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Did you purchase the 2004 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon from me when I named it the "Best Cabernet Value of the Year" at the end of 2006? PROOF is in the bottle! Lucky you, if there is any remaining in your cellar. This would be a great time to retaste and discover how this vineyard is indeed a special place! Not to mention, the wine remains an absolute BARGAIN!
Over the last ten years a land rush for vineyard sites by the "Who's Who" of Napa and Sonoma wineries has occurred in the Red Hills AVA. Extending into Lake Country at the northern end of the Mayacamas Mountain range separating Napa from Sonoma, the appellation is aptly named for its steeply inclined volcanic burnt orange-red soils. Situated at a lofty 2,640 ft. elevation, Obsidian Ridge Vineyard is a former walnut orchard profusely littered with behemoth to shard sizeed black volcanic glass. When we recently sampled the just released 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon in a tasting last week at San Francisco's Jardinere restaurant, a stunning 40 pound specimen of polished black obsidian from the vineyard was being proudly displayed on the tasting table.
The wine was pretty damn stunning too! A real black beauty! In January the highly regarded San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition awarded the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon "Best of Class" & "Judge's Choice". Yes, Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is now receiving overdue recognition from the wine world.
I will be the first to admit, the wine needs decanting and aeration! You can speed up the process by vigorously exchanging the wine back-and-forth from one decanter to the next 3 or 4 times. Even give it a good shaking for a few seconds! And repeat again. Sediment is not the issue at this early stage, but the wine's aromas are "closed", or a little shy when first opened and need some coaxing. Or as I like to say, decant at breakfast to have for dinner!
This wine is far more than the obvious black cherry-cassis fruit component found in a formidable Cabernet Sauvignon (97%). Entwined with the fruit aromas are nuances of black leather, or boot polish; call it a loamy minerality. Hints of dried herbs, maybe fennel (?), a lick of black licorice, and a touch of bark spice, all add to the intrigue. The wine's heft is full on the palate, intense, but not ponderous. Fresh and balanced. Ample, but integrated tannins help define the varietal character that should be found in youthful Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 18 months in 50% new Kádár Hungarian oak.
THE REAL DEAL! In 2007 the Red Hills AVA was stressed by dry heat and winds towards the end of the growing season. Because of Obsidian Ridge's high elevation and exposure, its unusually extreme diurnal temperature range (colder nights and hot days) was key to providing the extra hangtime needed to gain unprecedented physiological ripeness, while maintaining natural acid balance in the fruit.
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