2004 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Type- Red
Producer- Rodney Strong
Variety- Cabernet Sauvignon
Designation- Reserve
Country- USA
Region- California
SubRegion- Sonoma County
Appellation- Sonoma County
Alcohol- 14.3%



The Wooden Guys tried this Rodney Strong Reserve the night after they had Rodney Strong's new Rockaway single vineyard release. The comparison was interesting. I suspect the Reserve from '04 grew up to be Rockaway the next year, at twice the price.

Night One

The first obvious thing to note about the bottle is its size and weight. It is unusually heavy and has very thick neck. The bottle, empty, weighed in at 871 grams, about halfway between a normal bottle and the Rockaway mega-bottle. The cork is natural, and of normal size and length, shorter than the one in the Rockaway.

The nose is a little hot (not a surprise at 14.3% REPORTED alcohol, which allows up to 15.3% alcohol) and a little closed. There is some blackcurrant and vanilla. It should open a lot more overnight.

The palate offers very sweet dark fruit and sweet smooth tannins. The fruit is blackcurrant, very ripe blackberry and just a hint of black cherry. Cedar and vanilla show up on the mid-palate. The finish is sweet and long, tannins smooth but leathery.

The tannins provide a good backbone and the nose was closed. I would not be surprised to see big changes on Night Two.

Night Two

The nose and palate are similar to the Rockaway, though not quite so complex. The nose had plenty of dark fruit, blackcurant and plums. there was also some spicy cedar and vanilla.

On the palate, just like the Rockaway, it opened with black fruit, moved toward very sweet brown sugar and vanilla on the mid-palate, ending with clying borwn sugar sweetness. Tannins were smooth and sweet.

Like the Rockaway before it, I expect this will improve as the fruit and wood settle down a bit. Still, it is very sweet and oaky, lacking in terroir and complexity. this is a very personal point of view from somebody who prefers more classic Bordeaux to modern heavily worked Cali Cabs.

Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005

Napa Valley, California
14.4% alcohol

From the bottle notes:

Raymond Napa Valley Reserve wines reflect a family dedication to excelllence and five generations of Napa Valley winemaking. Viticulture and winemaking experience, along with premium fruit from vineyards selected for climate and soil type, are combined to produce consistently superb wines.

Did you notice upon what the little wooden guy was standing? Yeah, this is pretty obviously cabernet, with the classic blackcurrant signature.



FIRST NIGHT

The nose opens with blackcurrant jelly, a lot of blackcurrant jelly, plus a bit of plum. After a few minutes some cigar box and a hint of mint come through the fruit.

The initial attack was black fruit and sour unripe plums. Alcohol was a little hot, the wine a little thinner than expected, medium rather than full bodied. The tannins were puckeringly dry. Finish was medium length.

Based on the sharpness and the super-dry tannins, I expect big changes from day one to day two.

SECOND NIGHT

What a difference a day makes.

The nose was still blackcurrant jelly, but now the sharpness and heat were down and some vanilla made an appearance. Secondary smells followed, cedar and lavendar, and even here for a sceond and gone again roses. Nobody would smell this and think anything other than "Napa Cab."

The firs tastes in this were, you guessed it, blackcurrant jelly, but instead of being joined by unripe plums like on night one, black cherries were the dance partner. Vanilla didn't actually cut in, just danced gently in the background, and vanilla and rose waltzed onto the floor for the second verse of the song. Tannins were soft and smooth. Wine was dry, but not puckering. Instead they just made a firm backbone, offering promise of cellar growth. Throughout night two the wine softened, getting a better more full-bodied mouth feel.

CONCLUSION

This was a good, not great but good, classic Napa Cab, all blackcurrants and vanilla. Raymond Vineyards avoided the temptation to over-oak this under-$30 wine, something I truly appreciate. Based upon the two day tasting, I think it will improve for a few years. Nobody will ever mistake it for a First Growth Bordeaux, but they will also not guess it came from the middle shelf at the grocery store. If you ever hold a wine tasting for your wine-neophyte friends, a "let me show you what a typical cabernet should be" sort of event, thiswould be a great candidate.