Cool-climate Cabernet is the ultimate risk-reward gamble in California, where there is plenty if sunshine in most places to fully ripen the late-ripening Cabernet vines just about every vintage. That’s why planting Cab in Carneros is generally avoided. Unripe, green Cabernet is unpleasant at the very least. But when it’s good, it’s really good. That’s the case with this 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from the lontime grape-growing Truchard clan. This vintage is flavorful and elegant, with fine tannins and exceptional complexity and length on the palate.
Truchard, Carneros (Napa Valley, California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
By Robert Whitley