. Although the tannins are melted and integrated, this wine will have no problem lasting for at least two-plus decades." - Robert Parker (12/2008)
