California cabernet, current producers in the Old School

WINE TALK
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couple Austrian winegrowers in town recently,

brownbagged a Mayacamas 1991 CS which I bought from Posner to dinner in Gramercy Tavern.
totally classic, I thought. Reminded me more of 77 than 70, but wonderfully pure and multilayered aromatix…

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Nathan, this BOARD is up to date on CA wines!
Try a couple of older Freemark Abbey and Sequoia Grove. They are made in the old school, long haul style. I had a couple of the Freemark single vineyards and the 2005’s were JUST beginning to open up. Great juice!

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Nathan - Two suggestions, both of which may be hard to source locally in NC:

Smith Madrone from Spring Mountain - the Smith brothers have been producing cab and riesling in the same style for decades.

Von Strasser from Diamond Mountain - Rudy Von Strasser has not been around quite that long, but I think he really lets the mountain fruit shine through with minimum spoofilation.

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I have not tried this because it is difficult to find but it sounds precisely like what you are looking to find…a current producer producing old school cab. And only $25, if you can find it.

From the SF Chronicle Top 100 wines:

2007 Anthill Farms Timber Crest Farms Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
($25) Anthill fans might wonder why the winery is here under Cabernet, but this is further proof it might take a Pinot hand to finesse Cab. From 1963-era vines surrounding Anthill’s Dry Creek facility, this bursts with smoke-edged tones of bay leaf and perfumed plum, plus remarkably subtle tannins. A side project gone tremendously right.

From the Anthill Release Email:


Timber Crest Farms Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon
(Healdsburg, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County)

We always want to create a wine or two each year that is fun to drink, but is still crafted with the same care and attention to detail as our Pinots. Our “one-off” wine for the fall is this Cabernet, produced from a clutch of gnarled, diseased vines that surround our winery in the middle of Dry Creek Valley. As far as we know, these vines are the oldest existing Cabernet in Dry Creek Valley, planted in 1962. These old boys produce only a few clusters per vine, which gives the fruit exceptional concentration.

2007, a relatively temperate year, gave us these unusually well-balanced Cabernet grapes that we think we picked at optimal ripeness. The aromatics are dominated by soaring, high-pitched aromas of cassis, salted licorice, and violet. At this point, the wine is still very primary, showing dense black fruit with hints of camphor and underbrush. There is a sweetness as it enters the mouth, but this is held in check by firm tannins and acid. We believe this wine invites comparison to some of the older styles of California Cabernet, such as Mayacamas or Philip Togni, and should age accordingly

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My first thought when I read Keith’s post is that Keith and Nathan should definitely get together. They could really hit it off! (I just don’t want to be there.)

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I guess I missed those posts the first time around. I think Pobega needs to take a chill pill.

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I’m pretty sure we met briefly at one of the Orange Wine dinners.

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I’ve had tons of old Freemark Abbey and Sequoia Grove (for whatever reason, my dad bought tons of SG in the 80s). Love the Freemark Abbey, Sequoia Grove is OK.

What I was looking for was newer to the scene producers that have this style as a model rather than the current style which tends to be richer and less structured than I tend to like my cabernet.

If the 2005 Boshe is opening up now, it sounds like the style may have changed.

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I heard he only likes the Gummi Bear flavored ones! [wink.gif]

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Thanks, I think both of those were around at one time. I’ll look around.

Smith-Madrone riesling can be cool and I like the cabs in the past.

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Robert, thanks. That is exactly the sort of tip I was looking for.

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Nope, I wasn’t there.

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Nathan-

These are the producers I like these days, with the caveat that the company I work for distributes the first three locally.

Spottswoode- Just wonderfully balanced, elegant and deep.
Frogs Leap- you’d enjoy talking to John Williams. Organic, though not certified anymore, biodynamique and dry farming. Just had the '95 and '07 yesterday. His current Zin is 13.4%, for instance and tastes like something peasanty from Italy.
Cain Vineyards, more so the Cain 5. I think you’d really enjoy talking to Chris Howell, too.
Arns- I’ve been a fan of Sandi and John since their first release in '92. Might have a touch too much fruit for you, but it’s pure, focused, not jammy at all and always seems to have a tell tale black currant character to it with a little bit of mineral and licorice.
Corison- Still doing terrific, below the radar stuff.
Laurel Glen- It’s been a while since I’ve tried one, but they were always elegant and restrained.
Forman- Same as above.
Dunn- I don’t like them as I never think there’s enough fruit to stand up to the structure, so I think you will.
Togni- Just give them some time.


Brad

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I’m on the 05 Blankiet tonight - not much love around here, but likely in your wheelhouse. Other pointy wines you’d like are Ovid and Kapcsandy. ACV is another good call - I killed my 2nd of the 04’s this week and I still don’t get it. I was surprised to see Seavy recommended as I really love those wines, but then you said it was too soupy, so that makes sense. I really dislike this style of cab (as I polish off this bottle of Blankiet), although the 97 Togni is drinking great right now. So maybe it’s not so bad…still not my preference though. I’ll take one of those sucky modern cabs thank you. Seriously though, try the Ovid or Kapcsandy. Both impeccably clean, well made wines in a style only the anti-flavor elite could love.

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Thanks Brad, but I guess you didn’t read my initial post which mentions many of these. I know all of these wine well and have had the opportunity to meet all of those producers (the Bassin’s Barrel tasting back in the day was a fantastic opportunity to meet and speak to these producers). Patrick Campbell was a particularly interesting guy and a homer from B-town.

I was looking for producers that have emerged in the last 10-12 years since I stopped buying cabernet.

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Well, you know I don’t really listen to you when you flap your lips, either. [cheers.gif]

I think it’s a bit more difficult for newer producers to come out in that style just given the economics of it all. Lots of start up costs and you need to start getting a return on investment as soon as possible. Gobby, pointy wines help to do that. Lean, austere wines that aren’t critical darlings, don’t.

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Hmmm, Ovid and Kapscandy look to be $200+. Ouch. Thanks for the rec, but it’s unlikely I’ll shill out that sort $$$.

Also, Ovid seems to be associated with Rolland and Kapscandy with Turley and Wetlaufer. Not exactly the poster children for the anti-flavor elite. In fact, just the opposite.

FWIW, I never got the ACV wines either and that was years ago.

I only had Blankiet once and it seemed really packed with VA. Too much for me to get past.

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Fair enough, however, I wouldn’t call all the wines on my list lean and austere. I think that Dunn Togni make fairly rich wines.

I’ve had some interesting suggestions that I’ll try to find. The issue seems to be getting them. Maybe I’ll try to gather some up on my next trip to SF. I’ll take em Terroir and torture the kids.

I haven’t had a Frog’s Leap in a while though. I’m gonna try to find some.

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Some of the recs here remind me of the thread looking for recs of lighter-styled California pinots where people were recommending wines like Kosta Browne and A.P. Vin.

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Nathan,
keep Kapcsandy and Ovid on your radar. Prior to Parker’s 100 on the former, both were trading well below cost. FWIW, there is nothing Rollandesque about Ovid, and John and Hellen moved on from Kapcsandy after some viticulture work years ago. If anything, these two producers epitomize the concept of ‘Uber Consultant as marketing strategy’.