2001 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch- USA, California, Napa Valley (12/25/2011)
Exceptional nose. I loved all the leather and earth. There are secondary aromas but still tons of red and purple fruit. Major yum factor. So tasty. Great balance. Big and bold in flavors with a middle weight body. The tannins resolve each sip perfectly. Tannins are in such a great spot so if I owned any it would be hard to keep my hands off. This was my first Abreu and for some reason I had in my mind that this could be an over hyped cult cab. Boy was I wrong. (96 pts.)
I was searching around and found out Ric Forman’s involvement. Did he make this? If so, I would have not thought this was overhyped.
2007 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (12/25/2011)
Showing much better than the 08 Lauren. A fairly rich nose but showing more than just butter. Some nice minerality goes with this from start to finish. Ripe and somewhat big but it wears it well. Seems to have everything in balance to continue to develop. (92 pts.)
2008 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (12/25/2011)
Nothin shy about this one. Big butter cream & lemon nose. Not sure how this will develop but at this stage the palate is big and unfocused. Okay as a cocktail but you can’t have much of it without getting majore palate fatigue. There is a lot of acidity but I don’t know if anything is going to outlast the oak. (87 pts.)
I’m drinking 04 Laurens now. You just can’t drink them young to really get what they will deliver IMHO. I agree with Glenn, 7-8 years sounds about right on Lauren.
The excellent and unheralded Brad Grimes has been the winemaker for Abreu for some time. But if you have ever had the pre-1997 Abreu’s, I believe that Ric Forman made those. Some of those were just awesome Cabs.
+1. Had an '04 Lauren back in the Fall and it was singing. Opened an '06 Lauren on Xmas day and while good, it still needs some time to reach its peak. Going to pull out some '01 and '02 Aubert soon to see how the decade milestone sampling fares