3 Spells Cabernet Sauvignon – Magical

Once again, I’m breaking my own rules and writing about a wine that’s a little more expensive than my $20 target price.  Sorry about that.  On the bright side, it is a delicious wine.

This cabernet sauvignon comes from Spelletich Family Winery in Napa, California.  The wine, however, is from Sonoma Valley.

I’ve reviewed a few wines from Spelletich in the past.  It’s a small, family-run winery.  They don’t own any vineyards, but source their grapes from other growers.  They are in the winemaking business, not the growing business.  In addition to their own wines, they run a custom crush facility where they produce wines for others.

One of the things that makes Spelletich stand out to me is that they bottle on demand — meaning they’ll keep the wine in the barrel until they’re ready to sell it.  And they don’t sell their wines until they feel the wine is ready, which means they’ll often sell wines with a bit more age on them than you find from your average wine producer.  So while the price is a little more, you’re getting something different.

They also produce their wines in small batches.  They only made 200 cases of this cabernet sauvignon.

Another thing that makes Spelletich stand out to me is that their wines tend to taste awesome.  This one is no exception.

The wine is light in color for a cabernet sauvignon.  I might have guessed it to be a pinot noir based on the visuals.  But don’t let that make you think this wine is light.  The aromas offer intense blackberry, black currant, chocolate, coffee and spices. It’s very complex and wonderful.  The flavors are equally awesome.  It shows loads of blackberry, vibrant cherry, strawberry followed by chocolate covered cherries and a touch of spice.  The mouthfeel is beautifully creamy.  And the finish is long.  This is a fabulous wine.

Wine: 3 Spells Cabernet Sauvignon
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 14.5%
Rating: 92
Price: $30.00
Disclosure: This wine was received as a media sample.