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 even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Chateau Marie Antionette.

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Mission Codename: Let them drink wine

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red down California’s Central Coast, in search of a delicious and representative Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Status: Accomplished

Current Winery: Chateau Marie Antionette

Wine Subject: 2003 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Marie and Bill Temple

Backgrounder: According to Thomas Jefferson, Marie Antionette may have been responsible for starting the French Revolution. While that may be true, the Marie Antionette Winery is far easier to love. Founded by Marie and Bill Temple, the wines that they produce run the gammut from casual daily drinkers to more sophisticated and refined gems. Their winemaking mission is to deliver wines of quality and distinction, without sending you to the poorhouse. Today Agent Red returns with one of their best wines, a special 2003 Reserve Cab. Read his tasting notes and mission report below.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep ruby red in color with a dark but still clear heart and solid color-concentration right out to the edges of the glass. The wine has a bouncy surface, but settles fast when swirled. The wine’s fat but tightly-spaced legs move down the glass very slowly

Smell – An initial hit of green pepper or chile relleno tells you that this is a Central Coast Cabernet, but right behind that big aromatics of red apple, cherry, blackberry and powdered chocolate round out the nose

Feel – Cool and smooth at the front of the mouth, then the wine’s medium tannins bite down softly on the mid-palate

Taste – Balanced and biggish flavors of dark cherry, black plum, dark chocolate and mildest green pepper with the a slight smoky herbal taste and light oak

Finish – Flavors last a long time here and the wine tails off with a mouth-watering acidity and soft to medium tannins

Conclusion – Central Coast Cabernet almost always share a vegital characteristic that fans of the region and the varietal really love. This wine certainly delivers the expected green pepper, but this is balanced by its fruit and the Merlot included within, which makes up 24% of the wines composition. If you have never tried a Central Coast Cab, please add this one to your must-imbibe list. If you are a fan of the Central Coast, this wine will surely please.

Mission Report:

“Qu’ils mangent de la vin!”

I awoke with a start. These words which rang clearly in my head were obviously French, but were beyond my comprehension.

Immediately, I grabbed for my Wine Spy Handheld, which allows me to check the mission status of any ongoing mission and to communicate with my other Agents in the field. I could see that our resident French expert, Agent Franc, was deep under cover in the Loire Valley in France, and so I could not reach him immediately. Instead, I queried our W.I.N.E. (Wine Internet Nexus Engine) and found that the phrase was actually a misquote. The original phrase, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”, originally attributed to Marie Antoinette, meant…

Wait a second! Marie Antoinette! I had overslept and would now be late to my appointment to meet with Marie Temple of Marie Antoinette Winery.

Dashing out the door I puzzled at my subconscious and its ability to dredge up an actual French phrase without my ever having learned more than a word or two of the language.

Fumbling for my keys, a voice called to me, “Hey, Red! Where are you off to? Need backup? Maybe I can provide cover for you!”

Agent Sparkle was a sight to behold. Even at this early hour she was dazzling, her flowing hair set slightly aloft in the morning breeze.

“Well?”, She said.

“Oh, sorry”, I replied. “Sure, hop in.”

15 minutes later we were in the parking lot of a local restaurant, a spot we sometimes use as a dead-drop or for trunk-to-trunk transfers of juice. I had arranged to meet Marie Temple here, to pick up samples for our review and analysis.

Marie arrived a minute later, husband and partner Bill in tow. The pair was jovial and exuberant, even this early in the morning. After a few minutes discussion, samples secured in my vehicle, we bid the pair adieu. On parting, I asked Marie if she had anything special to convey to our Operatives.

Her reply, “Qu’ils mangent de la vin!”