Castle fare.
Recent work at U.C. Davis has shown that Cabernet Sauvignon is not actually as old as its ubiquity suggests. DNA fingerprinting indicates that Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between the more ancient Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet Sauvignon’s fame didn’t take off until the end of the 18th Century with the building of the grand chateaux in Bordeaux. When some California Cabernets outscored illustrious French estates in a well publicized tasting in Paris in 1973, every California wine farmer started imagining himself as a Baron and the "most noble black grape" was in California to stay. Unlike fruitier reds, Cabernet needs lots of time in barrel and bottle to age. It has a particularly large skin to pulp ratio and the skins are thick so the tannin level is exceptionally high. That’s why we waited so long to release this wine and we don’t even own a castle. Eight years have buffed the tannin’s patina leaving an intricate tapestry of tobacco, black pepper, boysenberry & licorice worthy of a royal household. Silver Medal winner.
A loyal Navarro fan phoned to tell us that he had slipped a 1986 Navarro Cabernet Sauvignon into a tasting of 9 Bordeaux wines. Of the ten wine savvy tasters, three ranked Navarro’s first, two placed it in second and three rated third of ten. Every opinion counts at Navarro.
