Think for a moment of fine Cabernet Sauvignon. Greying in the temples, wrinkling around the eyes, dust gathering on the surface, ancient words from crumbling pages — “the wine dark sea” — these are appropriate images for a varietal that revels in old age.
So it might seem brash for Laujor Estate to send their 2012 “Angelina’s Blend” Cabernet into competition against more weathered peers. But for winemaker Cheryl Lucido, it couldn’t be helped.
“I tasted it and thought ‘Oh my gosh, why is this wine ready?’” she recalled.
Laujor’s young Cab presents intense cassis and dark fruit aromas with a leathery backbone. Behind this it’s like wandering through an olfactory maze, as hints of packed earth, spiced cocoa and tobacco curing in a distant shed come to mind.
Store the bottle for a few years and these traces will gather intensity. But you want to pour this wine now — you really do. It is fruity, yet balanced , compelling and complex. Bowls of ripe red berries and cherries roll across the palate at first, followed by the stern structure that gives Cabernet its staying power: velour, earth, powdery dry chocolate and, looking deeper, golden-hued tobacco leaf. On the finish, cassis and cherry return, supported by measured tannins.
“The flavor profile was nice,” Lucido said, explaining the decision to release the 2012 now. “The tannins were soft — it all came together.”
But to think of this as a “fruit bomb” or an “easy drinking” Cabernet would be to miss the point. Laujor’s 2012 vintage carries itself with elegance surprising for such a young red. It flows with a group of friends on gathered for a casual evening. Yet there is something for the aficionado to contemplate and enough depth for one to pair the wine with a rich steak or simple pork chop.
Besides, winemakers have discovered that the Cabernet Sauvignon grape, if treated right, can debut at two or three years as well as ten or twenty.
Lucido racked the “Angelina’s Blend” — it includes 8 percent Cabernet Franc, also estate grown — in 2-year-old French Oak after a spell in brand new wood. She set toast levels a tad higher than one might consider typical and allowed the wine to age up to 20 months. But she gives as much credit to the vintage than her hand for the quality of the finished product.
With no frost and no inopportune storms, she points out, “2012 was a fabulous growing year.”
So Laujor’s 2012 Angelina’s Blend Cabernet is ready to compete against dusty old bottles. And a little grey in the temples will confirm its youthful character.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
