Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon
West Wine’s Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon
West Wine’s Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon Reserves are aged in French oak barrels for 2 years and bottle-stored 4-5 years before release. They contain 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County, California grapes from our West Crest vineyard here in the Dry Creek Valley.
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About Sonoma Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon...
Dry Creek Valley has a perfect climate for complex Cabernet Sauvignon. In the higher elevations we have sunny, warm long days and cooler nights. It is the northern most valleys in Sonoma where you will find the best Cabernet Sauvignon which share the same climate profile as the areas of northern Napa just across the ridge.
What makes our Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon special...
We aim for the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes to acquire full and complex flavors as they ripen 300 feet above the valley floor and the morning fog. For our Reserve we pick the grapes from a selected parcel on our west facing slope. Our winemaking is influenced by traditional French style where the wines are meant to age for many years to gain even more flavors. So our wine combines the best from the Old and the New world.
We age the wine for two years in French oak barrels where 50% are new for each vintage. The barrels we use are all produced by fine French coopers that use tight grained, well-seasoned oak to handcraft their barrels and by using 2-3 different coopers we can blend the right flavor profile for each vintage. The wine is racked four times during the two plus years of aging which clears the wine and mitigates the need for extensive filtering, thus leaving more flavors in the wine. Learn more about the wine aging process here.
How to Enjoy...
Wine and cheese pairings
We like to pair our Cabernet with local cheeses as well as interesting imported cheese. Among local cheeses from Sonoma and Marin County we really like the Wagonwheel hard cheese, the Cowgirl Creamery double cream cheeses and Hiway 1. Some of our favorites international ones are: Noord Hollander, an aged Gouda with nutty salty flavors, Bleu d'Auvergne a blue french cheese which is creamy and has powerful flavors to match the Cabernet and the Spanish Manchego cheeses.
Meals
A tender filet mignon, some chanterelle or blue cheese sauce, a fresh salad… mmm.
We have some recipe suggestions for you here.
Vertical Tastings
One of the great joys for wine lovers is vertical tastings. It requires that you can find the same wine from a series of vintages, preferably close together. We have a small collection of our cellar-aged Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve in our tasting room and would be happy to take you through the years! Reserve a tasting here.
You can also do this at home with your friends. Get our vertical tasting collection here and download the tasting notes here.
2010 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Growing season notes: The 2010 growing season started with a rainy winter, which gave us plenty of water for the season and continued with moderate temperatures in the summer.
Tasting notes: Shows blackberry and black currant aromas, which continue on the palate with light spiciness, laurel, bay leaves and cedar
When to drink: Enjoy now or let it continue to evolve more complex flavors over the years until at least 2025.
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2009 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Growing season notes: The 2009 growing season started with a dry winter followed by a cool spring, temperate summer and fall which allowed for slow ripening and a multitude of flavors to develop.
Tasting notes: Prominent cherry and blackberry scents which continue on the palate with light spiciness, laurel, eucalyptus and cedar.
When to drink: Enjoy now or let it continue to evolve more complex flavors over the years until at least 2025.
Visit the West Wines Wine Shop- SHOP NOW
2008 West Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Growing season notes: 2008 was a dramatic growing season with a record dry winter and extended frost in April resulting in small berries and light crop. The mild summer and warm dry fall made up for it by the intensity of flavors.
Tasting notes: Intense set of flavors ranging from dark cherries and laurel to eucalyptus and cedar. Enjoy now or let it continue to evolve more complex flavors over the years until at least 2025.
Visit the West Wines Wine Shop- SHOP NOW
2007 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sold Out
Tasting notes: For this vintage we decided to prune our special “reserve block” in the upper vineyard even more than usual to get a very intense flavor. The wine shows complexity and Depth with well balanced flavors of ripe dark cherries and plums, laurel, olive and a hint of dark chocolate. Enjoy now or let it continue to evolve.
SOLD OUT - Visit the West Wines Wine Shop to order Other Varietals
2006 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Tasting notes: Big vintage with rich tannins and bold flavors of ripe dark cherries, laurel, olive and smokiness. It has a deep beautiful color and is a complex wine which will continue to evolve over the years as its older vintage siblings.
When to drink: Enjoy now after decanting, or cellar for many years to come.
Visit the West Wines Wine Shop- SHOP NOW
2005 West Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sold Out
Growing season notes: The 2005 growing season had a long nice fall allowing the grapes a long “hang-time” which added even more complexity to the grapes.
Tasting notes: The 2005 West Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was selected at a blind tasting to be served at the Nobel Awards Banquet in Stockholm 2010. The full-bodied wine has flavors of ripe black cherries and raspberries, laurel, tobacco, cedar and some spicy notes.
SOLD OUT - Visit the West Wines Wine Shop to order Other Varietals
2004 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sold Out
Growing season notes: 2004 was an even growing season allowing the grape to mature and adding good flavor concentration.
Tasting notes: Full-bodied wine with flavors of ripe dark cherries, notes of dark chocolate and olive. As a fine wine should, the tannins have softened leaving a desired balance between fruit and structure. This vintage is more fruit forward then the vintages immediately before and after making it easy to pair with any meal.
SOLD OUT - Visit the West Wines Wine Shop to order Other Varietals
2003 WEST Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sold Out
Growing season notes: Dramatically changing weather produced small clusters with great intensity and flavor development.
Tasting notes: Deep flavors of dark berries, laurel and olives. Now this is a rare library wine in our collection and even more of mature plum and dark figs in its character, making it perfect paired with aged cheeses.
SOLD OUT - Visit the West Wines Wine Shop to order Other Varietals
For more information about our wines, visit: http://www.westwines.com/wines-vineyards/wine-info-sheets/.
