April 23, 2012 – Wine: 2005 Turnbull Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Another wine story …  I discovered this wine through a fortunate accident.  I saw the Turnbull Sauvignon Blanc for sale at an online store and ordered it.  I received bottles of 2003 Turnbull Cabernet instead.  (Oh … darn!  Did that sound sincere?)  The 2003 Cabernet was fascinating.  Every bottle was amazing, but every one of the eight bottles I purchased came out completely differently in flavors, balance, and intensity.  When the 2005 vintage was rated only 90 points (the 2003 was rated 92), I decided to buy fewer bottles and see what was up.  When this wine was young, it had a classic 2005 profile (coffee and minerals, reserved fruit).  But this wine has developed differently than my favorites from the vintage.  In this case, the wine opens with boysenberry on the palette, followed closely by black cherry and minerals.  After 90 minutes of decanting, the alcohol was still off balance, which I found a little disappointing, considering how well the 2003 vintage performed.  The tannins were fairly smooth, and except for the imbalance, the wine was indeed enjoyable.



2005 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon