Showing posts with label Conway Wines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conway Wines. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Conway Deep Sea Napa Cab 2009

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Selecting a pizza wine, for sipping with Friday night pizza, I pulled from the cellar this ten year old entry level Napa Cab. Its been four days short of exactly four years since I last tasted and posted a tasting note about this label. At that time I wrote that it had been a year ago that week, that I wrote in these pages about Conway Family Wines sending me a kind note from them about my post. At that time, I had just opened their wine for a casual weekend evening of wine, fruit and cheese.

As I have written before in these pages, I found and obtained this wine downstate Illinois at the wine merchant Friar Tucks. I tasted it and then went back and bought more. Previously, I found this producer's Syrah and went back and bought more, twice, ending up buying out their entire stock. After buying out this Cabernet, I returned to the same retailer again later and discovered they had another case on the shelves which I acquired and shared with a colleague. Such it is with these wine finds.

Based on the earlier tasting experience with this wine, we only consumed only half the bottle the first evening we opened it and found the remainder of the bottle when revisited the next evening was as good or even better than it was initially. Such it is with hearty well structured wines of a half dozen years of age. This was the same as the notes from my earlier tasting experience, when we opened re-opened it, it improved upon revisiting the following day!

Here are my notes from the previous but similar tasting of this wine, earlier this year.


Earlier I wrote that one should consider this a Negociant wine since, according to the wine producer, it is sourced from a "number of the finest, well regarded vineyards within Napa AVA’s of Rutherford, Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill, with each one contributing their unique characteristics to our blend".

According to the producer's release, "the dark fruit notes along with distinctive and pleasant chalky sagebrush notes greet your nose at first. This Cabernet has as plush an entry as we’ve seen in a lot of years. A round, soft, mouth filling wine that shows a smooth backbone of tannins and balanced acidity. The finish wraps up nicely with a lingering reminder of the mature dark fruits, ever so slight a hint of new oak, and the ever present palette of flavors that make Cabernet so sought after!"

This has incredible QPR - quality price ratio, at its price point below $20. The wine producer lists it at $39. 

As with earlier tastings, reported on earlier, this was dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, full fruit forward black berry and black cherry fruits with a layer of smoke, spice and hints of graphite and tea, turning to tones of sweet mocha, almost caramel like, with nice balance and smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1517213

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com


http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2015/12/conway-family-wines-deep-sea-napa.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/10/conway-wines-deep-sea-cabernet-sauvignon.html

Friday, October 28, 2016

Conway Wines Deep Sea Cabernet Sauvignon


Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

About a year ago this week, I wrote in these pages about Conway Family Wines and got a kind note from them about my post. At that time, I had just opened their wine for a casual weekend evening of wine, fruit and cheese. This week, we opened it as our second wine for a beef tenderloin dinner and it tuned out to be the highlighter of the evening.

As I have written before in these pages, I found this wine downstate and tasted it, then went back and bought more. Previously, I found their Syrah and went back and bought more, twice, ending up buying out their entire stock. After buying out this Cabernet, I returned to the same retailer again later and discovered they had another case on the shelves. I had just been questioned about wines for a holiday party by a colleague and in our discussion I spoke of this wine. As it happened another colleague was downstate and we reached out to him prompting him to go by and buy out the remaining stock from the merchant, which we split between us. Such it is with these wine finds.

Like before, we only consumed half the bottle the first evening we opened it and found the remainder of the bottle when revisited the next evening was as good or even better than it was initially. Such it is with hearty well structured wines of a half dozen years of age. This was the same as the notes from my earlier tasting experience, when we opened re-opened it, it improved upon revisiting the following day!

Here are my notes from the previous but similar tasting of this wine, earlier this year.


Consider this a Negociant wine since, according to the wine producer, it is sourced from a "number of the finest, well regarded vineyards within Napa AVA’s of Rutherford, Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill, with each one contributing their unique characteristics to our blend".

According to the producer's release, "the dark fruit notes along with distinctive and pleasant chalky sagebrush notes greet your nose at first. This Cabernet has as plush an entry as we’ve seen in a lot of years. A round, soft, mouth filling wine that shows a smooth backbone of tannins and balanced acidity. The finish wraps up nicely with a lingering reminder of the mature dark fruits, ever so slight a hint of new oak, and the ever present palette of flavors that make Cabernet so sought after!"

This has incredible QPR - quality price ratio, at its price point below $20. The wine producer lists it at $39. 

