I know nothing about this wine–I bought it simply because it had a crow on the label. Or a raven… some kind of corvid. See? I too can succumb to the label-appeal! But of course I would not have purchased it if everything else didn’t check out. Sonoma Cab. Fair price. Moderate alcohol. No gaudy marketing. Let’s see: Big heady stuff, black-ruby and with a massive concentrated nose of cab goodies but with plenty of acrid grit and twang and stony splendor. Although rich and ripe, nothing over-the-top, with plenty of burnt-rubber and vegetal anchoring cinnamon and vanilla.
Out-of-the-gate, it doesn’t feel like 100% cab. I don’t think there’s *much* of much else, but a bit of CF or PV would go a long way defining this mouthfeel. It’s big. It’s bitter. It’s gloriously jammed with decadent black cherry and ripe pomegranate. It really drinks like a wine costing 3 or 4 times what I paid and I think ageability runs easily a decade. I would be hesitant to cellar into the 20-year realm only because of certain chubbiness, though the sting of acid and tannin votes otherwise. It’s rather well balanced–for a bruiser–and glimpses of eucalyptus and redwood detritus sing songs of love on the palate. Achingly dry in finish, the berry contained taking no breaks in its continuous display. I rather like this wine. I didn’t expect to like it this much, but it presents powerful arguments at every turn.
2019 VALRAVN Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County 14.5
Stephen McConnell 