1991 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon Winemaker’s Reserve- USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (11/3/2016)
Classic! For those of you who missed out on drinking the Chateau Souverain wines in the early days because they were cheapo wines…shame on you! Some of the best Calif Cabs I’ve ever had are from these guys…the 92 Winemaker’s Reserve the best of all time…this 91 is close! The regular 91 rocks hard as well…the Winemaker’s is beautifully dark and youthful…fully aged and integrated…plumberry, cherry, currants, boysenberry jam…soft leathery tannins, yet still has a nice cedar/tobacco dry spice kick to it. The fruit is totally still sweet, not drying at all…and youthful with a good dose of acidity…very complex flavors…menthol, aged nuttiness, dried tobacco leaves, cigar box, licorice, plum liqueur, damp cellar. Just pure CLASSIC old school balance here…fine Bordeaux kissed with Calif. sunshine! Drink these all day long! Only knock on these older Ca. wines are the corks…so dry and brittle…even the Durand couldn’t pull this one out all the way. (95 pts.)
had a bottle of this last night (i hunted 4 down after reading your note and pulled first cork). Wow, what a beautiful bottle of 91 cab. I think your 95 is about right and TNs mirror my experience. Best $22 i spent in 2017!
Souverain’s excellence with Cabs go back a ways before 1991.
When Souverain was in Napa they made some excellent Cabs in 1968 and 1970 several bottles of which I consumed five years ago. They stood the test of time very well: dried fruits, earth, cedar and herbs. The 1970s were in better shape than the 1968.
I believe the bottles came from Barney Rhodes cellar and were vts, bn.
It’s now just a negociant label. The winery in Alexander Valley is now a ‘Coppola’ estate I believe(?)
Truly a wonderful run of affordable Cabernets. I got sick of recommending the damn label after so many years, but there was very few that could compare. Just the regular Alexander Valley bottlings were extraordinary how they would evolve over a 10-15 year period.
My bottle of Souverain Cellars, Napa Valley, is of the 1968 vintage. It was purchased on release, I believe, and cellared at one place before being gifted to me probably 8 years ago. I just never seem to open it!
I love the way the glass says 4/5 quart all around the base.
