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What We Say 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
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 Burgess Vineyard.
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: We declare today’s wine to be the brightest and tastiest of all the 2004 Napa Cabs we have tasted to date, making this wine a stellar choice.
ALLOCATION ALERT!: Today’s wine is our fastest-selling wine ever. Be sure to take advantage of this offer – before we run out!
SAVINGS ALERT!: Enjoy FREE Ground Shipping with your purchase of 6 or more bottles when you use coupon code: CABSPY at checkout
Mission Codename: The Western Slopes
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: React to the flood of reports that Burgess Vineyard has a standout Napa Valley Syrah. If valid, secure an ample supply for our Operatives
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Burgess Vineyard
Wine Subject: 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Bill Sorenson
Backgrounder: Our Operatives just can’t seem to get enough 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa Cabs have become a favorite and its no surprise. If the 2004 vintage was a banner year for California Cab, then Napa take it to a whole new level, delivering wines of remarkable distinction and beauty. Today, we are honored to bring you a superb 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Burgess Vineyard. Read Agent Reds tasting notes and mission report below, and be sure to take advantage of our Free Ground Shipping offer. We’ll ship the wine to you for free, with your purchase of 6 or more bottles. Enjoy!
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep garnet to ruby at the edges, with great clarity through its deep, dark heart. The wine also has a pronounced spring to its surface and it leaves behind slow-moving legs that crawl slowly down the glass
Smell – Beautifully aromatic with layers of rich and bright mountain fruit. Present in refined abundance are blueberry, spicy blackberry, black currant and smoky plum with a fresh spice component
Feel – Supple and wet and big, mouth-coating with great soft to medium all-over-mouth tannins
Taste – Delicious layers of flavors, including dark mixed berry, cherry, spice, plum and
Finish – Hugely Juicy and rich, mouth-coating, delicious and supple, with soft tannins and flavors that go on and on forever. This delicious wine makes your mouth water and begs that you drink more of it!
Conclusion – Of all of the ’04s we have had the great fortune to taste of late, this remarkable gem from Burgess absolutely exudes brightness, fun and boldly delicious flavors. This is no overbearing Napa Cab as some tend to be. Instead, what you get with this wine is a brilliantly balanced wine with just the right amount of gusto, and fruit that jumps right out of the glass, enlivening your senses and reminding you of just how great a great wine can be.
Mission Report:
In which Agent Red has enjoyed a few glasses of today’s 2004 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon – and finds himself waxing poetic. Or does he?
An Ode to Burgess and their fanTAStic 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Millenial
Generational
Dedication
Preservation
Your wines appeal
they make us feel
a connection
to the Mountain Howell
Maceration
Vinification
Fermentation
Mere words
The true soul of your wine shines
in the tall pours that I desire
Succulent
Juicy
Delicious
Bright fruit
Deep roots
Your ’04 Cab is beyond compare
_In which Agent Cuvee, sensing that Agent Red is not the Pablo Neruda of wine, steps in and stops Agent Red from writing any more poetry.
Okay, Red, put down the pen and go get some rest. I got this one.
Greeting Dear Operatives. Agent Red had to, umm, leave. I’m taking over this briefing.
All of us here at Wine Spies Central Command agree: Bill Sorenson is a winemaker of remarkable talent. All of his wines shine with a uniqueness and distinctiveness and all of his wines taste great. The fantastic Howelll Mountain fruit grown on the Burgess estate doesn’t hurt, either.
We recently had the great fortune to taste through all of his current release red wines and it was his Cab that really stood out as our favorite. With bright fruit, a tender mouth feel and a rich finish, this wine is not a massive monster Cab that bullies your senses. This is a refined wine that is real pleasure to spend quality time with.
During our tasting, we found ourselves discussing this wine at length. It was really interesting to pull apart and describe in detail all of the aromas and flavors that the wine conveys. With its bright acidity, we suspect that the wine would pair nicely with most anything. We were hoping to enjoy it with the meal we had planned for later that evening, but Agent Red seemed to have enjoyed most of the remaining bottle, leaving none for our dinner. Alas. At least it led to some poetry that we can tease him about – once he returns from his latest mission!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the lush Howell Mountain, in Napa, can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Burgess Cellars
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Burgess Cellars, Member, Napa Valley Vintners
About This Wine:
This wine was produced from our winery vineyard on the western-side of Howell mountain. The vines were replanted in the 70’s and now show a high level of maturity and consistency. These qualities are further enhanced by the western facing location. We use the most modern fermentation concept of horizontal rotary fermenters to extract all the positive components and manage tannin extraction.
Winemaker’s Comments:
This vintage was close to our normal harvest dates. Our mountain-side vineyards are always 2 – 3 weeks ahead of the Valley floor because of their excellent drainage which moves the entire growing season ahead. The wine shows the complexity of the five-varietal blend. The vintage of 2004 was marked by nearly ideal conditions throughout. This means the fruit from our vineyard, which normally has a spicy personality, is more towards the bright fruit character. The flavors are concentrated and the finish has a lingering effect. All the aromas are in balance with the wine’s 100% French oak barrel aging influence.
About The Winery:
Burgess Cellars, located on the slopes of Howell Mountain in Napa Valley, focuses on creating exceptional, hand-crafted estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Syrah.
Burgess traces its origins to an original winery on the property in the 1880’s. Since 1972, Napa Valley pioneer Tom Burgess and his family have followed the belief that it is vital to grow only those varietals ideally suited to a particular vineyard’s soil composition, sun and wind exposure, and overall micro-climate. The French refer to this as “terroir,” and it certainly explains the consistent aromas and flavors found in the hillside Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon.
Over the years three distinct estate vineyard sites have been cultivated and nurtured to create the very best handcrafted wines. The Burgess flagship wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, thrives on the western slopes of Howell Mountain near the winery; Merlot is ideally suited to the Triere Vineyard on the Napa Valley floor in the Oak Knoll AVA just south of Yountville; Syrah is perfectly matched to conditions in the estate vineyard site on the eastern slope of Howell Mountain.
Burgess is somewhat unique in the Napa Valley today, in that it is truly a family-owned winery which has employed the same gifted winemaker, Bill Sorenson, since the winery’s re-birth in 1972.
Technical Analysis:
Vintage: 2004
Appellation: Napa Valley, California
Vineyard location: Burgess Winery Vineyard – St. Helena
Grape Variety: 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec
Alcohol: 13.9%
pH: 3.64
T.A.: 0.58
Fermentation: 100% Malolactic
