Retrospective Tasting - October 24, 2009

To prepare for our Vintage 2006 release, we thought it would be inspiring to have a retrospective tasting of our first 6 releases. We also included two special bottles -- a 1978 Detert Cabernet Franc that our grandparents made along with Napa winemaking legend, Norman Mini, and a 1988 Detert Vineyard designate produced by Robert Mondavi.

      

We tasted the wines alone, and then enjoyed them with a wonderful meal prepared by Tom and John’s mother -- Chateaubriand with lightly sautéed wild chanterelles, and some grilled red peppers. To us, there’s nothing quite as satisfying as the combination of one of our Cabernet Francs paired with a great steak.

The wines were all delicious, and have improved immensely with age. If you can stand to cellar your Detert wines for 5 or more years, we highly recommend it.

Here are Tom’s tasting notes:

What strikes me about all of these wines is that there is a common thread of minerality, black fruit and cocoa notes. I think that these are hallmarks of West Oakville and specifically of the Detert vineyard. If I had to pick favorites, I would say 2000, 2002 and 2005 are my current favorite vintages.

1978 Detert Cabernet Franc – wonderful lush texture, cherry fruit, very lively and delicious. Amazing for a 30 year-old wine. This was made by Norman Mini, a friend of our grandparents and an excellent winemaker.

1988 Detert Cabernet Franc – bit leaner but still showing the classic Detert flavors. Not as full or long as the 78. This was made by Robert Mondavi Winery for our grandparents in honor of the old vineyard which was planted in 1949 and slated to be pulled and replanted following the 1988 harvest. ’88 was generally considered a weak vintage in Napa Valley.

2000 Detert Cabernet Franc – Our first commercial Detert production! Aromas of herbs, currant, sweet and floral red fruit notes as well as herbal green pepper notes. Lush and smooth in the mouth with a wonderful texture. The flavors in the mouth echo the nose with currant, tobacco, cedar, floral and herb as well as an intriguing smoky berry quality and earthy, mineral flavors on the smooth finish. Mature but will probably drink nicely through 2015.

2001 Detert Cabernet Franc – The nose on the 2001 takes time to open up, showing primarily earth, mineral, tobacco and leather notes. Closed in the mouth too – dense and rich but only revealing a narrow band of flavors. More revealing day two, but still closed despite a pleasant rich texture. Minerally with black fruits, currant, herb flavors. Seems extremely youthful and will continue into 2015 and on.

2002 Detert Cabernet Franc – The 2002 Detert wines have stood out from the beginning for being big, rich and concentrated with great complexity and simply delicious. Black cherry, leather and cocoa aromas lead to a rich mouthful of the same. Very rich, lush and long. Wonderful minerality and hints of anise lay under the youthful fruit. This is delicious now and seems to be ready to go another 10 years.

2003 Detert Cabernet Franc – missed the tasting!

2004 Detert Cabernet Franc – Very expressive nose of classic Cabernet Franc with blueberries, violets and hints of herb. Rich, soft and long with lots of cocoa, currant and mineral flavors. The tannins are still evident and need a few more years to come together. The 2004 will probably be at its best between 2010 and 2015.

2005 Detert Cabernet Franc – Wow, delicious and finally revealing all of its wonderful flavors. Black currant, black cherry, mineral, earth, leather, sweet cocoa, very long and full. The tannins still need time to resolve but this is a wonderfully rich and totally compelling Cabernet Franc which should be at its best from 2012 to 2020. Even better on day two….

2002 Detert Cabernet Sauvignon – like the 2002 Franc, this is a rich, delicious mouthful of black fruits and minerals. Ripe, wonderful fruit flavors, rich lush palate with currant, black cherry, mineral and tobacco flavors. Long finish with fairly grainy tannins. Delicious now and should improve until 2020.

2004 Detert Cabernet Sauvignon – Great refinement, with mineral, cocoa notes and a dense rich palate. Lots of complex flavors - mineral, berry and chocolate. Very good – probably at its best from 2012 to 2020.

2005 Detert Cabernet Sauvignon – Dark, rich, suave. Very complex with a range of black fruit flavors, wonderful minerality. Cocoa, black currant, herbs a hint of citrus peel - long and delicious. Like the 2005 Franc, this is delicious now (with decanting) and should be drinking well into 2020.

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