If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Sol Rouge.

Top Secret Exclusive

Today’s wine from Sol Rouge is only available to club members on a very limited basis and is also a very small production wine. The Wine Spies has secured a few cases for availability to the general public. This is an exceptional wine so be sure to grab a few bottles before it is gone.

Mission Codename: A Higher Purpose

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Determine if higher elevation Cabernet Sauvignons from Napa are equal to their valley brethren.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Sol Rouge

Wine Subject: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Bryan Kane

Backgrounder:

Sol Rouge began as the passion of Bryan and Jill Kane’s to create the most expectional and complex Bordeaux and Rhone varietal wines. Not being satisfied with what was available, Bryan and Jill create thier exceptional wines with only the best fruit, a high elevation terroir, and a true artisan process. When you taste this wine, you’ll agree that their’s is the only way to make great wines.

This Cabernet in particular comes from grapes grown at Napa Valley’s most famous vineyards. The Beckstoffer To-Kalon and Dr. Crane Vineyards supply the grapes to only the best wines of Napa. Andy Beckstoffer has been farming his vineyards since 1969 and the To-Kalon vineyard dates back to the 1860s. With over 1000 acres planted in Napa and another 1100 in Lake County Beckstoffer supplies over 50 wineries.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark purple, almost black. Inky in clarity with thick robust tear drops and viscosity that hints at its mouthfeel and taste qualities.

Smell – Great nose of sweet and ripe fruit, slightly jammy in aroma with blackberries and tart black cherry, which then evolves to ripe raspberry and a touch of oak and earth.

Feel – Exceptionally smooth but rich and full-bodied with a tannic structure that hits mid palate.

Taste – Balanced fruit, toasted cedar and oak, a hint of spice and black licorice. Take your time to explore this wine as it has much to reveal.

Finish – A long and full finish that you would expect from a top-notch Cabernet.

Conclusion – Bryan Kane has made another exceptional wine. If you love Napa Cabernets, this is a must try. With only 50 cases produced, it is absolutely a boutique wine, but because you are an Wine Spy, this wine is accessible. Stock up on this one, it has solid cellaring potential.

Mission Report:

Dateline: November 2007 – Cuvee Restaurant, Beverly Hills… I was sitting in by neighborhood coffee shop/bistro enjoying a double espresso as I tried to take the edge off the previous night’s marathon wine tasting. As I was reviewing my tasting notes, I noted a young gentleman walk in with a couple splits of wine in hand. Odd, I though, since the guy looked more like a computer programmer than wine drinker.

Not paying too much attention, since Cuvee sells quite a bit of wine I went back to my business. This man, and as I would soon find out, winemaker, sat at the table next to me and carefully placed his splits on the table with the label exposed in my direction. He must have noticed me scoping out his wine as we asked me if I was a fan of wine. Keeping my cool, I calmly said “sure- I enjoy a glass or two every now and then”, as I played dumb, so not to blow my cover.

This inquisitive person turned out to be Bryan Kane, one of the winemakers for Sol Rouge. Suspecting my cover had already been blown, I decided to make the best of the situation and I explained I was a wine spy. “I Know” Bryan said. “What gave it away”, I responded. “The pile of tasting notes, plus the fact that Agent Red said you’d be here, it doesn’t take a covert op to find you”, as he laughed smugly.

With pleasantries aside, Bryan began to tell me the story of Sol Rouge. How, he and his wife Jill had a passion for exceptional wines, that they were starting a new label and wanted to do it right, with only the best grapes from the best vineyards to complement the fruit from their newly formed high-elevation estate.

The one detail that caught my attention most, was Bryan’s passion and enthusiasm for great wine. They had a clear vision of what they wanted to create and with the best grapes, exceptional production and attention to the details they succeeded. Bryan and Jill Kane’s enthusiasm and passion is clearly evident when you taste this wine. With grapes from the famed Beckstoffer To-Kalon (which also happens to be the oldest vineyard in Napa) and Dr. Crane Vineyard this wine is comparable to Napa’s best Cabernets, at today, we have a special at one-third the price.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Sol Rouge Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.