Every once in a while you run into a winery like this… few and far between these days, with all the blingy hi-octane bigger-is-better event-center offerings with curated reservation-only tastings and club-offerings at 3 or 4 times the price. And then you take a step back in time to where no-name people churn out classic bottles in a no-frills setting and… they… just… WORK. People not concerned with being in glossy WINERIES OF [wherever] coffee-table books of in the bought-critics’ top lists of 110-point wines. Drove by this place a million times and it’s just doesn’t have the kind of curb-appeal demanding a visit. But visit you should. Aside from their meaningful roster of current pours, there’s a backlog of perfectly-aged vintages ripe for the taking. I guarantee Jeb Dunnick has never reviewed this wine. The clicks just aren’t there.
Ruddy ruby in the glass, a modicum of bricking apparent but delicious in vision and clarity. The nose screams off great peals of minty briar and polished tertiary, the earthy nuances laid down thick on berry both deep and stellar of clarity. You could smell this wine forever.
In the mouth, smooth graciousness places itself against a harsh background of prickly spice, and cabernet–especially deeply-aged cabernet–places itself on a platform at 20 years somewhat difficult to describe. Younger versions you can pick apart this and that and every detail, but with age, the whole thing runs into a glorious melange of beauty where individual aspects meld seamlessly into a *whole* quite magical to experience. I don’t think any other variety does it with quite such aplomb. Brash and abrasive while delicious and uplifting, it dries out in finish with stellar power, compelling consideration for a shocking nearly ageless decree. GET IT.
2005 HUNT CELLARS ‘Bon Vivant’ Cabernet Sauvignon Destiny Vyd Derek Heights Section Paso Robles 13.9
Stephen McConnell 