|
|
Wine Recommendation
Lancaster Estate Winery
2002 Lancaster Red Wine, Estate(Alexander Valley)
Ted Simpkins, a high level executive with powerhouse distributor Southern Wines and Spirits, purchased this 53-acre Alexander Valley estate in 1995. The hillside vineyard and winery is at the confluence of the southern edge of Alexander Valley where it meets the Chalk Hill and Knights Valley appellations.
Known for giving suppleness and a plummy accessibility to Bordeaux varietals, especially Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley enjoyed ideal growing conditions in the 2002 vintage.
Winemaker Jennifer Higgins, who joined the estate in 1999 and who counts Jill Davis, Margaret Davenport and Zelma Long as her mentors, blended this release with 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec, 2% Merlot, 1% Petit Verdot and aged it for 22 months in French oak barrels, of which 60% were new.
This thick, viscous wine is dense and concentrated, opening with some time in the glass or decanter. It is muscular and powerful with aromas of pine sap, resin, toasted oak, and the impression of high alcohol. Not over the top or cloying as might be expected from its appearance and nose, it is round and appealing with generous notes of cassis, plum, currant, green tea, black tea, green olive, mint and rhubarb on the palate. It has a long berry-imbued finish with lavish sweet oak flavors, fairly aggressive and drying tannins, and high alcohol.
Reviewed December 28, 2006 by Catherine Fallis.
The Wine
Winery: Lancaster Estate Winery |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |