Californian Cabernet: What do the experts think?

Following on from db‘s recent California Cabernet tasting, we have canvassed the opinions from three independent California-based Master Sommeliers to gauge the current state of the category.

Vineyards in California’s Napa Valley (Photo: Wiki)

These influential figures were Evan Goldstein MS, who is an author and commentator on wine and president of Full Circle Wine Solutions, which provides wine and spirits education worldwide; Matt Stamp MS, education director at the Guild of Sommeliers and co-founder of Compline, a new wine bar in Napa; and Geoff Kruth MS, who is president of the Guild of Sommeliers, a US organisation comprising over 7,000 wine professionals.

Their insights appear ahead of the upcoming Go West! California, Oregon and Washington State tasting taking place in London on 10 March at the QEII Centre, Westminster. For more information, email info@calwine.co.uk

Have a read of their expert opinions over the following pages…

Evan Goldstein MS

What sub-regions of California are becoming particularly fashionable for top end Cabernet at the moment – or is it all about the established areas fine-tuning their wines?

I think that when one thinks of high value Cab that there are really just a small number of places that are capable in California and fewer still that can delivery regularly. Napa clearly rules the roost but that said for many people that means Rutherford/Oakville/St. Helena/Stags Leap and the ‘heart of the valley’. There’s been increasing interest over the years in the higher elevations (e.g. the mountains – Spring, Diamond, Veeder, Howell, and Atlas Peak) but what may be ‘new’ is the areas around Combsville, Wooden Valley, Atlas Peak (renewed interest as it went back for some time) and perhaps areas as far south even as Yountville (beyond Dominus and Lail). As to Sonoma – what’s encouraging is to see the higher elevation Cabernet and Cabernet blends emanating from Northern Alexander Valley, Pine Mountain-Cloverdale (shared with Mendocino)and a renewed interest in Sonoma Mountain (and its associated Moon Mountain, a newer AVA). That all said, I think that Paso Robles is hot for a re-look with a large number of solid Cabernet based wines coming from the area around Templeton and a number of the other new AVAs. While these are with a few exceptions (e.g. Justin) general more affordable, they can deliver great varietal signatures.

Have you found that there is a sweet spot price-wise for Californian Cabernet – ie, where you get the best value for money?

Paso as noted above is a great value if you do some digging. Sonoma offers better value than Napa (again, you need to be quite specific but as land and fruit costs less in both those regions, the prices are better). For Napa, it is hard to find much worth drinking below $40-50 with the value being in the $60-75 and the around $100’ish still being ‘good’. In Sonoma, you can find wines of good quality/value from $40-60’ish. Paso is best for pure value and after that, go north – value abounds for price and value in Washington State.

What in your view where the best blending partners for Californian Cabernet?

For me, within the ‘family’ (Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and when you can ripen it, Petit Verdot). There are some fun blends these days with Zinfandel and other ‘rustic reds’ – less successful though there are a few good examples are Cal-Itals (Cab blends with Sangiovese). A few 100% pure play Cabernets are still out there but fewer and further between.

Has there been a recent change in the style of Californian Cabernet being produced, and if so, why?

Essentially I would say that there are two different camps right now. Firstly, there is the Napa Valley style of big, extracted, jammy wines with bigger alcohol. These are crowd-pleasing and come from some of the big names in Napa – and these are wines that continue to be on allocation

And the other reality is a retreat to a leaner style with alcohol that is more restrained, and styles that are effectively a bit more herbal and bit less jammy – and these styles are more successfully achieved outside Napa, but there are people doing a good job of this style in Napa too. The sourcing of mountain fruit helps with this, but there does need to be an understanding of tannin management in respect to mountain vineyards – not everyone wants their mouth ripped out, it’s important the wines aren’t too astringent.

Now, with the second camp, there are a handful of producers who have been doing this for a long term, for example, Ridge Vineyards, down in Santa Cruz, has never been into big jammy styles, they never went that way.

But for the most part, there was a noticeable emergence of a second camp about 3-5 vintages ago.

Matt Stamp MS

What sub-regions of California are becoming particularly fashionable for top end Cabernet at the moment – or is it all about the established areas fine-tuning their wines?

Certainly Napa Valley is still very much on top, but other areas of California do produce great Cabernet Sauvignon and have name recognition for doing so: The Santa Cruz Mountains, Knights Valley and Alexander Valley in Northern Sonoma, Paso Robles and parts of inland Santa Barbara County. One area within Napa that is seeing a lot of new interest is the county’s newest AVA, Coombsville. Cabernet in Coombsville retains great acid and aromatics, which dovetails nicely with modern trends.

Have you found that there is a sweet spot price-wise for Californian Cabernet – ie, where you get the best value for money?

Anytime you are spending more than $50 on a bottle of wine the label and reputation are playing a big role. Inaccessibility and quality become confused, sometimes. At retail you can still buy world-class California Cabernet, even from Napa, under $50. Good California Cabernet tends to cost more than, say, good California Zinfandel, but great bottles can be had for $25-50.

What in your view where the best blending partners for Californian Cabernet?

I think the North Coast of California is a great example of an area that can produce pure, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Has there been a recent change in the style of Californian Cabernet being produced, and if so, why?

While I think we have left the worst caricatures of the 90s/00s behind, I think it’s a little early to proclaim a real shift in style. I think the styles of California Cabernet are maturing, instead, and that we now have a wider spectrum of styles available. There are fresher, lighter, more drinkable Cabernets being produced today, yes, but the oaky, high-alcohol wines with a little RS that have fallen out of favor in the press are absolutely still being made, and loved.

Geoff Kruth, MS

What sub-regions of California are becoming particularly fashionable for top end Cabernet at the moment – or is it all about the established areas fine-tuning their wines?

Most of the best Cabernet in California is still coming from a few classic regions; obviously Napa Valley, the north east portion of Sonoma County such as Alexander Valley, Alexander Mountain and Knights Valley  as well as the Santa Cruz Mtns. south of San Francisco. There’s also some movement to better define the parts of Paso Robles which are really successful for Cabernet.

Have you found that there is a sweet spot price-wise for Californian Cabernet – ie, where you get the best value for money?

You can get some surprisingly good Cabernet for $10-$30 from some of the larger producers who have owned land for a long time. For example Chappellet, Beringer, Martini and Rodney Strong. As someone who doesn’t always like a lot of new oak or ripeness, sometimes I actually like the basic bottlings better than their expensive wines.

What in your view where the best blending partners for Californian Cabernet?

Merlot and Cab Franc. Nothing new here.

Has there been a recent change in the style of Californian Cabernet being produced, and if so, why?

This is a complicated topic with lots of variation by producer. The short version is… during the mid 90s everyone optimized viticulture for riper styles of wine because the consumer loved it. Now many producers are backing off and starting to make wines at lower alcohol levels. Granted, not many people are making 12% alc. Napa Cabernet anymore – but you can find it. Essentially, the range of style is wider than it has ever been and there is great Cabernet in California for any taste – including jaded wine drinkers like me.