SUPERIOR WINE ALERT:

Today’s selection is made from fruit from some of Napa Valley’s best vineyards. The same vineyards of the Cult Cab’s, but through TOP SECRET negotiations with the winery we are able to bring you today’s superior wine at an equally superior price.

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Mission Codename: Two-Hundred-Buck Chuck? Buck That!

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Obtain a distinct Napa Valley Cult Cab made with grapes from the best Napa vineyards.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Sol Rouge Vineyard & Winery

Wine Subject: 2006 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Bryan Kane

Backgrounder:

We all love Napa’s Cult Cabs, with many receiving the top ratings, awards and accolades, we deserved in every sense of the word, but at prices of $100-200, and often times much more, the are difficult to justify in these difficult economic times. This is the motivation behind our mission today. We’re not quite sure how he did it, but Bryan Kane of Sol Rouge Vineyard and Winery has again acquired limited allocations of some of this amazing fruit including grapes from Beckstoffer’s Dr. Crane Vineyard and To Kalon Vineyard as well as a vineyard in Howell Mountain and a vineyard shared with one of the 8 Cult Wines of Napa Valley.

In today’s selection, we’ve been negotiating with the winery to be able to offer you this exception, and extremely small production wine, at an unbelievable one-day only price. Once this wine gets out into the mainstream, it will be gone fast. This is your chance to stock up for your own Cult Cellar Collection.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep and dark purple with a blackish and slightly inky core. The color concentration of this wine extends through to the edges and when swirled clusters of slow legs hang on the edge until they streak down the side of the glass under their own weight.

Smell – Medium in intensity with ripe and plush aromas of ripe blueberry as well as hints of strawberry and raspberry jam. Layered underneath the fruit are earthy notes, hints of black licorice, baking spices and a tiny floral component.

Feel – This full-bodied wine has a surprisingly smooth attack with with easy acidity and smooth supple tannins that becomes almost creamy in texture as it opens.

Taste -Ripe and concentrated fresh blueberry leads off the array of rich red fruit including hints of plum and blackberry flavors that are layered over a subtle foundation of baking spice, mild vanilla oak and touches of earthiness and classic Cabernet herbal components.

Finish -This wine finishes clean and of medium length with lingering aromas and flavors of blueberry, vanilla-toasted oak and spice.

Conclusion – The 2006 Sol Rouge Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is an exceptionally delicious wine with an sublime, almost sentimental, home-made blueberry pie quality to it. Fresh and ripe fruit with hints of baking spice and vanilla. Easy to drink and enjoy and with a mouth-feel that delivers without being overpowering, this is a fun wine that also has a well polished complexity about it and a fantastic value as well!

Mission Report:

Below is a recap of how Agent WHite first met Bryan Kane and was introduced to Sol Rouge Vineyard and Winery:

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 Vineyard & Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.