Cadence Tapteil Vineyard Red Mountain 07
Ben Smith, a former Boeing engineer, and his wife, Gaye McNutt, created Cadence Winery in Seattle. The couple produces small quantities of Bordeaux blends with big, luscious flavors, lots of fruit and spice.
Wine Advocate 92 points!
"The 2007 Taptiel Vineyard is composed of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cabernet Franc, and 11% Merlot aged in 40% new French oak for 18 months. Aromas of mineral, damp earth, herbs, sage, cassis and black currant lead to a medium to full-bodied wine with incipient complexity. Savory, smooth-textured, well-balanced, and with enough structure to evolve for 3-4 years, this firm, lengthy offering will be in its prime from 2013 to 2027."
From the winery -
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot.
This is our tenth bottling of Larry and Jane Pearson’s superb vineyard, and a wonderful decade has it been! Altogether deeper black fruit than Ciel du Cheval combined with a powerful sense of Tapteil dust, a signature trait of this vineyard. There is a solid core of massive blackberry and black plum fruit.
The freshness of the vintage is present in the slight orange peel accents on the palate. The tannins are typically Tapteil: big, ripe, long and dense. This needs a steak like fish need water. - the winery
Previous Vintage Tasting Notes
Cadence Tapteil 05 received 93 points from Wine Advocate (Parker) 7/08. They said "There are only 250 cases of the 2005 Taptiel Vineyard, sourced from a site planted in 1985, and which yielded only 1.2 tons of fruit per acre in this superb vintage. The wine is made up of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Franc. Purple-colored, it exhibits an enticing perfume of wood smoke, tobacco, clove, cinnamon, and black currants. This leads to a full-bodied wine with layers of spicy flavors, a sense of elegance, and a long, pure, fruit-filled finish. It should deliver peak drinking between 2012 and 2025."
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc. Our 20 year old block of Tapteil Cabernet Sauvignon yielded a meager 1.2 tons per acre in 2005! The berries were the smallest I’ve ever measured – 0.89 grams per tiny berry. The tactile feel of this wine can best be described as a tightly coiled spring; the power, intensity, depth, breadth and length of the palate is remarkable. Only 240 cases produced.
Wine Spectator rating 93 points (3-26-07):
"Polished, open-textured and refined, this is generous with red currant, raspberry,
black cherry and dusky spice aromas and flavors. Supple texture and graceful structure make it a winner. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2014." -H.S.
