After getting off the plane from Germany, I felt like a nice glass of wine before heading to bed to sleep off the jet lag. I chose a bottle that I had picked up on a recent visit to Loxton Cellars earlier this spring. A relatively new winery, winemaker Christopher focuses on syrah and zinfandel (although he obviously makes a cabernet sauvignon, too!).
Loxton Cellars 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Buffalo Bluff Vineyard
Country of origin: USA
Region: California
Appellation: North Coast
Stats: 14.3% ABV, dry
Cost: $26 at the winery
Appearance: Inky garnet with just a hint of brick along the edge. Massive legs.
Aroma: Massive fruity blast of cherries and blackberries. Hint of chocolate and coconut.
Taste: The blast of fruit in the nose repeats in the mouth along with a tannin chaser. Big, massive cabernet that wakes up your senses. Relatively nicely balanced considering the alcohol levels.
Notes from the winemaker:
Buffalo Bluff is a steep hillside vineyard north of Calistoga. It gives me some of the smallest grape berries I’ve seen and the challenge of this dry-farmed hillside fruit is to tame how big the wine wants to be. Aged two years in barrel and one year in bottle, this is a full-throttle mountain Cab that screams for a good steak. Big wine, sweet fruit, grippy Cab tannins; it’s like chocolate covered cherries and should age well. 187 cases produced.
