Home Wine U The Buzz Wine Reviews   Review Archive   Rating System Calendar Fun Stuff About Us Key Contacts Search FAQ Links		2004 Hesperian Cabernet sauvignon, Harry's Vineyard, Coombsville, Napa. Dark crimson colored with a violet rim and good clarity, this wine offers light plum aromas, notes of slightly dusty but pleasant herbs (sage more than mint), graphite, mocha as well as cherry and sweet oak. In the mouth, medium intensity plum flavors mingle with notes of oak, mocha and fresh herbs. Full bodied, with a dusty but smooth texture and good acids, this Cabernet has tannins with the astringency comparable to green bananas. This makes for a grippy character with a slightly warm mouthfeel. A medium length finish is plumy with a vague hint of cherry and currant, ending dry, with a soft crescendo of astringency and a transient, slightly bitter note. Production Detail: Harvested in mid October, this wine was fermented in 400-liter barrels with a 30-day extended maceration.  It was aged 22 months sur lie in French oak and not racked before bottling. 14.7% Alcohol $69.00 Retail (from winery);        170 cases produced Website: www.hesperianwines.com   BOTTOM LINE: Good, with appealing characteristics. Recommended. This Cabernet sauvignon offers an interesting composition. It is ripe but not gobby, offering depth, good tempo and consistency from start to finish. Overall, the alcohol is carried well. The fresh herbal notes are particularly intriguing and evocative. They are not overbearing and complement the composition, giving it complexity. The wine is very tight, so extended decanting is strongly advised. At this time, it may be too grippy for some. Most will like to cellar this wine for three years and then enjoy it well through 2020. Pair with big red meats and other protein- and fat-rich foods.   Need a number?    Wine Grapes Growing Regions Tell a Friend Cite this review Grapes  |  Producer  |  Vineyard  |  Vintage Varieties: Often called the "King of wines" and one of the 'big five' of Bordeaux reds, Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted among the five and, with over 40,000 acres planted in the state, it is the most successful red wine in California. With its reputation for longevity and aging, California winemakers began to take example from their Bordeaux counterparts and blend it with other varietals. Soon, the Meritage Association was formed to foster this movement. It usually shows black currant, blackberry and black cherry flavors backed by cedar characteristics.   (read more) Back to top Producer: Philippe Langner is the owner and wine maker at Hesperian, which he founded in 2004. He blends a global perspective and European sensibilities with California terroir. A French native, he grew up in Africa and  studied Agronomy at U.C. Davis. He worked in Bordeaux where he worked with Jacques Boissenot and Michel Rolland - two of the region's most prominent winemakers. This interaction inspired him to pursue winemaking and he went to South Africa where he worked a vintage gaining further experience. In 2001 he returned to Napa and joined Rutherford's Sullivan Vineyards where he worked his way up to becoming winemaker - a position he still holds. Asked about the influence of Boissenot and Rolland in his winemaking, he says: "Mr. Boissenot was a great classicist. He looked for finesse and complexity and respected the fruit and terroir by recommending moderate winemaking practices. He did not want to be in the front, he let the wines do the talking. One could say he made intellectual wines that require attention and thoughtfulness with a sort of timeless elegance. Michel Rolland is more interventionist and has a more muscular winemaking philosophy. He will harvest riper and try to coax everything possible out of grapes. The wines are often immediately pleasurable; they are also more muscular and definitely not shy. Michel is a very friendly and hedonistic person and it translates into his wines. I like to think that I have developed a hybrid of the two styles: elegance supported by power, sensuality with thoughtfulness." Stylistically, Philippe says: "I try to make wines that give you sensual pleasure but also give you pause for thought so that both your body and your mind are nourished. Having been trained in Bordeaux I am unavoidably influenced by the stylistic expression of the area. But if I follow the Bordeaux model it is in terms of equilibrium, I am not trying to make a Bordeaux wine in California, it doesn’t make any sense. I think that it is only in the equilibrium that you find more complexity in wine. Of course the fruit being Californian the equilibrium is very different from Bordeaux. Balance comes first and foremost. I like powerful, tannic, complex and age worthy wines but it is really the terroir that determines what the wine will be like. Of course the idea of Hesperian is to make wines that represent their terroir, that have a sense of place. Hence the various wines I produce will have a different balance, a different combination of power and elegance as determined by their terroir. I like powerful wines but I don’t like that power to be in your face or to knock your gums out.  To achieve this I do long macerations to extract more tannin and harmonize the wine. It seems to me that this is one of the keys to expressing terroir. I do not intervene a lot during wine making but I am fortunate to be able to manage the vineyard to achieve the best possible grapes. I spend a lot of time in the vineyard. I also believe very strongly that a great wine is only great with time. As fun and delicious as a young wine can be, there is nothing like the subtlety, grace and delicacy of a grand old wine to transport you." The 2004 Coombsville Cabernet sauvignon is Langner's and Hesperian's first bottling. In subsequent vintages he produced increasing volumes. In 2006 he produced 700 cases of Napa Cabernet from four different vineyards. Back to top Vineyards: The five-acre Harry's Vineyard is located in Napa's Coombsville region - east of the town of Napa and as such it is cooler than other parts of the larger Napa AVA. Much of this is due to the cool marine winds (which dissipate farther into the Napa Valley) and morning fog. The vineyard sits at an elevation of 500 feet with a 20% slope. The soil is composed of weathered basic volcanic rock - which gives it a distinct red-brown color. There is some variation in depth and composition of the soils, with the western end of the property exhibiting the shallowest and rockiest soils. The plantings consist of a field blend of Cabernet clones 337, 191 and 341 grafted onto Vitis riperia and Vitis rupestra hybrid rootstock. The age of the vines is unknown. Additionally, there are also Cabernet franc and Petit Verdot plantings on the property. Back to top Vintage: The hot 2004 growing season was one of the shortest in the history of the state. Harvest came two to three weeks earlier in many regions. Statewide reports of light to normal yields of excellent quality fruit with superb extraction raised anticipation of the wines to come. However, red wines from this vintage are proving variable by our experience. While this "crop of crops" was lauded as producing highly extracted fruit, some wines have been rather unbalanced while others were stunning and memorable. Back to top Rating Color  5 points  (5 points max)   Nose  4 points  (5 points max)   Palate  3 points  (5 points max)   Finish  3 points  (5 points max)   Tannins/Minerality  5 points  (5 points max)   Acidity  5 points  (5 points max)   Alcohol  4 points  (5 points max)   Aging potential  3 points  (5 points max)   Overall quality  8 points  (10 points max)   Cumulative Score: 89 Points Rating System & Scoring Criteria explained Back to top Search our wine reviews archive by: review date, vintage and winery.			Get the buzz: Wine reviews Great stories Interviews Wine education tools New content every month It's FREE! Click here   Go here to find out Get the gear! click here
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