June 2007 Wine Tasting Notes:
2005 Daniel Gehrs Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles.
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This Cabernet sauvignon is dark, inky garnet color with excellent clarity. The nose offers medium intensity smoke, brambles and cassis aromas leading into light coffee and spice. All this is accented by aromatic, floral and oak notes. The palate is more reserved with more brambly berries than cassis and floral to leathery notes and spice. Soft and slight tannins, proportioned acids and nicely held back alcohol make for a smooth mouthfeel. A medium length finish is replete with bramble and currant. |
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Cumulative Score: 92 breakdown 12.7% Alcohol $20.00 Retail (from winery); Production volume unspecified |
This Cabernet sauvignon offers a nice balance of spice and fruit with an edge of pleasing characters associated with fruit picked shy of being over-ripe, making it very interesting and multi dimensional. It demonstrates the way a cooler, longer growing season and Gehr's skill can come together to bring out the potential of fruit from a terroir as distinct as as Paso Robles. Nicely approachable now, it should drink pair well with red meats through 2014 to 2016 - depending on your preference. |
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More reviews of Daniel Gehrs Wines More on the Paso Robles AVA |
Composition: 100% Meeker Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon fermented in closed, temperature-controlled, stainless steel fermenters with daily pump overs. The clarified wine was then aged for 11 months in steel tanks with medium-plus toast French oak "beans" and bottled.
One of the 'big five' of Bordeaux reds, Cabernet sauvignon is the most widely planted of the group and over 40,000 acres are planted in the state of California. Until the 1970s, Cabernet Sauvignon was produced as a varietal 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 usually shows black currant, blackberry and black cherry flavors backed by cedar characteristics. Like Cabernet Franc, it is not at its best in excessively cool or excessively warm climates or very rich soils. In such conditions, (and with certain vineyard practices) it tends to express more vegetative qualities and less fruit. Bell pepper and asparagus characteristics can dominate. In some cases, some relate an aroma similar to camphor, asparagus and green olive as well as spices: ginger, green peppercorn, pimento. With bottle aging, it takes on aromas of cedar, olive, cigar box, musk, mushroom, earth and leather. It is also more tannic (which in youth can give a graphite-like characteristic), longer lived and less approachable in youth than Cabernet Franc. Cabernet sauvignon is known for its high levels of extract and tannin. Young varietal wines have very tight, dense structure with powerful tannins which soften somewhat with age.
110 acres of the 168 acre Meeker Estate Vineyard were planted between 1991 and 1997 to Cabernet Sauvignon (25 acres), Merlot (50 acres), Petite Syrah (10 acres), Syrah (20 acres) and Tempranillo (5 acres). Vines, planted on phylloxera-resistant rootstock, range from 9 to 15 years in age. The estate consisted of two properties up until May of 2006. At that time, Marty Meeker sold the Eastern property, part of which was planted to Syrah vines from Zaca Mesa cuttings which Dan Gehrs (Zaca Mesa winemaker at that time) sold to Meeker in the mid-90s. This East Paso vineyard was located in Ranchita Canyon part of Paso Robles, located east of Highway 101, north of the airport, and enjoys the warmer end of the climatic spectrum of the east side of Paso Robles. The soils are moderately deep and composed of complex soil subtypes which include gravelly and chalky elements.
The 2005 year saw an increase in crops over the preceding years. The year is being compared to the acclaimed 1997 vintage because of a very long and generally cool growing season without heat spikes. This long season resulted in extended hang times in even temperatures which gave the fruit good extraction but lower sugar levels. The slow ripening of the fruit is expected to make for elegance and balance in the wines of this vintage.
Daniel Gehrs developed his wine making expertise over the past 3 decades. He initially started making wine at home as a college student. Well armed for the job with a passion and a Political Science degree, he joined Paul Masson Vineyards, Saratoga, in the San Francisco Bay area. After two years there, he and his wife purchased Congress Springs Vineyards and spent sixteen years there making Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from old vines under his own label. Over the next three years, Daniel and wife Robin migrated slowly south until they arrived back in Santa Barbara County and Daniel took on wine making responsibilities at Zaca Mesa. After four years, he left Zaca Mesa. He currently makes wines for several label in addition to his own and is an active consultant to other producers in the area. He sources the fruit for his grapes from all over California. Stylistically, Daniel believes wine should be a companion to food and strives to make his wines food-friendly, with lower alcohol levels than most producers today. Daniel makes his current releases at the Lucas & Lewellen winery facility in Buellton.
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5 points |
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Nose |
4 points |
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Palate |
3 points |
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Finish |
3 points |
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Tannins |
5 points |
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Acidity |
5 points |
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Alcohol |
5 points |
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Aging potential |
3 points |
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Overall quality |
9 points |
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