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Mission Codename: Uncle Ned

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red back to Peterson Winery the retrieve their 2009 2-4-6 Bradford Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, the successor to the wildly popular 1-2-3 Bradford Cabernet.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Peterson Winery

Wine Subject: 2009 “2-4-6 Cab” – Bradford Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Jamie Peterson

Backgrounder: Our Operatives know just how much we love Peterson Winery, its people and its fantastic wines. Truly, this winery has become a Wine Spies favorite. The father and son team of Fred and Jamie Peterson have been making wines in the Dry Creek Valley for, well, forever. 100% of today’s wine comes from their own Bradford Mountain Vineyard. Bradford Mountain wines are also among our most popular, with a recent offering becoming our best-selling Zinfandel of all time. Wines from Bradford Mountain are simply stupendous and wines from Peterson Winery are spectacular. This makes today’s wine a wine to pay close attention to – and acquire, immediately.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep, dark garnet with a dense and darkening heart. The color is evenly concentrated, right out to the very edge of the glass, where a band of magenta cuts a fine band around the wine. After a good swirl, the wine settles quickly, leaving behind tall, skinny, tightly-spaced legs that move very slowly downward.

Smell – Dark and lush, with blackberry, cassis, blueberry and nutty toasted oak. These are supported by an under-layer of black cherry, black plum and cocoa powder.

Feel – Crushed velvet on entry, this wine quickly takes on a medium to full-bodied feel as plush, semi-firm tannins drive a mineral-rich dryness around the palate. Bright acids provide a wonderful counterpoint, giving the wine an integrated and balanced overall feel.

Taste – Bright and layered, with a cascade of black and red fruit that are supported by earthen flavors. In front, juicy red cherry, young strawberry and dried cranberry provide an initial tartness. These flavors are followed by blackberry juice, dried dark flower petals, cocoa powder, dried fall leaves and softest spice.

Finish – Initially juicy, with tart red fruit flavors giving way to darker flavors of mixed dark berry and plum. As the fruit gradually fades, cocoa and dark earthy flavors persist, ushering in a subtle hint of spice at the very end.

Conclusion – Today’s budget-minded Cabernet Sauvignon gives more expensive Cabs a real run for their money! Juicy, delicious, and bursting with flavors and lush aromas, this very approachable wine delivers a really balanced drinking experience. Pair as you would any Cabernet. We enjoyed our review bottles with a very rare New York Strip steak, rubbed with garlic, sea salt and pepper. The combination was simply divine.

Please note that this wine drinks well above its price class, earning it our very hearty recommendation!

Mission Report:

WINEMAKER INTERVIEW

AGENT RED: Please tell me a little bit about the wine we are featuring today.

JAMIE PETERSON: This wine is very exciting for all of us here. It is from the first crop of replanted Cabernet vines from or Estate Bradford Mountain Vineyard after removing the Phylloxera affected vines in 2006. We chose to put the fun, light hearted Cab 2-4-6 label on the bottle to reflect the easy going nature of the wine inside. Very serious in flavor complexity, and overall enjoyability, and never heavy or over extracted. The 2-4-6 of course is simply how many cases we produced of it. Also, it can be a sobriety check to ask how many fingers are being held up on the bottle….

RED: What is your favorite pairing with today’s wine?

JAMIE: With this Cabernet, I prefer rich but not heavy food. A pork tenderloin with a herb/spice dry rub, grilled or oven roasted, with a side of potato au gratin. For vegetarian friends, I think it would go great with an eggplant parmesan. The lovely acidity really lends itself to pairing with a wider range of food than many California Cabernet wines.

RED: In your opinion, what makes the Dry Creek Valley so special?

JAMIE: The Dry Creek Valley features and amazing array of soil types and exposures for such a geographically small area, leading to a diverse range of flavors and subtleties in wines, for many different varietals, or even of the same varietal. Also our weather pattern (most years) lends itself to perfectly ripening the many varieties we produce. Warm sunny days followed by cool nights allow grapes to ripen while retaining natural acidity and freshness.

RED: What is occupying your time at the winery these days?

JAMIE: We’ve recently bottled our 2011 Rose and Sauvignon Blanc, and are starting on 2010 red wines. We’re keeping an eye on 2011 reds and starting to look at blends. The vines are starting to wake up and we’ll be hoping for nice, warm spring weather for their healthy growth.

RED: Thank you, Jamie, as always!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Peterson Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.