2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
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Tasting notes
Bright, saturated ruby-red. Deep aromas of black fruits, violet, tobacco, licorice, minerals, nuts and earth. Lush, rich and sweet, with an intriguing smoky character and lovely lightness for a wine with so much breadth and volume. Unusually powerful and deep for this bottling; complex and distinctive. In a rather Old World style, with complex soil tones currently dominating primary fruitiness. Finishes broad and dry, with very lush, fine tannins. A superb vintage for this estate. Winemaker Brookman noted that this was a large crop but the team made three separate passes through the vines to reduce the crop level and then harvested later than ever here. The Grace wine was once aged in all new barrels but as of 2005 that percentage has been cut to 80% to 85%.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(aging in 80% new Taransaud and Sylvain barrels) Deep, bright ruby-red. Highly complex aromas of raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, mocha, minerals, tobacco and sexy, smoky oak. Broad and dense but airy, with lovely mineral lift to the berry and chocolate flavors. This rather powerful and highly promising wine finishes with serious, chewy tannins and excellent length. Winemaker Gary Brookman noted that the team here dropped crop three times but still brought in 13 tons of fruit for 3 acres; the previous high had been just over 8! Brookman believes that 2005 combines the richness and opulence of vintages like 2004 and 2002 with the classic character and backbone of 2003 and 2001.
Good full ruby-red. The nose displays somewhat darker fruits than that of the 2004, with smoke and earth notes adding aromatic interest. Then sweet, chewy and fine-grained, with very good depth of flavor. Seems a tad denser and longer than the 2004, if a bit less velvety and sweet in its youth. The tannins are strong but arrive late. Winemaker Gary Brookman describes this wine as "bigger but cooler than the 2004;" in the earlier year the grapes suffered from a bit of dehydration during the late-season heat spike.