Something Special
It’s not every year that Paul Frankel at Sculpterra makes a “Reserve” wine. The 2016 Cabernet Reserve was bottled in February 2018, and the arrival of those bottles in the tasting room prompted me to open up a bottle of the last Reserve release to find out how it’s tasting.
Cabernet Sauvignon was the first varietal planted here at Sculpterra, and it can be found in various soil types and elevations throughout the 260-acre property. A selection of fruit from two low-yielding blocks really stood out in 2013, and that’s what went into making this wine. The 16 months of ageing involved a selection of extra-fine grain American oak barrels.
Tasting Notes
Deep ruby colour. A little dusty and purple at the edge
On first opening, aromas were fairly indistinct, with wood and alcohol. Given an hour in a decanter though, this wine really opened up.
Medium+ intensity ripe blackberry, suede leather, vanilla, allspice, and a little smoke.
Rich and full-bodied on the palate, with flavours of blackberry, cherry, and cinnamon-clove spice.
Prevailing, medium+ tannin shows this wine still has some time in front of it, while the medium acidity shows off the fruit nicely. The finish is long, dry and complex.
Conclusion
This wine is now only available at the Sculpterra tasting room in the form of a few Magnum-sized bottles, so I’m glad I still have a few in my Danby wine fridge for future consumption. Given how it’s tasting now, I’ll try to resist opening any more for another 2 or 3 years, maybe more. Let’s see how that goes…
Come to the tasting room if you want one of those last remaining Magnums for $150, or ask about the 2016 vintage. I’m trying to hold off on tasting that one until closer to the official release, but somehow I expect I’ll cave in the not too distant future. Watch this space!
Click here to visit the Sculpterra Winery website, and here to shop for Cabernet Sauvignon on Wine.com.
If you would like to find out more about how I got into wine, here’s a blog post about it.
Darren
A preview of the 2016 Reserve wines