Compared to last year when I last wrote about this wine, tonight it presented a layer of sweetness, moreso than I recall or reported on earlier. Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, full fruit forward black raspberry and cherry fruits with a layer of spice and hints of graphite and tea, turning to tones of sweet mocha, almost caramel like, with nice balance and smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1517213

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

I wrote in depth about Conway Family Wines recently in this blog and got a kind note from them about my post. For a casual weekend evening of wine, fruit and cheese, we opened Deep Sea Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2009.

As I have written, I found this wine downstate and tasted it, then went back and bought more. I was recently there again and discovered they had another case on the shelves. I was questioned about wines for a holiday party by a colleague and in our discussion I spoke of this wine. As it happened another colleague was downstate and we reached out to him prompting him to go by and buy out the remaining stock from the merchant, which we will split between us. Such it is with these wine finds.

Having only consumed half the bottle several days ago, the remainder of the bottle was open in our wine cooler. When I revisited it tonight, it was as good or even better than it was late last week. Such it is with hearty well structured wines of a half dozen years of age. Interesting, that upon review of my earlier tasting experience, the same thing happened the last time we opened this wine, that it improved upon revisiting the following day!

Here are my notes from the previous but similar tasting of this wine, earlier this year.

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Consistent with earlier blog post. Consider this a Negociant wine since, according to the wine producer, it is sourced from a "number of the finest, well regarded vineyards within Napa AVA’s of Rutherford, Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill, with each one contributing their unique characteristics to our blend".

According to the producer's release, "the dark fruit notes along with distinctive and pleasant chalky sagebrush notes greet your nose at first. This Cabernet has as plush an entry as we’ve seen in a lot of years. A round, soft, mouth filling wine that shows a smooth backbone of tannins and balanced acidity. The finish wraps up nicely with a lingering reminder of the mature dark fruits, ever so slight a hint of new oak, and the ever present palette of flavors that make Cabernet so sought after!"

This has incredible QPR - quality price ratio, at its price point below $20. The wine producer lists it at $39. 

Opened for casual wine sipping with cheese but its sophisticated enough to be worthy as a perfect compliment to grilled steak dinner. We left half the bottle and it was even better the next day.

Slightly obtuse upon opening but softened and become more balanced and approachable after about an hour. Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, full fruit forward black raspberry and cherry fruits with a layer of spice and hints of graphite and tea, turning to tones of mocha with nice balance and smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1517213

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com/

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Deep Sea Conway Family Wines - Paso Robles Merlot 2011

Deep Sea Conway Family Wines - Paso Robles Merlot 2011

Another selection from a wine brand seeking identity, or failing to capitalize on its heritage?

Another commentary on my study and observations on wine branding. Traveling for business this week provided the opportunity to stop in a wine shop in a remote city. This always affords a chance to see different producers and labels that don't otherwise show up in our large metropolitan home market. Sometimes smaller producers can only fill the demands of a smaller market, or other reasons. So it was that I found Deep Sea Merlot and Deep Sea Chardonnay from Conway Family Wines in Santa Barbara.

We've seen this label in secondary and tertiary markets from time to time. The rarity of the label may be exacerbated by the fact that some of their labels are no longer being produced, so finds like this are anomalies of the tail of the distribution chain. In some cases these offerings may be Negociant labels, wherein they purchase fruit from growers, or even purchase excess wine from producers, and market them under their own private label (s).

I've written in these pages about the branding challenge faced by a Negociant, that of building affinity for a brand that is associated with terroir, or sense of place, for a particular wine, when the grapes are sourced from various anonymous growers that may change with each vintage.

How stark the contrast with Chateau Laroze, showcased in last week's blog, where the land has been in the family since 1610, producing from the same facility under the same label since 1885. Such is the extent of the difference between 'old world' and 'new world' producers' and their wines.

We have found Deep Sea wines including their Syrah and Cabernet but this was the first time seeing and experiencing their Merlot. I've written in these pages about this producer and those labels from the California Central Coast and one from Napa Valley. Generally, they have provided modest price, good price point QPR (Quality Price Ratio) wines.

Their negociant practice is broadcast in their testament, "We purchase fruit from noteworthy vineyards in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey Counties, and the Napa Valley. We contract with specific blocks, and actively manage the individual vines in that area. We work with growers to formulate viticultural practices and the rows are farmed to our specifications."

But, they also have their own vineyards as indicted by their website, “As with our estate vineyards, we concentrate on quality rather than yield per acre, and we carefully hand pick the grapes when they reach the right balance of flavor, acidity and sugar."

According to the Conway Family Wines website, the Estate is the thirty-five hundred acre Rancho Arroyo Grande in the Central Coast region of California, thirteen miles from the Pacific Ocean, where the coastal range meets the mountains of the Los Padres National Forest.

