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Wine Advocate Reviews
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2009 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/12) |
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95 points |
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2009 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/12) |
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93 points |
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The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon comes across as luscious and beautifully balanced. Bright red fruit, flowers and spices are some of the notes that flow from the glass in this seductive, radiant Cabernet Sauvignon. The supple, silky finish is impossible to resist. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard is a huge wine bursting with dark red fruit, flowers and sweet spices. The 2009 needs quite a bit of bottle age to shed its baby fat, but it is impressive, even at this early stage. Firm yet silky tannins frame the textured, generous finish. This seamless, highly expressive wine should drink well for at least a handful of years. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2029. |
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2008 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/11) |
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95+ points |
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2008 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/11) |
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96 points |
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The Lewelling vineyard is situated on Lewelling Lane, which is south of St. Helena. It is an alluvial gravel bed at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains. Proprietor and winemaker Dave Wight consistently produces some of the great values of Napa Valley. Over-delivering and producing world-class, unfined and unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon from his vineyard in northern Napa appears to be his goal, and he meets it beautifully. I would love to taste the spectacular 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon in a blind tasting with recent vintages of the famed Pauillac, Pontet-Canet. After spending 16 months in 100% new French oak, it offers an opaque purple color along with classic notes of creme de cassis intermixed with subtle burning ember, charcoal and oak aromas. The glorious perfume is accompanied by a full-bodied, stunningly concentrated, multilayered wine with spectacular length as well as a silky personality. It can be drunk now or cellared for two decades or more. It’s a tour de force! The slightly more expensive, opaque purple-hued 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (aged 18 months in 100% new French oak) is essentially a barrel selection. Obviously, the more structured wines with more density and aging potential were chosen for this cuvee. Very backward compared to the Napa bottling, the Wight Vineyard exhibits more graphite and toast along with creme de cassis, smoke and floral characteristics. Deep, rich and reserved with plenty of tannin, it needs time in the bottle, so cellar it for 4-5 years and drink it over the following three decades. If you haven’t discovered the wines of Lewelling, it’s about time. |
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2007 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/10) |
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98 points |
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2007 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/10) |
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95 points |
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One can’t say enough about the wines produced at this extraordinary site in Napa Valley. Proprietor Dave Wight continues to turn out sleepers of the vintage that represent some of the greatest bargains in world-class Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The classic 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like proprietor Alfred Tesseron’s over-achieving 5th growth Pauillac, Chateau Pontet Canet moved to Napa. Bursting with creme de cassis, flower, lead pencil, and spice characteristics, it is a dense, pure, full-bodied wine with a terrific texture. This is a gorgeously harmonious, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon with awesome concentration as well as aging potential. Drink it now and over the next 25 years. Even more profound is the nearly perfect 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard. The finest Cabernet I have ever tasted from this estate, it has everything the Napa Cabernet possesses, along with a few more layers, slightly more aromatic and flavor intensity, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. The tannins are just as sweet, but there are more of them. This is a prodigious Napa Cabernet Sauvignon with all the creme de cassis one could ever want intermixed with charcoal, acacia flowers, licorice, and a hint of background oak. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 2-3 decades. Kudos! |
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2006 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/09) |
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94 points |
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2006 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/09) |
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93 points |
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Two outstanding, under the radar Cabernet Sauvignons that can be bought at realistic prices are these two sleepers from Lewelling. The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is a dead-ringer for a Napa version of the famed Paulliac, Pontet-Canet. Charcoal, creme de cassis, unsmoked cigar tobacco, and earthy characteristics are present in its fragrant bouquet. It possesses sweet tannin, a full-bodied mouthfeel, and immediate accessibility, although it can be cellared for 15 more years. Slightly deeper, fuller, and more structured, with noticeably higher tannin is the opaque, purple-hued 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard. Sharing many of the same characteristics as its less expensive sibling, it also reveals notes of creme de cassis, smoky charcoal, graphite, and earth as well as a bigger framework and structured tannins, both nicely supported by an extravagant wealth of fruit and richness. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring, and drink it over the following 25 years. |
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2005 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/08) |
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94+ points |
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2005 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/08) |
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92 points |
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A super winery, Lewelling merits considerable attention for their Cabernet Sauvignons that are reminiscent of top-class Bordeaux Pauillacs possessing the extravagantly rich fruit of Napa. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a dense purple color along with a lovely perfume of burning charcoal embers and exceptionally pure creme de cassis fruit. Full-bodied with sweet tannin, stunning purity, a layered mouthfeel, and a long finish, it is an excellent Cabernet available at a bargain price by Napa Valley standards. Moreover, it should drink well for 15+ years. Boasting even more intensity, aromatic complexity, and a fuller, longer mouthfeel and finish, is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard. Sharing the same black/purple color, purity, and personality of its sibling, it should have 20-25 years of longevity. If Pontet Canet were making Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley, it might taste like this. Don't miss these wines if you love great Cabernet Sauvignon. |
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2004 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard (release date 9/07) |
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96+ points |
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2004 Lewelling Vineyards |
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Cabernet Sauvignon (release date 9/07) |
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90 points |
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For some reason, Lewelling Vineyards remains under most consumer's radar, which is a mistake. Proprietor Dave Wight makes a pure Cabernet Sauvignon possessing Pauillac-like sweet crème de cassis, charcoal, and spice box characteristics, but more power than is normally found in Bordeaux. These impressive efforts offer extraordinary natural beauty and symmetry. The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa exhibits an opaque purple color as well as beautiful aromas of crème de cassis, flowers, licorice, and a hint of barbecue spice, medium to full body, silky tannin, adequate acidity, and well-integrated toasty oak. Enjoy this lovely Cabernet over the next 10-15 years. The more limited production, spectacular 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard is one of the vintage's most stunning efforts. It reminds me of a top vintage of Screaming Eagle...it's that good. The purity, equilibrium, and sumptuous perfume of black currant liqueur intermixed with smoke and blueberries are all dazzling. Full-bodied, multidimensional, and beautifully layered, with a 45+ second finish, it is already accessible, but should age effortlessly for 15 or more years. If you haven't gotten on the Lewelling bandwagon, it's time to do so as these are absurdly modest prices for this level of quality. |
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Comments? email: lewvyds@napanet.net