Full Review

Clif Family Winery

Clif Family Winery
2017 Cold Springs Vineyard Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

Pair this wine with:
Beef Vegetables

Category: Cabernet Sauvignon

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 14.8%
93 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$190

Clif Family Winery
2017 Cold Springs Vineyard Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain

Pair this wine with:
Beef Vegetables

Category: Cabernet Sauvignon

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 14.8%
Ruby black color. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, mocha, purple flowers, and vanilla and petrichor with a round, lively, dry medium-full body and a warming, engaging, medium-length finish revealing accents of chocolate and vanilla covered cherries, leather, boysenberry mint sorbet, and black tea with crunchy, chewy tannins and moderate oak flavor. Lush fruit with rich aromas of plum, fig, and tobacco combined with well-integrated tannins meeting excellent wine making comes together here in a real depth and complexity of flavors.

Tasting Info

Wine Glass Style: New World
Aroma Aroma: blackberry, mocha, purple flowers, and vanilla and petrichor
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with accents of chocolate and vanilla covered cherries, leather, boysenberry mint sorbet, and black tea
Sweetness Sweetness: Dry
Enjoy Enjoy: Now-3 years on its own and with food
Recipes Pairing: Pot Roast, Steak & Potatoes, Beef Stew
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Lush fruit with rich aromas of plum, fig, and tobacco combined with well-integrated tannins meeting excellent wine making comes together here in a real depth and complexity of flavors.

The Producer

Clif Family Winery & Farm

The Producer

Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine Glass Cabernet.jpg
Serve in a Cabernet Wine Glass
Cabernet Sauvignon is a variety that is the source of some of the world’s most celebrated and longest-lived reds. Grown in many countries, it is most famous in Bordeaux, where it is the principal grape in red Bordeaux as well as in California – especially Napa Valley- where it is labeled by its varietal name.

Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas and flavors of black currant, cassis, black cherry and sometimes plum (in warmer regions or vintages). Quite rich on the palate, the variety is very tannic, giving its wines a bitter edge in their youth, but also providing the wines with great aging potential, with top flight examples drinking well for as long as four or five decades. Given their richness and flavor profile, wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon need to be paired with rich red meats, such as steaks and roasts as well as game.

Besides France and California, other countries with warm growing regions also excel with Cabernet Sauvignon. These include the Maipo and Colchagua Valleys in Chile as well as the Bolgheri district, situated on the coast of Tuscany.