October 2006 Wine Tasting Notes:
2001 McKeon-Phillips Bailey's Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Barbara County.
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This is a deep ruby colored wine. The nose is refined and complex with roasted nutty aromas lilting around a core of currants and blackberries. The palate continues the mouth-watering berry flavors of cherry, blackberry and raspberry. These fruit carry into the lingering finish which is blackberry-dominant with a note of oak and vanilla and a lovely hint of rose petals. Tannins are nicely supple. Acids are soft but appropriate. Alcohol is bold, but not hot. Decanting is recommended to help this wine express itself - given its time in bottle. This wine should be an excellent food companion for the next 10-15 years as a recent tasting of Ardison's reserve Cabernets going as far back as the 1998 vintage showed. |
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RWB Score: 94 breakdown 14.0% Alcohol $49.00 Retail (from winery); 562 cases produced |
This wine is what a Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon can be if given the opportunity: An elegant and mature wine with a pedigree and a long road ahead of it. The fruit is displayed very vividly in the bouquet, palate and finish while herbaceous elements are avoided. This wine is also a standout because it is not brash, or driven by overblown 'bubblegum' fruit or excess oak. It is instructive of the wine making traditions which recognize that beauty and grace in a wine are achieved with time. Lovers of well-aged, old world style wines will appreciate this wine. Those used to young, fruit-driven cabernets should definitely experience this award-winning wine. |
More McKeon-Phillips reviews
Detail
Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Clones 8 & 337) - Lucas & Lewellen's Valley View Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley.
Clones 8 and 337 are very popular clones in California. Clone 8 has been a staple of California Cabs since the 1970s and is known for its strong fruit which bears an herbal character. 337 is another prominent clone in California viticulture. It originates in Bordeaux (where it belongs to the highest rated group of clones) and gives moderate yields of small berries. The resulting wines are dense and complex with notes of black olive and cassis.
The Lucas & Lewellen Valley View Vineyard is located in the Santa Ynez Valley. The lower elevations of this south-facing vineyard is known for producing excellent Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah. The hilltop portion of the vineyard produces excellent Cabernet Franc and Syrah. In addition, small quantities of Petit Verdot and Malbec are grown to round out the Bordeaux spectrum of varietals.
The 2001 year was a warm, generally dry and sunny year with nearly ideal growing conditions across the Central Coast. Through a combination of some weather variation and specific irrigation management techniques, the wine grapes of 2001 were smaller with a higher skin to pulp ratio. The resulting wines have more color, and intensified flavors. Cabernet grapes were reported the big winners in 2001: rich, deep in color and well balanced.
Ardison Phillips is the proprietor, winemaker, an internationally collected and recognized artist and professor at the local Allan Hancock College - where he teaches a variety of subjects pertaining to food and wine. If you visit the McKeon-Phillips tasting room when Ardison is there, you may get to see this teacher in action as he takes you through the wines in the winery's line-up. His general wine making philosophy is to produce quality wines at affordable prices. More importantly, he makes his wines with food pairings in mind. He also does not release young wines. McKeon-Phillips wines are always released with much more time in the bottle than most of the wineries in the area.
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5 points |
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Nose |
4 points |
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Palate |
4 points |
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Finish |
4 points |
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Tannins |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
4 points |
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Aging potential |
4 points |
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Overall quality |
9 points |
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