Beaver Creek Vineyards Fairytale Napa Valley and Lake County 2008
Beaver Creek offers this vintage from two different vineyards, one from Napa Valley and one from Lake County; both are Bordeaux blends with a slight difference.
From Napa Valley vineyard, 41% Merlot, 36% Zinfandel and 23% Syrah. Even before I can nose it off my glass, this wine was already exploding bouquet as its deep dark “goodness” run down the side of my glass. Dry rose pedal perfume and cedar pine immediately made their impression. After just less than an hour, I dove right into something so delicious. Thanks to the Zinfandel that gave the fruity backbone to this delicious wine, I couldn’t wait to taste one sip after another. Very ripen dark fruits laced with an inviting scent of espresso, this wine was complex in so many ways. It was like chocolatier at work, captivating notes of jammy caramel, even cotton candy and sweet raisins. Just the right amount of acidity and well structured tannins held everything together nicely, preventing it from being too syrupy. Toasted cedar barks turned into lingering sweet oak on the finish making this wine such a treat. I still could taste it long after the finish. (18.5/20 pts)
From Lake County vineyard, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Syrah and 14% Merlot. The winemaker did a very good job in matching these two different blends. Just like its counterpart, this wine also showed a lot of ripen fruits, but more red berries. Darker color on the pour with racy acidity turned more molasses on the finish. This wine fell short of its Napa Valley Cousin, although it was still very enjoyable. With higher acidity, perhaps this one would be better in paring with food. (18/20 points)
Thomas Le, CS. Napa Reserva and WineSom.com