2007 Cabernet VQA
The Vintage
The sunny, warm and dry 2007 vintage was fantastic for the grape varietals that benefit from longer ripening periods. More colour with higher concentration and sugars gave us the great Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes that made it into our debut wine. This is a vintage that will go down in the Niagara history books as a blockbuster year.
The Wine
We tasted a lot to get this bad boy together… and it was fun! Wanting to showcase the ripe fruit of the 2007 vintage, we decided to mostly use French oak barrels (three to be precise) rather than the more dominant American oak barrels (we used one barrel to add a bit more weight). We created the final blend after 18 months of barrel aging. The wine was then bottle aged from August 2009 until its release date on November 23, 2009. This DAREDEVIL is ready to drink now, but can also age for at least another 5 years.
What does it taste like? Well, think lots of red fruit, such as black cherry, ripe cassis and beautiful dark cocoa notes on both the nose and the palate of this big juicy red. Both the Franc and the Sauvignon add great characteristics of eucalyptus and a hint of mint which integrate well with the big mouth feel. The tannins are there, but they are well integrated, round and chewy. A lush warm finish carries all that fruit with a hint of the eucalyptus and a bit of licorice.
The Food
Think Big! Big roast, big steak, big dinner party! For example, try a coffee bean and black pepper dry rub on your favourite cut of steak or a great leg of lamb roast with some roasted herb potatoes. The wine will benefit from decanting before dinner if you have a few minutes to spare.
The Stats
| Production: | 200 six packs |
| Style: | Red Table Wine |
| Appellation: | Niagara Peninsula VQA |
| Blend: | 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Cabernet Franc |
| Alcohol: | 13% alc./vol. |
| Bottle Size: | 750ml |
| Bottle Price: | $ 36 |
