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2006 Stefania Santa Cruz Cab

T thirstymanMember
I had diner last night with Paul, Stefania and another friend of mine. Paul and Stefania brought a bottle of their 06' Santa Cruz Mountain Cab (along with a bottle of Karl Lawrence).

The 2006 SCM cab followed the Karl Lawrence at dinner (whole fried chicken and dry aged bone in rib eye).

Nose - rich red fruits, a little earthyness and just a hint of a minty/eucalyptus flavor hidden underneath the fruit.

Mouth - soft, lush red fruits and a little straight grape flavor (image that!) - but no mint/eucalyptus flavors. Paul caught a hint of them - but I could not. Slightly drying on the finish. I ended up sticking food in my mouth prior to the finish ending so I do not know how long the finish lasted. Wink

This was a good wine and I will be ordering my full allocation. I won't assign points because it is very young, was preceeded by the Karl Lawrence (i.e. i was already drinking) and I did not keep notes while drinking. I do, however, think this is a low 90 pt wine that will get better with a little age and it is one heck of a deal at the price point. While I think this will get better with age, I enjoyed the lush fruit profile so much that I might never find out Big Grin.

G
Original Post
T thirstymanMember
quote:
Originally posted by indybob:
Thirsty Man,

Thanks for the notes, and glad you had a nice time. I'll see if I can pick some up from Paul early next year.

And, congrats to your Titans!


Thanks IB - I ended up giving my titans tickets away for that game so that I could spend some time with my son before I had to head out of town for awhile. I did take him to the tailgate (dressed in his halloween costume) and he had a blast (he is the bud ice penguin!).

This is a good wine and I would recommend picking some up (unless you hate mint/eucalyptus flavors on the nose or mouth).

I'm afraid to plug it anymore for fear that Paul might raise prices....

G
S stefaniawineMember
quote:
Originally posted by Squirreljam:
Paul - what's your take on how the two cabs, Uvas Creek and the SCM, drink differently? Were they made with the same goals in mind or were you aiming in two places?


I handled the two wines mostly the same. The SCM has about 10% Merlot from the Elandrich vineyard in the blend, but otherwise I was not trying to manipulate either one in different directions.

I felt they ended up showing thier origins very well. The Uvas has a lot of red cherry fruit, and the soft texture and easy balance of the 05. That's something we've now seen in everything we've made coming from what is really the Santa Teresa foothill range of the Santa Cruz Mountains (Santa Clara Valley AVA).

The SCM is from deeper in the mountains, Harvest Moon and Elandrich. It's darker, more plush than soft, and more dark fruit than red. Plus the wild nose of Eucalyptis and mint.

Personally I love the 06 SCM. One of my favorite wines in the world is Cline's Small Berry Mourvedre, and this wine has that nose and texture. Stef prefers the Uvas Creek. That's her favorite of what we've released so far (the Pinot in barrel is her most favorite).
O otisabdulMember
  • 2006 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (2/23/2009)
    Popped and poured about a week after receiving my shipment. This is a very masculine and powerful cab, with black olive and dark chocolate notes. Bold and sturdy, it will benefit from either vigorous decanting or extended bottle age. After about 90 minutes, some pretty floral notes emerged and black currant fruit started to flow. Very focused, bold, and expressive of Santa Cruz. Would like to try it next to a Mount Eden someday. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Cheers,

Otis
N newsguyMember
quote:
Originally posted by otisabdul:
Would like to try it next to a Mount Eden someday.


Tell ya what Otis, you hold another cellar diminishment party this summer and I'll bring a bottle of the '99 Mount Eden Old Vines Reserve Cab and we can compare. Let me know.

