Building the '09 Red Brick

Red Brick Cellars, Vintner's Select Cabernet Sauvignon has been our value-priced house brand California Cab since the late 1990's. There have been several Red Brick label designs -- we're debuting Dave Griffin's version with the '09 later this summer (see below).

Possibly the most painful (not just Red Brick) label ever was an indecipherable black line drawing of a brick pizza oven -- it looked more like a poorly executed tattoo -- on a yellow background, with no red in it at all, and vintner's spelled incorrectly, but the gurus of the time felt they saved on printing costs!

We devote a significant amount of work to getting our house brands right re: price/value ratio, and when based in Napa, the heart of Cabernet country, spiritual and ancestral home of the American wine business, the stakes are much, much higher.

The last few years we assembled this wine at Stonehedge Winery, with vintner Shahin Shahabi and winemaker Jon Alexander-Hills, whom we run ragged as we pillage their tanks and barrels in pursuit of the optimum blend for our clients.

Representative Red Brick awards since Stonehedge earned "Red Brick rights" include:

• 2006 vintage, bronze, 2010 World Wine Championships.
• 2005 vintage, silver 2008 New World International Wine Competition and silver, highly recommended, best buy 2008 World Wine Championships.
• 2004 vintage, bronze, 2007 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition.

No one on the current team wants to be the first to break the medal chain, so to speak. My sometimes-less-than-flattering, most recent "road to the 09 Red Brick" notes, nastiness that's rarely made public, follow.

March 22, 2010:
08 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Brilliant garnet.
• Perfumed brown over red fruits nose, as much leather, lavender and tree bark as berries.
• Soft, supple and pretty, with up front tannins.
• Want more heft, extraction and power -- right now it's too balanced and pretty...

April 23, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (base wine Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Thought I was receiving re-blended 08?
• Too translucent garnet.
• Herbaceous, jammy, juicy cassis/currant nose.
• Delicate and pretty, but insubstantial and one-dimensional cassis/currant flavors.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (final blend Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Thought I was receiving re-blended 08?
• Murky garnet.
• Herbaceous, meaty pepper/currant/cassis nose, some vanillin.
• Heft and feel OK, want more "textbook" varietal fruit extraction and am nervous re: the potential life span.
• Needs more extraction and structure -- need to "feel" the wine a bit more...

May 7, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, (93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Somewhat translucent garnet to brick.
• Slightly meaty currant/cassis nose, with lavender and vanilla hints.
• Somewhat extracted, earth, tannic red and brown fruit flavors.
• Need more color, weight and heft.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California, (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Inky garnet.
• Black and brown fruits nose -- pepper, leather and earth over currant/cassis.
• Brawny, lush, hefty, textural black fruits flavors, chocolate hints.

Follow up on at 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petite Sirah...

May 21, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Petite Sirah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Purple garnet.
• Floral, concentrated, gutsy cassis/currant nose.
• Varietal fruit, ripe, round tannins plus brawn -- black earth, spice and tar.

09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Syrah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Garnet-to-brick.
• Refined varietal fruit nose, elegant and balanced.
• As it smells, supple, accessible, beginner-friendly.

Either '09 Stonehedge is good enough to become Red Brick, am requesting 8% Petite + 8% Syrah to see if we can further bring out the best of both samples...

May 26, 2010:
09 Stonehedge Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, California (84% Cabernet, 8% Petite Sirah, 8% Syrah Red Brick Cellars submission).

• Inky, almost opaque garnet.
• Meaty, earthy brown and black fruits notes beneath the currant/cassis nose.
• Supple but gutsy extracted varietal fruit supported by ripe, round, up front tannins.
• Accessible but serious, also covers the "only can feel rather than taste" Cabernet users.
• Serious, follow up on...

Please be on the lookout later this summer for CAL921, '09 Red Brick Cellars, Vintner's Select Cabernet Sauvignon, California, now that you know the brick-by-brick story of its construction. (Sorry, can't resist bad puns.)