Every time I drink an Oakville wine, I’m amazed at the uniqueness of the flavor.  Cabernet made from this tiny appellation in the center of the Napa valley, flanked by Yountville to the south and Rutherford to the north, is immediately identifiable by its exceptional density and powerful but sweet tannins.

The 2008 Oakville Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception.  At this young age, it pours a deep, opaque purple.  The color alone identifies this wine as something special.  The nose is sweet and round, another signature of Oakville, with a nice balance of ripe fruit and new oak flavors.  On the palate, it shows its youth with mouth-coating, biting tannins that get sweeter as the lengthy finish lingers on.  Let this baby sit for 10 years and it will be absolutely epic.  If you don’t like it then, you will be able to sell it for more than you bought it for on the 94+ point rating alone.

As I read the back label, two things are clear.  1) Oakville ranch takes winemaking very seriously.  This wine comes from 4 distinct plots in a single vineyard rising clear up to 1,400 feet.  That kind of precise selection is impressive and really shows through in the layered flavors of their wine.  2) Oakville Ranch does not believe in capitalization (see picture right).

If you collect California Cabernet, this wine is a must.  It’s a spectacular wine today for its size and weight, but like a bride before her wedding, this wine will drop weight and gain complexity as it ages.  2008 is turning out to be an absolutely spectacular vintage for Napa Cabernet.  I can’t wait to taste more!

Buy Here: 2008 Oakville Ranch Cabernet $44.95

Robert Parker 94+ points

“The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville exhibits a similar opaque purple color and appears to be slightly richer than the 2007, as preposterous as that may sound. This thick, unctuously textured Cabernet is loaded with creme de cassis, charcoal, earth and spice characteristics and displays an explosively long finish. Both vintages are great, but the 2008 might nudge out the 2007. However, this will not be definitively decided for 10-15 years. This is another 20-year wine.”

International Wine Cellar 92 points

“Good full ruby. Complex aromas of cassis, blackberry, licorice, subtle spices and menthol. Lush on entry, then utterly seamless in the middle, with harmonious acidity giving shape and energy to the intense cassis and black cherry flavors. A peppery nuance provides lift but this fruit bomb will need four or five years in the bottle to develop more complexity.”

We have a serious blue chip Napa Cabernet deal coming this week, and believe it or not, this isn’t it!  But this is arguably just as good a deal.

Nickel and Nickel was founded by Gil Nickel, owner of the famed Far Niente label.  Whereas Far Niente is focused on making the best Napa appellation wine, combining the best grapes for multiple vineyards, Nickel and Nickel makes exclusively single vineyard wines.  In July of last year, we tasted through a selection of Nickel and Nickel’s single vineyard Cabernets and were impressed by all.  The only problem: all of the Cabernets are around $90.  Especially in this case, quality comes at a price.

Can you guess where this post is going?  Somehow, LA Wine Co. managed to get Nickel and Nickel’s second highest rated wine (94 points from Robert Parker), and they are selling it for $59.95.  The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Kelham Vineyard is a wine for now and a wine for 20 years from now.  When I was there on Saturday, only 11 bottles were left, but if they are out when you try to order, or you want more than 11 bottles, send me an email and I will find out if more is available.

If you like Oakville Cabernet, and especially if you’re a fan of Nickel and Nickel, this buy is as good as it gets!  Plus it shares a name for this blog, so it must be good…

Buy Here: 2007 Nickel and Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon Kelham Vineyard $59.95

Robert Parker 94+ points

“Even more opaque ruby/purple-tinged (almost blue/purple) is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Kelham Vineyard, which comes from a western hillside vineyard planted three decades ago. Like all the other wines, it is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Classic creme de cassis, vanillin and spice box aromas emerge from this full-bodied, dense, rich wine. Approachable now, it promises to be even better in 4-5 years and last for two decades or more.

An impressive group of 2007 Cabernet Sauvignons from the Gil Nickel family represents an Oakville terroir lesson with the exception of the State Ranch which comes from a vineyard further south in Yountville.”

On a perfect Friday evening at our favorite BYO Tin Roof Bistro (which also has great wine prices), we were enjoying a Cabernet that could only come from one place on earth.  Something about the tiny Oakville AVA in Napa Valley produces totally identifiable Cabernet that is arguably the most sought after in the country.  Wineries like Opus One, Plumpjack and Groth have made their names in Oakville, but perhaps the single biggest name in Oakville is To Kalon vineyard.

