2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hall Wines
About this 2014 library level Cabernet Sauvignon: Part A . (Read) Part B: A library level bottle @ less than $100. Existential comparisons are fun. This bottle of California Cab is what we identify as a “library” wine, because it costs more than $ 40 per bottle but under $100. Also, elite and library wine pricing falls short of those designer or cult wines ranging from $ 1,000 and upwards per bottle. The average wine Joe, like me, asks, “Is that extra $ 50, $ 75 or $ 20 more I pay per bottle worth the difference of experiencing? Are elite wines that much better than a library level at $ 50 or $ 70 per bottle? Is the stretch from an everyday $ 15 bottle that noticeable? Wines are enjoyable, but is paying a lot more buying the consumer a lot more pleasure? Part C. (Read)
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Hall Wines “Waiter! Waiter! Is that a hare in my wine!” “Nein. Nein. Es ist ein springender Hase.” The wine maker invites you to join the chase. The label has a single hare leaping away. The “harey “question is, “If you’ve seen one rabbit, have you seen them all?” This is another Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It is a less expensive library level price-point wine. The Hall winery produces their wines mere few miles north of the Chateau Montelena Winery, which produced the elite Cab specimen. Worth noting: both wineries offer wine selections priced above $400 per bottle. Continuing the comparison: the ’14 Hall Winery Cab bottle cost is $ 45.00. The nose was light spice/cinnamon, and then there is a complexity of current, pepper, and mineral. Drinking more glasses found some black berry, tobacco, and a tannin nutmeg finish. The bottle has a genuine cork for lengthy cellar storage. Of interest, leaving the wine rest in our wine refrigerator overnight caused it to mellow. Next day’s tasting was smoother with the fruit moving forward. This “ ein springender Hase” would serve better decanted. I did enjoy the elite Cab a “hare” better over the library wine. On the plus side, I can afford 2 bottles library Hall winery wines compared one elite $100+ bottle.
