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Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Hall Estate Napa Cabernet 06-13

Hall Estate Napa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 vs 2013

For a family dinner during our week in our Corolla vacation home, we had pasta with meat sauce and a pair of Hall Estate Napa Cabernets. Son Ryan brought a 2013 vintage and I brought a 2006 for a comparison tasting.

The visit and Appellation Tasting at the Hall Rutherford Estate was a highlight of both of our Napa Valley wine trips earlier this year.

Hall Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Here is a great example of deeper insights and appreciation of a pair of wines or vintages of the same wine through a comparison tasting. This revealed subtle but marked differences, perhaps attributable to the different vintages, and/or perhaps somewhat attributable to seven years of additional aging.

While both vintages exhibited the same dark garnet color, medium full body and firm intense blackberry core, the 2013 was more obtuse with an edge to it with notes of alcohol heat with notes of camphor and graphite, that may soften over time. In comparison, the 2006 was smooth, more polished and more approachable. The '13 was accented by a layer of black cherry fruit with hints of the black raspberry tones more predominant in the '06. Both exhibited tones of spicy cinnamon with hints of dark mocha, turning to firm lingering tannins on the finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/notes.asp?iWine=2289056

Hall Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

My Cellartracker records indicated we've consumed eight of the baker's dozen we acquired of this vintage of this wine and shows five tasting notes to date. It was revealing and interesting to taste aside the younger more recent '13 vintage of this same wine - a mini-horizontal* tasting.

Same as earlier tasting note: Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, a symphony of flavors accented by bold expressive black berry and black raspberry fruits with highlights of anise and mocha with tones of cedar, sweet toasty oak and clove spice and hints of earthy leather turning to a smooth polished lingering finish.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=761928

http://www.hallwines.com/visit/winery-experiences/rutherford-tours



* Horizontal tasting - a comparison tasting of multiple vintages of the same wine or wine having the same characteristics.