2002 Dowie Doole Cabernet Sauvignon

Type Red
Producer Dowie Doole
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Designation n/a
Vineyard n/a
Country Australia
Region South Australia
SubRegion Fleurieu
Appellation McLaren Vale
Price $13.00



The Little Wooden Guy just gets warm fuzzy feelings for an under $15 dollar Cabernet that tastes like Cabernet, not oak juice.

Night One

The nose tells you right up front this is a warm weather wine, but after that nothing is obvious. This is a very deep dark nose. Imagine dark chocolate covered blackberries a elderberries, lightly dusted with espresso. There is also a touch of fennel.

Okay, that's startling. This is incredibly dark. It is deep with elderberry, but the berries, not sweet jam. It has loads of tobacco, burnt coffee grounds and unsweetened chocolate. Some plums join the show on the mid-palate, but it does not really show big changes there. This is wound pretty tight. It should be interesting to see what happens to it on Night Two.

Night Two

On Night Two the nose is a bit more classic Cabernet. It opens with blackcurrant, eucalyptus and some sage.

The palate has changed, too. Blackcurrant and elderberry, now a bit more jammy than on Night One but not a fruit bomb by any measure, open the attack. Now there is a definite mid-palate, presenting chocolate, smoked meat and eucalyptus. Plum skins show up just as it moves to the finish. The mouth-feel is smooth and silky.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a $13 Cabernet Sauvignon. If you have been reading for a while, you know I usually just skip low-priced Cabs, preferring to spend $20 or under on other varietals that show better in the lower price range. However, at $13 this is a steal.





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Close Pegase Merlot Mitsuko's Vineyard 2002

Carneros
Napa Valley
14.4 alcohol

From the bottlenotes:

Clos Pegas assumes its name from the immortal Pegasus, the Winged Horse of Greek Mythology* whose thundering hooves unleashed the mythical Spring of the Muses, giving the rise to wine and art.

This offering from our Estate is composed of 99% merlot from Mitsuko's Vineyard in Carneros, tempered with 1% of Cabernet Franc from the Home Ranch* in Calistoga. The wine was aged 16 months in 35% new French oak, and expreses our dedication to both the craft of winemaking and the unique terroir of our vineyards.

Please visit Clos Pegase the next time you tour the Napa Valley.

*Their capital letters, not mine.

The color is gorgeous, deep inky-black purple with a garnet rim.

The blackcurrants in the nose might trick you, at first, into thinking it is a cabernet sauvignon. Keep your nose in it, though, and the aroma changes, aschocolate covered cherries and cream come out.

The palate is very plummy with blackcurrant up front, followed by raspberries and tobacco. Tannins are a little dusty but very soft. There is also plenty of acidic sharpness highlighting the fruit. The two together give this wine plenty of backbone, and six years into the vintage it still looks and tastes young and fresh.

NIGHT TWO

The second night the aroma profile is the same, only softer. Blackcurrants are primary and a creaminess follows, plus some tobacco. The palate is far more black fruit than the night before, blackcurrant and plumskins, with blackberries. The tobacco influence of only 1% cabernet franc is interesting to me. Tannins are soft and fine. Acidity is not as sharp or bright as night one, but the two together give good balance to the fruit.

This is good wine, well balanced and rather textbook for merlot. It has a little life left in it, but not years. Based upon this two-day tasting, I would say it is a great candidate for short decanting and drinking now or drinking over the next two years.