Tidings Has A New, Excellent Cab About To Come Out

WINE TALK
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A few months back I tried all of Reid Griggs’ 2024 Tidings wines in barrel, just before bottling. Of the three SVD Cabs, the one that I gave the slight edge to was “Laurel Glen.”

Laurel Glen is a new source for Tidings, and for many of us who’ve been collecting a while, the name Laurel Glen is linked with high quality and long aging. Laurel Glen Vineyard is on Sonoma Mountain and was made for four decades by Patrick Campbell, the founder and longtime winemaker. I always felt his Laurel Glen Cabs were the Sonoma version of Forman’s Cabs in Napa. Good fruit, very nice structure, moderately lower ripeness, good dose of tannin, and a very long life.

At an open house of Realm many months ago, someone brought two 1980s vintages of Laurel Glen, and they were still hanging in there quite well in their 40s.

I tried all of Reid’s SVD Cabs in bottle again last week, and this time the Laurel Glen really stood out. I am a fan of the “Moonridge” Cab, but for me this one is even better, still.

Reid has stopped making Syrah, and I feel this decision has allowed him to focus more on his small-production SVD Cabs, and I can sense this focus is beginning to pay off.

Here was my note on the wine.

2024 Tidings “Laurel Glen” Cabernet Sonoma Mountain

Semi-opaque purple color. Medium-full body. Moderate-plus ripeness, moderate acid, moderate tannin. Structured and classical in the Sonoma Mountain style. Blue fruits in the nose, with a very slight citrus edge and bay leaf hint. Just the right amount of herbs on the finish. Very pure. Only 13.8% alcohol and 30% new oak. Organic grapes. Fermented with wild yeasts. Drank it as a pop and pour over one hour. Everything is in the right proportion, even young. Can approach now and should get better and better. A real beauty. This is about balance, structure and elegance rather than power and showiness.

And the price is only $95, which to me is a steal, not just a great QPR. This is the best wine he has made, in my opinion, and I would jump to buy this at this price, if you can. It should evolve beautifully for years. I believe the release is early next week. Keep an eye out. For those looking for moderate alcohol without “crunchy” fruit and with ageability and balance, this is a standard bearer right now.

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Tuesday.

Those old Laurel Glens are still great today. A local retailer brought in Patrick and Bettina for a dinner shortly after the sale and we opened a magnum of Patrick’s '86 to pour for everyone in attendance. That was a fun night. My oldest stock now goes back only to 1990, but yeah, those are terrific wines. I’m looking forward to seeing what Reid does with the fruit.

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Yes, I tasted a barrel sample in May. Definitely my favorite of his cuvées thus far.

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Laurel Glen Cabernets are IMO great wines. I am (sob!) down to one bottle.

If the Appellation was Napa, not Sonoma, I’m sure the price would be the same… except for the ‘1’ that would appear in front.

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Totally agree. My wife and I met Reid last year and tasted a barrel sample of the Laurel Glen and it blew us away. He walked his vineyard with us and had barrel samples ready to taste; based on this experience, Tidings is a list we will not drop.

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He lied to me! :joy:

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That’s interesting and I hate to bring back the crunchy argument but I would have thought that old Laurel Glens would have been rather crunchy on release? At least when you compare them to what most modern CA Cab has become?

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Did I taste the '23? Or maybe he told me they were going to be bottling a Laurel Glen and I didn’t actually taste it

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It had bright red fruit, but I wouldn’t say particularly crunchy fruit. It was fully ripe, in a good way.

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That makes sense, maybe chiseled or chewy is more of what I was thinking than actual crunchy.

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Crunchy wines are wines that have precipitated tartrates.

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