When I search Cellartracker for Deep Sea Merlot, a pretty good indicator of the marketplace with over a half million collectors and a several million bottles featured, I find this producer, Deep Sea Paso Robles Merlot, as well as Deep Sea Rancho Arroyo Grande Vineyard Merlot, although only one vintage of each. As a consumer of these wines, do I presume one (the first) is a Negociant offering while the latter is Estate Bottled?

As their website indicates, "Deep Sea wines showcase the maritime influence on grapes grown in California’s coastal climate. The grapes for our wine are grown in vineyards close to the Pacific Ocean, (where)Vineyards along the California coastline are cooled by fog and ocean breezes."
 
So it is with Deep Sea, a collection of labels but a conundrum in branding. I say this because we also hold Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Of course, the Deep Sea reference to proximity to the Ocean and its effects work for the Central Coast, and would work for the Sonoma Coast, but are a paradox when associated with inland NapaValley.

This leads me to the branding question; if the Conway Family owns spectacular lands with estate vineyards with such a rich heritage, why not leverage such and establish the pedigree and branding associated with terroir for your wines?

The personality of family association is strong for branding and building brand affinity and loyalty. Look at the number of premier labels bearing the family or 'place' name.

Indeed, the Conway Family feature a wonderful photo of their beautiful extended family of seven siblings and offspring.

 So Deep Sea, or Conway Family Wines, is Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon an oxymoron, an anomaly, or a step along the path to establishing an evolving, maturing branding strategy?

I see on their website the inaugural release of another label - Conway Santa Barbara County Cabernet Sauvignon. I will look forward to tasting their signature brand premium label release (s) and will watch their evolution with interest.

Meanwhile, we tasted the Deep Sea Paso Robles Merlot 2009

Dark ruby colored, medium full bodied, bright full aromatics project the flavors to come - full, somewhat forward black berry and black raspberry fruits with tones of cedar, a slight mustiness and hints of creosote and earthy leather on a moderate, soft tannin finish.

RM 86-87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1847704

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com/

What is the real Deep Sea?

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009


Consistent with earlier blog post. Consider this a Negociant wine since, according to the wine producer, it is sourced from a "number of the finest, well regarded vineyards within Napa AVA’s of Rutherford, Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill, with each one contributing their unique characteristics to our blend".

According to the producer's release, "the dark fruit notes along with distinctive and pleasant chalky sagebrush notes greet your nose at first. This Cabernet has as plush an entry as we’ve seen in a lot of years. A round, soft, mouth filling wine that shows a smooth backbone of tannins and balanced acidity. The finish wraps up nicely with a lingering reminder of the mature dark fruits, ever so slight a hint of new oak, and the ever present palette of flavors that make Cabernet so sought after!"

This has incredible QPR - quality price ratio, at its price point below $20. The wine producer lists it at $39. 

Opened for casual wine sipping with cheese but its sophisticated enough to be worthy as a perfect compliment to grilled steak dinner. We left half the bottle and it was even better the next day.

Slightly obtuse upon opening but softened and become more balanced and approachable after about an hour. Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, full fruit forward black raspberry and cherry fruits with a layer of spice and hints of graphite and tea, turning to tones of mocha with nice balance and smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1517213

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com/

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Conway Family Wines Deep Sea Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Consider this a Negociant wine since, according to the wine producer, it is sourced from a "number of the finest, well regarded vineyards within Napa AVA’s of Rutherford, Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill, with each one contributing their unique characteristics to our blend".

According to the producer's release, "the dark fruit notes along with distinctive and pleasant chalky sagebrush notes greet your nose at first. This Cabernet has as plush an entry as we’ve seen in a lot of years. A round, soft, mouth filling wine that shows a smooth backbone of tannins and balanced acidity. The finish wraps up nicely with a lingering reminder of the mature dark fruits, ever so slight a hint of new oak, and the ever present palette of flavors that make Cabernet so sought after!"

This has incredible QPR - quality price ratio, at its price point below $20. The wine producer lists it at $39. 

Opened for casual wine sipping with cheese but its sophisticated enough to be worthy as a perfect compliment to grilled steak dinner. I left half the bottle and it was much better two days later when I took it to Erin and Johnny's for steak dinner.

Dark garnet colored, medium to full bodied, full fruit forward black raspberry and cherry fruits with a layer of spice and hints of graphite and tea, turning to tones of mocha with nice balance and smooth polished tannin finish.

RM 90 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1517213

http://www.conwayfamilywines.com/