Napa Valley 2006
Emerson Brown
Cabernet Sauvignon
225 Cases made by Keith Emerson and Brian Brown. The fruit comes from Oakville, the III Michaels Estate. 14.5% Alcohol
Pop and Pour: Very dark color, hard not to notice a bit of alcohol on the nose. On the palate, cranberry, dark fruit (purple and black), cocoa with big rich tannins. A really nice BIG Cabernet with a good balance of front fruit and strong tannin on the finish. This is looking like it is going to be a fantastic Cabernet that is not over done and very well made. Should be exciting to see how this wine moves forward.
Fast Forward: 1 Hour. The nose has arrived and the alcohol has lost a little of its edge. Licorice, anise, cedar board, and cherry are coming through very nicely. Seriously great fruit on the front (initial taste) with a ton of structure and tannin to bring you back to earth. This Cabernet will hit most Cabernet lovers heartstrings. There is truly a nice balance of front fruit and spice followed by big tannins. This not an oak bomb though. 6 Hours later this wine is just fantastic. Still riding that nice balance of fruit on front and anise, a touch of mouth watering acid on the mid, followed by a quick ushering of tannin on the finish. This seems to have the legs to last a very long time
Overall: This may have been the best Cabernet I have had in a while. It is a darker Cabernet that doesn't come across over-oaked or over extracted or OVER anything really. A really well made wine with the potential to go very long in the cellar. The masochist Cabernet lover will love to fight through the bottle from cork pop, but with an hour or so this wine begins to really talk to my palate. This is a wine I would recommend buying 3 bottles. Drink early to get to know the wine, drink another in a few years to say hello, and drink the last one 7-9 years for a very nice swan song. $60.00 is not cheap for an average Cabernet, but in my honest opinion this wine is not your average Cabernet. It is an ABOVE AVERAGE Cabernet with a very nice upside. Even though there are only 225 cases made, there still seems to be some available online via their website. However, you should also know they are limited to very few states they can ship to. You will have to use a third party shipper. ABOVE AVERAGE