A few nice CA Reds

newhere

  • 2008 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford (1/29/2012)
    All I can say is wow. This was consumed at the end of the night after an 09 Ontogeny and an 07 Corra. Didnt think it would be finished, figured palates would be tired, but wanted something high quality nonetheless. Woke my palate right up. Very expressive nose with dark berries and tobacco. Extremely rich complex yet well balanced palate with dark fruits, mineral, and tobacco. Finish sails
    on and on… I was reminded what a great wine this was after having it after some other pretty special wines. A great qpr from a great producer. (95 pts.)
  • 2007 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (1/29/2012)
    Decanted for about an hour and drank after an 09 Ontogeny. The nose, muted at first, eventually came alive with blueberry and vanilla. On the palate balance with beautiful fruit, mild oak/vanilla, and some tobacco. Medium finish. The wine is extremely pleasing, but somewhat typical of the 07’s for me, it lacks in the complexity/interest department. The WOTN for some however. (92 pts.)
  • 2009 Bevan Cellars Ontogeny - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (1/29/2012)
    I’ve had three bottles of this and was reluctant to post a tasting note because the first two were pop and pour, shared with many people and thus consumed rather quickly. This last bottle was decanted and consumed over two nights. The first night I found this pleasant with a somewhat muted profile of dark berry and cocoa on the nose. The palate had the same but the finish was somewhat muted. After 24 hours in a decanter the wine exploded with dark berries and plum. The palate was very expressive with secondary cocoa and tobacco, and some mineral. Powerful, but well balanced even at this early stage. The finish was long and made me smile. A great wine in a style I have come to enjoy from Russell Bevan (94 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Mark,

Thank you for the kind words regarding the 2009 Ontogeny. It has a little more Franc than the 2008 and a little less Merlot, so it takes a little more time to open up. I think it will be ready to pop and pour in another six months, right now it is still just six months in bottle and needs a little more time to get over it’s bottle shock. I decant it for several hours and then it seems to really start to pop.

All the best,
Russell Bevan
Bevan Cellars

Welcome to the premier California Wine forum in the whole universe (And possibly others!)
Post often and post a lot. [cheers.gif]

Gotta agree on the Myriad, great wine regardless of cost.Welcome Mark [cheers.gif]

Thanks Mike(s). The fact that Russell Bevan responded to my post with insights into his wine not only has me totally hooked, it also speaks to the power and usefulness of this forum. Look forward to participating.

Seriously, winemaker feedback = awesome.

I agree on the Ontogeny. Although it was good I was expecting it to be open like the other 09’s I’ve had. However, this wine has more structure and needs time. How long until you think it hits its sweet spot, with respect to maximal fruit and lushness?

Curtis,

I so hate giving up to much of the behind the silk curtain issues, Kimberly will kick my butt, but the Merlot for Ontogeny was also primarily from our press lots because I wanted the weight. We typically press very sweet so our tannins are soft, but I wanted some extra density and liked the press component better. Thus, this wine needs a little more time. Four to six months. Yikes I just got yelled at, need to go to bed, tomorrow I have an ACL surgery and everybody else is worried.

Good night,
Russell Bevan
The winemaker, but obvious not the boss at Bevan Cellars

Russell, wishing you a speedy recovery.

+1

I’ve been through ACL replacement surgery, all I can say is PT, PT, PT!! Get a good therapist and listen to what they say, your recovery will be successful!

Good luck with the ACL. Just remember…no pain, no gain.

Hope it went well. I can’t echo the PT comments strongly enough. I also found it took some extra time after PT was formally over but 9 years later it is still very strong and doesn’t give me any problems.