I asked this in the other thread, but I think it got buried, so I’m asking again here.
Would someone please opine on the cabs being offered? I’ve never had an A-R cab and would like to try some, but there are several to choose from and would appreciate some insight.
Thanks in advance,
J
Duncan and Nathan are cherished colleagues so I am obviously biased (one is drawn to people you respect and want to learn from right?) but here are my two cents.
They are really lovely. Fellom and Montecillo are old school mountain Cabs- one from a 33 year old vineyard next to Monte Bello and Montecillo was planted in the 60’s and is owned by Kaarin Lee (Mike Lee from Kenwood’s widow) and was the backbone of the Kenwood Artist Series Cabs for years. Old school expressions of mountain Cabernet and worth every penny (particularly compared to seemingly thousands of saccharine examples of the variety selling for even more from a valley near here). That said, these are really age worthy wines that demand some time. I am a huge fan but buy these as I would current vintage Conterno, Mascarello or Ferrando Black Label Carema, not to be touched for a while but with great upside with some time. I have not had the blended Cabernet so can’t comment on that one.
Plus, Nathan selects and ages the French oak and makes the new barrels for the wine himself. How cool is that!?
Thanks!
Consumers POV - we have been drinking A-R Cabs in spots since the 06 vintage and believe these wines are improving as Duncan and Nathan refine their approach to Cab. We have had Fellom young in the 10 & 11 vintages and I’m glad we are aging some bottles now.
I wish I could afford all I really want!
I don’t drink a lot of cab and generally only keep some in the cellar for guests and dinners. Right now AR is the only cab I currently have in my cellar. We opened an '06 Bugay out of magnum a few weeks ago. It was a baby and could age another ten years easily. The wines are refined and have a mineral edge with excellent acidity. They demand age. I think the cabs are underrated and while not inexpensive provide excellent value if you are looking for unique wines to age.
Cory
I had the 2010 Clajeaux Vineyard recently and enjoyed it. Clearly too young and structured to age. It kind of reminded me of some of the old Mount Eden cabs
The only question I have is QPR. At $80+ they aren’t cheap. I don’t buy many cabs (Montelena, Ridge MB on futures) so it was definitely a “thinker” for me.