Wine Last Sold on: March 13, 2013
Healdsburg Ranches Winery
Featured Wine:
2011 Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon
| Varietal: | Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Region: | California |
| Avg. Price: | $25.00 |
| Wine Spies: | [REDACTED] |
website
SUPER QPR ALERT:
At today’s special Wine Spies price, this wine delivers tremendous value - and a drinking experience that exceeds expectations, easily earning it this special QPR (Quality to Price Ratio) Alert.
Mission Codename: The Rancher
- Operative
- Agent Red
- Objective
- Send Agent Red to back to California’s North Coast, in search of a budget-friendly, easy-drinking Cabernet Sauvignon, in time for Springtime sipping
- Mission Status
- Accomplished!
Final Assessment
Today’s 2011 Healdsburg Ranches Cabernet Sauvignon is the perfect Spring and Summer Cabernet Sauvignon. This light-hearted wine is an approachable and affordable, delectable treat.
2011 Cabs are just beginning to come around and while it may benefit from another year or two of bottle age, today’s wine is ready to drink. With lovely aromatics and a mouthfull of dark fruit and earthy bramble.
Whether you’re looking for a great daily drinker, or you need to stock up on a great party wine, this wine will delight - without breaking the bank.
Tasting Profile
Light garnet hues with a very slightly opaque core. Ultra-skinny legs fall from mid-way up the glass wall.
Aromas of black cherry soda, sage, plum and dried herb lead to raspberry liquor and strawberry licorice.
Savory and medium bodied with flavors of plum, dark stewed berry fruit, dried fall leaves and subtle bramble.
Dark fruits tail off quickly as the wine retains its more savory characteristics for far longer. Softly drying at the edges of the mouth.
Serve this lighter-style Cabernet with a variety of hard cheeses and a charcuterie plate.
What the Winery Says
Tasting Notes
Smooth drinking Cabernet Sauvignon with sweet herbal notes and dark cocoa on the finish.
Wine Specs
Vintage: 2011
Varietal Composition: 75% Cab, 9% Cab Franc, 9% Syrah, 4% Merlot, 3% Other Red Wine
pH: 3.78
TA: 5.8 g/L
Alcohol: 13.75%
About the Winery
The North Coast of California, that area to the west of the Mayacamas Mountains and north of San Francisco, is a patchwork of microclimates suitable for nearly any agricultural pursuit. Over the years, the land has been inhabited by a variety of ranchers and farmers, raising all sorts of livestock and growing everything from stone fruits and grapes to greens and root vegetables. In the early days of the California wine industry, Healdsburg was the center of the North Coast, a small farm town where the ranchers and farmers would come to get the tools, equipment, and supplies needed to maintain their ranches as well as themselves. It was here that they would also buy the local wines, varietally labeled, reasonably priced, and damn good.
Over the years, the wine industry has grown remarkably throughout the North Coast, and Healdsburg as well as much of its surroundings have gentrified. But those of us who remember the not-so-old days still recall those local wines, lacking pretense and flash, but possessing a quality that is rare even today. Maybe it was the lack of traffic and hubbub, or perhaps the company, or the view, or the event, but more than likely it was the fact that every time you tasted one of those wines you felt that you had grossly underpaid for it. The wines of Healdsburg Ranches are an homage to these wines. Produced only a handful of decades ago, from vineyards all over the North Coast, they were continually present while we were discovering and learning about the wine business in California, and we remember them well.
Best, The old hands at Healdsburg Ranches