And I was lucky enough to try Paul & Stefania's SCM cab back in early December. Absolutely loved it. What stuck with me, in addition to that noseful of eucalyptus/mint, was how this wine was so juicy and accessible now, yet I bet it will age quite well too.
G grossieMember
  • 2006 Stefania Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (3/1/2009)
    Inky purple wine. This has a strong eucalyptus component on the nose, a characteristic I'm starting to associate with Paul's wines and others from Santa Cruz. It's got medium body with sweet dark cabernet fruit, a nice balancing acidity and fine tannins. It finishes very well, no bite, and decent length. This is a charmer right now. I don't think the tannins are overpowering in any way. My sense is that this is one to enjoy young, but it might improve in the next couple of years. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I checked out the CT notes after I posted this one. It seems that I feel like this wine is more ready now than what others think. I'm sure it'll improve, but it's definitely got a juicy goodness that will be hard to resist. I've got one more (of my case) out of the cellar, I'll go pull a couple more for near term consumption. Carpe Vinum!
N newsguyMember
[QUOTE]Originally posted by otisabdul:
newsguy,

Sounds like a plan! Cool

Prospects for an August CDP are looking very good. Just remodeled the kitchen and I'm itching to see if its seaworthy. More details in March or April...[QUOTE]


Otis: That '99 Mount Eden now has your name on it. And I'm beggin' ya: PLEASE don't schedule your party for the first two Saturdays in August (1st and 8th). I aleady have plans those weekends that I cannot change. I aleady had to miss the last two CDPs!
S stefaniawineMember
Thanks everyone for the kind notes, I really like this wine, it's been my personal favorite.

newsguy - The last time I had the 99 Mount Eden I gave it 95 points. I have the following:
99 Monte Bello
99 Cooper Garrod George's Vineyard
99 Mount Eden
99 Piccheti (from a vineyard on Montebello)
99 Chaine d'Or

I was planning on a horizontal some time this year. Maybe we could pull it off in Chicago?
N newsguyMember
i am blocking that last weekend in august off on my calendar. a 99 santa cruz mountain horizontal... how cool would that be?

paul: having now had the '06 uvas creek cab and the '06 eaglepoint ranch syrah recently, i can say with confidence that what we sampled in early december was still suffering bottle shock from the cross-country trip. i've rated the subsequent tastings 3 points higher for both wines. can't wait to retaste the SCM cab.
K ksc02Member
I'm looking forward to trying this one soon.

A friend I've not seen in several years, recontacted me here in Montreal and, through the course of conversation, mentioned he's been making his own wine the past several years. Pretty darn good, if he says so himself.

I'm open minded, I think. I'm willing to give it a go when we get together at a local restaurant. Meanwhile, my 'contribution' will be this or the Uvas Creek Cab.

I can see the conversation going a little like this: "Hmmmmm... No, I haven't had the pleasure of making my own wine, surely. But a friend of mine does. A little operation he's been 'tinkering with' for a while and sent me a few bottles. Let's give it a shot, eh?" Big Grin
M montsantMember
quote:
Originally posted by markjahnke:
It is so hard not to pop one of these just out of curiosity! This thread needs to be deleted so I quit thinking about it! -mJ


Just think if you'd never tried one of these wines.

This is our first allocation, and we have a Cabernet wine & book club this weekend...but mine came earlier this week and I've never been able to completely discount travel shock.

It'll have to wait.
N newsguyMember
quote:
Originally posted by otisabdul:
I can chip in a '99 Kathryn Kennedy to that '99 SCM horizontal.

Looking forward to it. Cool

Otis


I had my first Kathryn Kennedy in the fall of 2007. Picked up the bottle in LA based on the thread from your last CDP, Otis. I had either the '94 or '95. It was absolutely spectacular. This '99 SCM horizontal needs to happen this summer. Wink
pinotlvrpinotlvrMember
This thread made me thirsty..and I had to try a bottle. Not much for me to add to the existing tasting notes, although I only got a slight hint of eucalyptus, which is nice. I find it to be an interested secondary aroma and flavor...when when primary it overtakes everything.

I'm happy I bought and now sad I gave away a bottle as a wedding gift.
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