Winery - Freemark Abbey
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The complex nose boasts hints of spring flowers, tobacco, maple syrup and cedar. Now into its second decade, this wine is fully mature, with flavors of molasses and mushrooms that have replaced some of the cherry notes of its youth. The mouthfeel is silky and elegant; the finish chocolaty and smooth. Drink up.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This could stand to be much fresher in the nose, as something that’s clearly off hurts the initial take. From then on it is all grapefruit and other citrus fruits, but it’s still kind of pithy, like the rinds of those fruits.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Starts off a bit metallic, then turns more mainstream, with apples, citrus, and tropical fruits vying with a toasty, earthy edge.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Still young and tight at the age of 4-plus, with an astringency marked by tannins and acids and a bone-dry, somewhat scoury-bitter finish. Good, but could be in a slump at this point in time. Might improve in a year or so.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
You’ll find this drier and leaner than many of the more opulent California Viogniers. It has citrusy flavors, with a suggestion of apricot and peach, and finishes with a burst of acidity.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A brilliant Viognier that preserves the variety’s exotic richness, while framing it with balance and subtlety, no easy task. Impresses for its array of pineapple crême brulée, Key lime pie, golden mango and green apple opulence, yet is crisp and zesty in acidity, and there’s a bracing minerality. The grapes come from an unusual combination of Rutherford, which provides ripeness, and Carneros, which brings acidity and freshness.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is an oaky, leesy Chardonnay, and quite a good one. Although it’s super rich in fruit, it shows a crisply acidic minerality that grounds it and makes it serious. That fruit is wildly forward in pineapple tart, pear butter, Key lime pie and golden apricot.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Not overly intense or extracted, this California Cabernet Sauvignon relies on blanace and smoothness to impress. Mild cedar and cassis aromas and flavors are exactly what you expect, turning slightly herbal and tea-like on the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Full-bodied and dense, with an almost liqueurish, syrupy mouthfeel, and extracted in jammy cherry, plum and cassis flavors. Also a little soft. But the tannins are rich and the wine is absolutely dry. Might develop subtlety and greater finesse in 5 or 6 years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Hard as nails right out of the bottle, offering little except alcohol and heat. It took a good 20 minutes for fruit to emerge, but when it did, the wine turned pretty and drinkable, with currant, blackberry and spice. Still, it’s leaner and tougher than most, and in need of cellaring.
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