Buehler Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
We heated up left over steaks from the other night and I pulled this casual sipper from the cellar. I wrote about this label back at the beginning of the year in these pages when I posted the following:
A long time producer of modest offerings, this is one of those situations where '
all boats rise with the tide',
in a top rated vintage, second and third labels or so rank producers
can produce wines above their usual pay grade or weight class, whatever
metaphor you wish to apply. Buehler also produce two premium label Cabernets from their reserve selections and a single vineyard designated
label.
Buehler Vineyards estate has been producing wine in the Napa Valley
for over four decades under the direction of the Buehler Family.
Buehler have three hundred acres five miles east of St Helena situated
high in the mountains above Conn Valley and near the base of Howell
Mountain. The Buehler Estate vineyards are planted primarily to Cabernet
Sauvignon and some Zinfandel.
The mountain terroir has a
topography of steeply sloped hillsides with eastern exposures against
very gently sloping hills with southern and southwestern exposures. The
soils reveal the tumultuous geologic past of the Estate; extensive
faulting resulted in at least three distinct soil types.
Grapes
grown on the different terrains and soils give different characteristics
to the finished wines; often as distinct as the differences across
various Bordeaux varieties. This allows for crafting a blend showing the
variety of Cabernet Sauvignon for a complex multi-faceted wine.
Buehler Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
The
2018 season offered nearly perfect growing conditions for growers in the Napa Valley.
The year was warm throughout the growing season but cooled right around
harvest allowing everyone to pick their grapes slowly without the
threat of over-ripening.
Buehler
benefited from a great vintage with all the stars aligning for a great
wine that they offer at a price point more affordable than most other
mountain grown Napa Cabernets. At street price around or under twenty five dollars, this represents good value and should be fairly readily available. A bit of flabbiness gives away its price point but it provides tasty and pleasant sipping none-the-less. Makes for a great pizza or party wine for casual sipping or respectably sharing with (non oenphile) friends.
This release was awarded 93 points by Vinous,
92 points
by James Suckling, and 90 points
by both Wine & Spirits and Wine Spectator. Winemaker Notes; "The
wine is brimming with fruit aromas and flavors biased to the black
fruit end of the Cabernet spectrum: plums, blackberry, and black
currant. Rich and full-bodied on the palate, this Cabernet drinks well
on release but will soften and develop with additional age."
This is a nice tasty casual sipper with good QPR at $23, consistent with that earlier tasting.
Garnet purple colored, medium-full-bodied with round ample ripe black-currant blackberry and some blueberry fruits, accented with notes of graphite,
dried herbs, floral, mocha, spice and leather ending with moderate tannins on a flavorful finish.
RM 90 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3773753
http://www.buehlervineyards.com/
https://twitter.com/buehlerwines https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/01/buehler-cabernet-sauvignon-2018.html
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