2003
96% Cabernet Sauvignon / 4% Cabernet Franc
California
1,825 Cases Produced
This is not my post or "The Guy's", it comes from our friend "PasaRoblesCab" with my gratitude in absence of anything from myself or "The Guy".
When poured it has a nice garnet shade and good long legs in the glass. Medium-bodied mouthfeel. It starts out much milder than I expected. It's mostly dark fruits, cherries and plums. Definitely not a fruit bomb. Medium fruits, medium body, moderate tannins Good dark fruit flavors (mostly cherry) and a tab bit of of licorice.The color is rich and dark.
You may want to let this wine breathe a little before drinking. Maybe let it decant for a while, The moderate tannins and full mouthfeel do a good job standing up against the alcohol.
This 2003 Cabernet reminded me of another wine I have enjoyed from Paso Robles: J Lohr. If you've enjoyed the Seven Oaks Cab from J Lohr, you will love the Donati Cab from Paso Robles. The nose is reminiscent of currant. It reminded me of being in the garden with my grandmother picking currents and eating more than I saved for fresh jam. The Donati Cab has a nice and smooth mouth, and it was a very pleasant wine with almonds as you can see from the pics they were freshly cracked by my 8 year old who just loves to be destructive.
When poured it has a nice garnet shade and good long legs in the glass. I picked up hints of peppercorn, vanilla, and a slight bit of alcohol in the nose. There is a moderate amount of fruitiness, mainly black cherry and currant flavors. As it's pretty young, there is a slight tartness and you do taste some alcohol but it doesn’t overpower the wine. After decanting, the black cherry does come out a bit more to match the alcohol and the tartness dissipates making for a very satisfying wine. It is a mouthful, perhaps in a perfect world it could have used another couple months in Donati’s oak barrels, but it was very enjoyable. I think if cellared for a year or two it would be a knockout. Thats why I bought 3 cases to keep for my future. It makes me feel like I am saving for college tuition for the little one. Buy now at $30 or pay $80 later, with 1,800 cases shipped, get it while you can. This one is definately a keeper.
Submitted by PasaRoblesCab
15.3% Alcohol
$30-$40 / 750 ml bottle
1 comment:
When reading the blog I now notice that I give a bunch of useless information of how the wine tastes, some people may have not been fortunate enough in their lifetime to taste a currant freshly picked from a bush. Some may read a blog and taste a wine and never know what it might taste like if it had gone another year in an oak barrell? I have to admit, I sometimes guess at the real flavors of what I am tasting. After about 700ml's I am feeling pretty good and dont think that I could testify under oath if what I am tasing is cracked pepper or fresh gorund. I think that a review of a wine and a rating of 90 is just as good as my wifes Italian uncle saying "Dis is sum really good juice" "who made dis?"
We sometimes get wrapped up in Robert Parker, or any respected wine reviewer, including "The Girl" and "The Guy" and in a few cases, myself, giving their take on something specific like tannins or a sooty finish and we should rather let fate decide on if we chose the right bottle to crack open. There have been many nights I finish a bottle from the night before and as the buzz sets in I reach for something new to open that I would certainly not open completly sober, I think that because I paid a few bucks for it and it has come with great reviews I am opening the Holy Grail of Red Wine. I more often than not am disappointed with the first glass, probably because I am in a rush to try it, by the second glass I really taste the best it has to offer, and when the last drop is poured I am on the fast track to forgetting everything I should remember about the bottle. So the thing I like the most about this blog, whattodrink.blogspot.com is that, like a really bad date, when you wake up in the morning you dont remember the bad parts.
Thanks to "The Girl" and "The Guy" for taking the time to post, and lets not forget, try new stuff, and remember, 10$ or 100$ it can all taste the same.
PasaRoblesCab
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