2011 Dehlinger Claret - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (2/11/2023)
Popped and poured at cellar temp. Lovely nose of blackberry fruit, eucalyptus and white pepper. Fully mature on the palate, with sweet black fruit, white pepper and nice acid filled finish. Not a blockbuster, but a lovely wine. No danger of falling off a cliff, but likely not going to improve much from here.
Posted from CellarTracker
I had the 2008 Dehlinger Claret last week. Lovely wine. Does Dehlinger still make the Claret?
Guessing, slightly…the short answer is you want to look at the Equinox offering of Cab. They refer to it as Russian River, not Estate (though it is grown on the same property and fully controlled by them).
Longer: Claret has no legal definition, but was used by them for young Cab S., Cab Franc, and Merlot. They no longer have any of that. What is left is Cab S that has matured but doesn’t necessarily fit their Cab Sauv Estate bottling blend (due to quality or volume or just doesn’t help the concept they have in mind). Some probably gets bulked out, some is sold as their Russian River Cabernet at a lower price point. As with most of their wine, primarily/only to the mailing list.
Thanks, Steve. Very helpful.