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 Camellia Cellars.

Mission Codename: The flower power hour

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Locate a true Sonoma County artisan red wine, worthy of our Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Camelia Cellars

Wine Subject: 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemakers: Ray Lewand and Bruce Snyder

Backgrounder:

Today, Central Command throw Agent Red a bone by sending him to one of his favorite wine-producing regions in California, Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, where the Wine Spies have been receiving reports that a small artisan winery called Camellia Cellars was producing a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon. Read his mission report below for full details on today’s exceptional wine.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark garnet with a deep core of dark violet, a springy surface, pink edges, think legs and small flecks of grit left on the inside of the swirled glass

Smell – Concentrated fruit notes of blackberry, deep cherry, cassis and plum, with undertones of cafe mocha, veggie pate, subtle smoked red red meats and mildest potting soil

Feel – Ultra-light weight on the tongue, wet and cool, mouth-coating and supple, with soft to medium tannins and balanced acidity

Taste – Beautifully layered flavors of cherry, raspberry, burnt toffee, toasted oak and soft musk

Finish – Long and lingering with palate-cleansing acidity, supple tannins and flavors that taper elegantly

Conclusion – On the surface this is classic California Cabernet Sauvignon. However, just under the surface this wine really comes alive, revealing such a wonderful and elegant character. This is the sort of wine that tells you a great deal about who made it – and from where it sprang. Alexander Valley and the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County (where the fruit for this wine was grown) continue to be among my very favorites, producing wines of remarkable individuality and great character. Winemaker Bruce Snyder and grower Chris Lewand deserve special recognition for this particular wine; together they have crafted a very special treat.

Mission Report:

Ouch! That bottle fell right onto my head. I can’t believe that this bottle shop could be so careless with the way they stacked their bottles in this display!

As I reach up to feel the lump on the top of my head, I catch a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. I spin around to see two figures burst through the doors of the store. The urgency on their faces tells me to brace myself for trouble.

“We’re here for Agent Red,” One of the men shouts. “He needs to come with us now.”

Bravely, so as to keep others in the store from harm, I yell, “I’m Red. Who are you?”

“My authentication word of today is Medoc!”, one of the men says with great seriousness.

Medoc is a district in France’s Bordeaux region where Cabernet Sauvignon is prominently grown. The authentication word is accurate and I follow the men through the doors… and into the burgundy-colored helicopter waiting in the street.

Once on board, Agent White barks orders to the chopper’s pilot and we are airborne. Wasting no words, White concisely and severely lays out the scenario for me: Wine-hating Oeno-terrorists group D.W.I.N.D.L.E. (Destroy Wine, Imbibe Noxious Drinks Like Ethanol) has threatened to render Cabernet Sauvignon grapes unsuitable for vinification by releasing a gene which destroys the grapes inherent good qualities. Their plan is to release a cloud of this gene in an invisible carrier-gas, first over Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley, and then other of California’s Cabernet-famous regions.

Dry Creek Valley is where Camellia Cellars – where today’s mission was to take me – happens to be. With any luck, I would save Camellia, the Dry Creek Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon!

Suddenly an explosion rocks the helicopter and I am blown out of the open door and find myself free falling toward the neat vineyard rows below. Without losing my cool, I pull the ripcord on my parachute (good thing I had the foresight to wear one under my tuxedo before leaving Central Command earlier this morning) and float gently to the ground.

Unfortunately, a sudden gust of wind ruins what would have been a pristine landing, and blows me toward a tree.

(blackness)

I wake to find myself in a hospital bed and I realize I am not alone in the room. Standing by the bed is Agent White and two people that I slowly come to recognize from briefing photos I had studied earlier in the day; Camellia winemaker, Bruce Snyder, and grower, Chris Lewand, are here with a bottle of their Cabernet Sauvignon in hand. Smiles are splashed across all three faces.

Agent White says, “You dummy. The bottle shop called me. They told me that you bumped a wine display and caused an avalanche of bottles to cascade down on your head. You’re lucky you got off with just a few bumps and bruises.”

“The way you were carrying on, it sounds like you were having some interesting dreams,” Bruce adds.

I look up at them, laugh nervously, and, pointing at the wine bottle, say, “I hope you brought a corkscrew. I have to see if I saved Cabernet!”

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Lencioni Vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo.