Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Provenance Vineyards, January 19, 2015

www.provenancevineyards.com

When trying to cut back on the wine you are consuming, it is probably best to avoid tasting at wineries where you are a wine club member.  Such was the case with this visit.  I had to stop at Provenance to pick up a wine order from a few weeks back, so the winery was hard to pass up.  As usually, I was recognized, greeted warmly by old staff (and treated well by the new person), and offered some very nice wines to try, including one that I had tasted two years prior at a special members-only event.  By the time that we left Provenance, I was grateful not to be driving, as I was starting to feel the effects of the day’s wine consumption.
Provenance Vineyards building as dusk settles.

I had intended to taste only three wines at Provenance, but as I was finishing my third pour, I was told that the 2009 Hewitt Double-Plus Cabernet Sauvignon was open and available to taste, which was a very rare opportunity.  How could I resist?  I started my tasting flight with the 2012 Cabernet Franc, followed by the 2010 Three Palms Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2010 Oakville To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon.  Next I was offered the 2009 Hewitt Double-Plus Cabernet Sauvignon.  As I was finishing that, I was told that the 2010 Barrel Select Cabernet Sauvignon was performing well right now.  The only problem was that this last wine faced a lot of potent competition, with the Hewitt Double-Plus being the star of the flight.  Impressive in its own right was the 2010 Oakville To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon, which was my second favorite.

A full review was written already about Provenance Vineyards during my visit on February 8th, 2012.