A big Cabernet for your plans
As we begin to taste as much of California’s 2009 vintage as possible, the Cabernets continue to sit right there, front and center. One small winery who has made significant contributions to this excellent vintage is Lail Vineyards. They’re small but mighty, sourcing fruit from the heart of Napa to back it up.
With a bouquet that is right in step with others of this vintage, the Lail Blueprint Cabernet is full of currants, licorice and earthy ripe cherries. This big bouquet floats right out of the glass and mellows with a little air and swirl, nice. Its body has a somewhat robust tannin structure that is a little more pronounced than other 2009’s, making it more of a grilled steak wine. An excellent distantly sweet smoothness settles into the finish after a minute or two. No problem racking this puppy for many more years.
If you ever want to taste more from Lail Vineyards, be sure to read their web page for details. This is one of the wineries that have a tasting room presence in Yountville, California in an area filled with small shops and boutiques.
There are many other producers like this who simply choose not to put up a big building on their property devoted to tasting. Rather, they rent a quaint space in an area with a lot of foot traffic to give people an opportunity to buy their wine right along with the art and pottery. This situation makes Yountville a “must see” for wiling away an afternoon in the Wine Country minus all the driving.
If you aren’t planning a trip to Yountville in the near future, you can order the Blueprint directly from Lail or also from The Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley via mail order for $55. It is also one of Ma(i)sonry’s Cellar Selections and they both ship orders to Arizona.
But if you’re in Yountville, Ma(i)sionry offers tastings and sells many boutique wines, making it easy to get lost in what they have to offer. So spend a little time checking out their ready access to those special wineries that don’t have tasting rooms and are closed to the public.
You can also try Sportsman’s for Lail’s wines, but they may need to order it.
Article by Tom Peiffer, Phoenix Wine Shopping Examiner at Examiner.com
View more of Tom’s articles on Examiner.com by visiting his writer’s page.
About the Author - Tom Peiffer
Tom has been an avid wine consumer and collector for over 20 years. This pastime has taken he and his family on many visits to wine growing regions, including Arizona. During these excursions, with the accompanying tastings and lectures, it became clear that there is no "magic bullet" wine. For each wine contains its own character, strong points, and weaknesses. Sharing these experiences to help anyone purchase locally available wines is his goal.
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