To Kalon, part of which is owned by the Beckstoffer family, just might be the source of more 95+ point wines than any other vineyard on earth.  It’s long been the source for Mondavi’s Reserve Cabernet and this, the Oakville Cabernet.  Almost all of Schrader’s numerous 100 point wines come from To Kalon.  Paul Hobbs picks this vineyard for his premier Cabernet bottling, at a cool $235.  So do names like Realm, Alpha Omega and Myriad for their $100+ wines.

So at $27.95, this Mondavi Oakville Cabernet, 86% of which comes from To Kalon Vineyard, is a screaming value and a heck of a wine.  It’s signature Oakville from start to finish with a knock-out nose of ripe, dark fruit and coffee.  On the palate it’s concentrated and broad with sweet flavors covering the mouth.  Though it will age well for over a decade, it’s actually drinking earlier than Mondavi’s regular Napa bottling, so be sure to pick up enough to drink now and later.

Everyone at our table, including Nick our server, agreed that this was the clear winner over the 2004 Freemark Abbey Cabernet we also enjoyed.  $45 at the winery, this wine is a strong contender for top Napa Cabernet under $30 and clearly takes that prize amongst Oakville Cabernet, though Turnbull gives Mondavi a run for their money.  If you don’t want to believe me, trust Robert Parker or the notoriously point-stingy Stephen Tanzer each of whom gave it 91 points.

Buy Here: 2007 Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon $27.95

Robert Parker 91 points

“The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (94% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc) has deep black currant fruit as well as notes of lead pencil shavings, camphor, and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, elegant, and rich from beginning to end, with outstanding purity, depth, and texture. This beauty can be drunk now or cellared for 10-15 years.” (WA)

Stephen Tanzer 91 points

“(includes 6% cabernet and bits of malbec and merlot) Good, bright ruby-red. Highly expressive aromas and flavors of currant, rose petal and cardamom. At once sweet and delicate, with sneaky depth of flavor. This really spreads out to coat the mouth and finishes with impressive breadth. The most gentle and approachable of Mondavi’s 2007 cabernets. “In 2007 we could wait as long as we wanted to pick, without getting dehydration like in 2006,” noted winemaker Gonzalez.”

You can’t get Oakville Cabernet at these prices!  Vineyard land in the Oakville appellation of Napa Valley, wedged between Yountville and Rutherford, costs well over $200,000/acre so it’s exceptionally rare to see an Oakville Cabernet under $50.  Those that do sell under that price point are often made of remnant grapes that didn’t make the cut for other top wines.  That’s why Turnbull’s 2007 Cabernet is so special.  It’s Estate grown, in their Oakville vineyards, which means that the grapes are owned and grown by Turnbull and never leave the property until the wine is bottled and sent to the distributor.

This is textbook Oakville juice- rich and sweet with a round tannin on the back of the palate.  This is a serious wine.  Fans of Groth or Plumpjack, are going to be really impressed with the latest release from Turnbull.

That crazy contraption on the top of the bottle is the Soiree Wine Decanter Aerator (available at LA Wine Co. for $19.95). It’s made of hand blown glass and aerates the wine as it’s being poured.  I think it helps to open up young wines if you don’t have time to decant for an extended amount of time.  Will it make a bad wine good?  Absolutely not.  But it will make a good wine better.  Definitely worth the $20.

The 2007 Turnbull Cabernet is drinking great right now but also has the structure for 10-15 years of aging.  For the equivalent of $36 per bottle this is one of the best values going and another prime example of the magic of the 2007 vintage in Napa Valley.

Buy Here: 2007 Turnbull Cabernet 375ml $17.95

Robert Parker 92 points

“The brilliant 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is the real deal. Incense, forest flowers, black fruits, and crushed rock, jump from the glass of this inky purple-colored wine. Full-bodied, dense, and voluptuously textured, this is a beauty, a superb bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that should drink well young but age 15-10 years. Bravo!

It’s hard to believe this winery has been in operation for 30 years, placing it among the older ones in Napa Valley. I was very impressed with their Cabernet Sauvignons, and less so with their Merlots.”

