Today a friend of my fathers told me if I wanted a top notch Cabernet, that Seavey was the way to go. He said it will drink as good as any bottle of Harlan, Sloan, Screaming Eagle or Shafer, but it is just a fraction of the cost. It is actually under $100 a bottle.

He has said he can not figure out why Seavey has not developed into a cult wine. Small production, estate owned and high scores from the critics; not to mention very cellar worthy.
He has said for its price, it is one of the best California wines out there.

Have any of you had experience with Seavey wines? If so please let me know your thoughts and opinions. And as always, no matter what your opinion is, it is valuable to me.

Thank you for any opinions.

I like Seavey cabernet sauvignon and have purchased each year since the 1994 vintage. These wines can be closed when young and seem to need some time to show well. They seem to start to drink well at about eight years from the vintage and they continue to improve.

I have found that I prefer an aged Seavey to an aged Harlan. What heresy? The Seavey seem to age into a graceful balanced wine which I prefer. I consistently rate them from 91-94 points.

Seavey does not promote themselves as much as some wineries. Another reason for the low profile might be that it is not in Napa Valley but located just east of Napa Valley.

Try one, if it is young, decant it for two hours.

Agree with Pippin. Be aware that Seavey Cabs need more age than almost all other CA Cabs. Patience is rewarded. They may not garner as high ratings as they deserve due to their prolonged closed stage.

Thank you for the replies so far. It is appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by Board-O:
Agree with Pippin. Be aware that Seavey Cabs need more age than almost all other CA Cabs. Patience is rewarded. They may not garner as high ratings as they deserve due to their prolonged closed stage.

I have heard that they are very age worthy wines. I find myself being attracted to these types of wines. Ridge, Montelena, Dunn, Dominus, Togni.

Seavey cabernets are indeed excellent. I've been buying and drinking them for over 10 years now. They are a relative bargain. Phillipe Melka is the winemaker and he started his excellent career with Seavey.

Seavey makes a great bottle of juice, and as people have already mentionned does not show well young in most cases as it needs a lot of time to shed its tannins. That being said I haven't had the mind-blowing experiences with Seavey as I've had with some of the "cults." For instance, the 02 Shafer HSS I had a couple of months ago was far better than any Seavey I've ever tasted. Despite this fact, Seavey is a great wine and a bargain compared to any of the cults.

I'm not sure most vintages of Seavey will have the fruit outlast the tannins....

I've never had one that I considered "ready" to drink.

Seavey benefits from having their own Howell Mountain fruit and Phillipe Melka as the winemaker.

A terrific bargain is the Seavey Caravina. It can sometimes be found in the $25-$35 range and is their secondary label.

I hate to say it, but the only Seaveys I've had are the chardonnays (which are acceptable).