2007 La Magdalena
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Tasting notes
The 2007 La Magdalena (50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Cabernet Franc) is a tiny production lot of just under 100 cases, so I will give it short thrift note-wise, but this is an ethereal wine that is showing better than it did last year. A wonderfully sweet bouquet of acacia flowers, lead pencil shavings, blueberries, and black currants is followed by a medium to full-bodied wine with extraordinary elegance, precision and purity. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. Another proprietor with an impressive resume, Annie Favia, wife of owner and winemaking consultant Andy Erickson, worked for over a decade with David Abreu and was highly involved in the development of vineyards such as Colgin, Screaming Eagle, and St. Eden (part of the Bond project). All of these wines are aged mostly in new French oak, and based on three Bordeaux varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. There’s no Merlot in any of them. Tel.(707) 256-0875; www.faviawines.com
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Good deep red with ruby highlights. Cool, spicy, laid-back aromas of currant, licorice, leather, flowers and minerals. Firm on entry, then sharply delineated and light on its feet, with terrific lift to the flavors of dark berries, licorice and spices. Very pure, suave wine with plenty of tannic structure for aging.
About the producer
Favia is the personal project of cult winemaker Andy Erickson and leading viticulturalist and winemaker Annie Favia. Working in Coombsville and Oakville, they craft single-site, elegant expressions of top Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc that are some of the valley’s highest-rated.