It was a pleasure to taste two wines from Yan Cellars (https://yancellars.com/), generously supplied by winery owner Eugene Bayani, as a Monopole Crü “Newbie taster.”
Eugene’s winemaker is Patrick Saboe, based in Petaluma.
We first got into his 2019 Yan “Sauvignon Blanc Blush.”
Specs: Napa Valley AVA.
Whole cluster pressed, primary fermentation in stainless-steel (85%) and concrete egg tanks (15%). Partial malolactic fermentation in barrel.
ABV 13.5%.
Natural cork closure.
Both the name and the wine’s color caused me to do a double-take. It is indeed on the slightly pink side. As it turns out, this is because of the interesting addition of 1.5% Cabernet Sauvignon…from Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, of all places!
There’s a definite varietal hit up front. Gooseberry and lemon zest aromas are readily apparent. The acidity is bright and direct. The very small Cabernet addition works well here, giving the wine a touch of extra body and heft without getting in the way of the varietal characters. We had this at cool room temperature. My wife thought it ought to be slightly cooler, I liked it at room temp. This definitely tastes like Napa SB, with no oak in the mix. The lively acidity really carries this one. Would really be at home with seafood or cheeses, or a vegetable risotto.
We were joined by our knowledgeable neighbor Jim to get into the 2017 Yan Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
Specs: Napa Valley, Spring Mountain, Fern Rock Vineyard.
94.75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc & 1.25% Merlot.
3-day cold soak, 9-day primary fermentation, ML in barrels.
Aging: 26 months in 100% new French oak.
ABV 14.5%
Natural cork closure.
This one shows as a serious Cabernet from the start. Dark color, almost opaque. On pop-and-pour, this showed firm tannins and some earthy notes, but was very tightly coiled. After a few sips, we elected to decant it (no sediment to speak of), and came back to it 4 hours later. (The winery recommends at least 6 hours! I didn’t get that advisory until after we’d tasted, though.). I’d have no hesitation giving this one a whole lot of air. At 5 years old, it’s still in its youth.
After our decant, we came back to it, and immediately loved the cocoa and earthy, loamy notes. There’s bright berry on the back end, and a leather bass note. With more air, some roasty/graphite aromas showed up. A pleasure just to smell it. The tannins are firm but medium overall.
This is no fruit bomb. There is a nice fruit component, but it’s in the mix, not up front.
We all noted the long finish, which was quite pleasurable.
Bottom line, this is a serious Cabernet that is all about mountain fruit character. It rewards aeration, and was a pleasure to go back to repeatedly over the course of a long evening. It should cellar just great…no hurry at all on this one.
A big thanks to Eugene and Todd for the opportunity to taste and enjoy these two well-made wines. If you take the opportunity to try them, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
