You recognize Cabernet Sauvignon almost instantly, through a glance at its brooding color or a taste of its strident fruit.
Perhaps the very pervasiveness of the wine has something to do with its familiarity. The sturdy Cabernet grape thrives just about everywhere. Some might even try to convey the notion that the similarities are enough that terroir and treatment yield very little.
No need to expound on the differences between Bordeaux and new world to refute this. Just open bottles of the 2012 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet and the Noggle Cabernet of the same vintage.
Obsidian Ridge pulled its grapes from high elevation in the Red Hills and rested the wine for 18 months in Hungarian oak from the Tokaj region. Winemaker Alex Beloz blended in a small amount of Petit Verdot to buffer the aromas.
The wine traces fine strata of toasted vanilla, cinnamon-spiced chocolate and lightly tanned leather behind armloads of ripe currants, cherries and plums. These olfactory impressions are friendly and inviting, drawing you in.
It’s a wine that tugs on you. It opens on the palate with more of that dark red fruit, a juicy and naturally sweet pleasantry. But then elevated sensation begins to subside, drawing you into the depths of soft chocolate, nips of licorice, aged vanilla and worn leather — the workings of wood and modest tannins.
As you revel in this sinking feeling, a finishing touch begins to emerge, rounding out the experience with rich fruit and soft earth.
The 2012 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet is a muse, a beautifully absorbing wine.
By comparison the 2012 Noggle appears rosier in the glass, showing a brighter hue. On the nose familiar notes of dark fruit, chocolate and toasted oak vie from attention. But there are also the barest hint of something herbaceous — a trait prized by fans of the old school Bordeaux.
Where the Obsidian Ridge ripples its muscular fruits, Michael Noggle’s Cabernet steps softly onto the palate. This is just for a flirtatious fraction, mind you. Ripe red currant and cherry quickly emerge and grab your attention.
The earthier aspects of Cabernet follow, laced with soft wood and a wisp of nipping herbs. Fruit pervades on the finish.
Noggle’s Cabernet manages to express the same grape in a lighter form. Instead of a contemplative muse, it takes the form of an acquaintance — one greeting you with a smile that cannot mask the waiting inferences.
Both wines benefitted from Lake County’s remarkable 2012 growing season. A steady, rhythmic summer pattern followed by a spike in temperatures as harvest approached allowed the fruit to ripen at a casual, predictable rate.
Yes, they express many similarities. But one wine calls for rich red meats, varnished libraries or reflective conversation. The other, while familiar with such, would prefer thick burgers and sunsets on the patio.
Two Cabernets, yet either way the wine drinker wins.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
