2003 Behrens Family The Contender

The 2003 The Contender is a blend of 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot that finished at 14.6% natural alcohol. The label is an artist’s interpretation of two formidable and scary heavyweights ready to rip each other’s head off. Lots of creamy black currant fruit, spicy wood, meatiness and richness jump from the glass of this medium to full-bodied, robust, exuberant wine. A lot of fun to drink, with surprising intensity and richness, it has held up well for ten rounds – oops, I mean ten years, as it still seems to be somewhat of an adolescent with plenty of life ahead of it. This is a Rhone-like, heady, succulent blend with lots of personality as well as pleasure-giving qualities. It should drink well for another decade. I have seen rumors circulating on the blogs alleging a problem with the Behrens-Hitchcock synthetic closures in the winery’s early days, but all of these wines were finished with real cork. This has always been one of my favorite wineries to visit, a great family operation of young to middle-aged wine and food lovers trying to do the best they can, eschewing any arrogance given their serious talent. In short, consumers benefit from high level amateur winemaking and intense viticultural knowledge. It is hard to know in what order to taste these wines, but here goes. Tel. (707) 963-1774