When we pulled up to the front gate of Nickel and Nickel’s Oakville Winery and pushed the call button to open the gates, we knew we were in for a premium experience with some premium wines.  As we walked through the front entrance (pictured above) we were greeted with a glass of Nickel & Nickel’s 2008 Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay on a silver platter (literally).  While waiting in the parlor room, we took in the vintage furnishings of the perfectly restored 1884 vineyard house.  Every structure on the property has been perfectly restored to better than original condition but with a specific effort to stay true to the original.

Originally founded by John C. Sullenger in the 1880′s, Gil Nickel purchased the property in 1998 with two goals in mind: pay tribute to John Sullenger’s farmstead vision and create a premium winery for the production of single vineyard wines.  He was successful on both fronts.  Both the property and the wines are exceptional.  Gil made his money in the nursery business (trees not children).  Every winery story starts similarly.  It seems like starting a winery is a great way to spend money but not really make money, because none of the stories feature the founder getting rich from making great wine.

The barn pictured to the right was originally built in 1770 in New Hampshire and was purchased by Gil Nickel from that original farm when it was about to be burned down, disassembled, shipped across the county, and reassembled using the original construction techniques.  The barn now contains a banquet table, kitchen and glass enclosed offices but retains the original post and beam construction.  It’s really a spectacular modern twist on the original barn.

Next we moved on through the fermentation barn, a new structure built in the ancient post and beam technique.  Nickel and Nickel has a unique challenge since they make 27 single vineyard wines, requiring many more tanks since the wine must be fermented independently.

They are also one of the very few valley wineries that feature a “cave” because there are no mountains into which the cave can be dug.  This one is actually under the barn but once down there, it’s the same as being in the side of any mountain on the perimeter of the valley.  The cave actually provides an economic benefit for the winery because air conditioning isn’t required for the extensive barrel aging.  Nickel and Nickel is 100% solar powered keeping with an admirable trend toward green winemaking in Napa Valley.

Sitting on the back porch of the winery, taking in the scenery, it’s easy to see why Gil Nickel wanted to restore this property.  It’s a stunning setting to grow, create, and drink fantastic single vineyard wines.  I’m not going to write specific notes on each of the six Cabernets we tasted but all were very good and a couple were exceptional.  The 2007 Vogt Vineyard from Howell Mountain and the 2007 John C. Sullenger Vineyard Cabernets (grown on the adjacent 30 acres) were standouts.  At $90-120 a bottle, these are not cheap or even value priced wines, but they are collectible, highly rated and ageworthy.  The tour and tasting are $40 per person, on the high end of the spectrum, but for the right occasion, it’s definitely worth the money. Make this one your splurge and you won’t be disappointed.

It’s a Tuesday, but I still found a reason to celebrate (and no it wasn’t that I found out I owe Uncle Sam an ungodly amount of money).  So I opened the 2006 Trinitas Cabernet- a bottle I’ve been excited about trying since I had their Chardonnay a few months ago.

Oakville is arguably the most sought after AVA in the United States, if not the entire world, and limited supply plus high demand should equal high prices. Throw a little Howell Mountain into the mix and you have a recipe for a high priced, premium Cabernet.  This wine hits on the premium but not the price.

Grown on the lower elevations of Howell Mountain on the east side of Oakville, the 2006 Trinitas Cabernet Sauvignon has chocolaty, almost sweet Oakville characteristics combined with the elegance and focus of Howell Mountain.  I could smell this wine from a few feet away, after a couple of hours in the decanter, which adds a special appeal for me.  It pours a deep red/purple and tastes dense without being syrupy and oaky but not being overpowering.  This is a well balanced wine that allows you to have a special treat without spending a ton of money.

So what is it about Oakville that produces such fantastic wines?  Groth, Robert Mondavi, Plumpjack, Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle and Opus One, just to name a few, share a special soil and a micro climate that produces some very special Cabernet.  Buy this Oakville wine to impress your friends if you want, but most importantly, buy it because it’s a great wine and a great value.  It’s $40 at the winery and only $24.95 at LA Wine Co.  The next lowest price I can find anywhere online?  $33.97.  See for yourself.

Wine Enthusiast 89 points

“Lush, dry and delicious, with firm but finely ground tannins framing black currant, cassis, mocha and cedar flavors. Feels soft and plush, and should improve through 2011.”

2006 Trinitas Cabernet 2006- LA Wine Company $24.95