2011 TOR Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard

(from a vineyard at 2,100 feet that Tor Kenward said "somehow looked untouched by all the strange weather"): Medium red. Very ripe aromas of red raspberry, graphite, rose petal and nutty oak, accented by herbs and pepper. Silky and very intense, with distinctly claret-like leafy and mineral flavors adding interest to the currant and raspberry fruit. Slightly edgy acidity will need a bit of time to knit with the wine's fruit. Just a tad herbal but energetic on the aftertaste. The crop level here was solid as the flowering occurred after the early-June rain, and Kenward told me he didn't even need a sorting table for this fruit.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard shows just how great the vintage was in some spots, much of Howell Mountain in particular. Savory herbs, tobacco, menthol, licorice and cloves are some of the many notes that meld together in a wine of remarkable complexity, nuance and finesse. Firm, structured and deeply expressive, the 2011 boasts tons of energy and pure brilliance. The mountain tannins need time to soften, but further bottle age should do the trick.

The fabulous 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Cimarossa Vineyard offers additional evidence of how brilliant this vintage turned out on this high elevation, mountain AVA. Tor told me the crop reached perfect ripeness on Howell Mountain, and the result is a wine of great intensity and lots of mulberry, blackberry and violet-infused notes intermixed with a hint of graphite, a full-bodied richness and a layered mouthfeel. One of the stars of the vintage, this beauty should be consumed over the next 15+ years. Tor Kenward, the long-time PR rep for the Beringer empire, has his own project for a number of years and he continues to build an impressive portfolio of fascinating wines that reflect his love of Napa Valley and his own personal preference for complex wines. Incidentally, he has one of the great wine collections of Napa and he is one of those true connoisseurs who is happy to share his best bottles. While production levels for the wines in this portfolio are relatively small, all of them are top-notch, interesting efforts. Tasting through three vintages of Tor’s Cabernet Sauvignons left me with the impression that this winery continues to go from strength to strength. Despite the issues of valley floor vineyards, Tor has done well in 2011. He told me that the rot that afflicted many valley floor vineyards was very site specific, and the only way to ensure clean, pure wines was low yields, open canopies, culling out affected bunches or berries, and Draconian-like sorting procedures. It appears he has done all of that given the success of his 2011s, which, with the exception of the Cimarossa, are low elevation vineyards. I also tasted five barrel samples from 2012, a large, easy vintage with no problems of any serious consequence. Tel. (707) 963-3100