I spent a very enjoyable afternoon with tlily and his lovely wife yesterday. After taking in the gospel brunch at the House of Blues, we headed next door to Bin 36 to sip a couple of gorgeous Santa Cruz cabs that tlily brought along with him.
The '96 Cooper-Garrod Claret was terrific. 67% Cab Sauv and 33% Cab Franc. I was immediately struck by intensely vibrant ripe berry fruit on the nose, sweetly filling up the air around the booth. Sticky cherry, plum, and raspberry flavors, with a hint of black pepper, caressed by a velvety texture. Delicious now, big tannins on the finish suggest at least another 3-5 years of lively drinking in front of this one. Highly recommended. 92-93P.
Cheers,
Otis
Posts: 3248 | Location: Chicago | Registered: Apr 03, 2002
I'm not sure when tlily bought it from the winery tasting room (which apparently is a barn on the property). I think he said it was around $40-$45, and was their highest-priced wine. I'm sure tlily can provide more details once he checks in.
I was very impressed with this wine.
Cheers,
Otis
Posts: 3248 | Location: Chicago | Registered: Apr 03, 2002
It was in the $35-$45 range when I bought it. There where 60-70 cases made of the 96. Both the 96 and 97 have sold out. The 98 is the current release. I tasted it on my trip in January and would have bought it had I not already been over budget on the Viognier and the 97 George's vineyard.
I had a cold that day so didn't do detailed notes but thought it a solid wine (Stef had it too and didn't taste at all). Maybe not up to the 96 or 97, but better than other 98 SCM's I've tried. 90-92 points. I believe they upped the case count on the 98 to over 250 and it's in the $35 range. Not sure why, I'll ask next trip out.
It's normally a blend of one barrel each of George's Vineyard, Lone Oak Vineyard and the Cab Franc. For the 98 I think they committed more barrels to the blend, like 3-4 of each.
Paul paul@hockeyguy.com
Posts: 5726 | Location: San Jose | Registered: May 24, 2002
