January 15, 2014 – Wine: 2006 Steltzner Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine impressed me when it was released, enough so that I bought a couple of half-bottles at the tasting room.  Even though this wine is from the 2006 vintage (which is not one of my favorites from Napa Valley), this wine showed a sense of quality, especially for the price.  I opened the first half-bottle in 2011, and it showed well with nice balance, structure, and fruit and a good sense of quality, leaning toward richness.  Tonight, I opened the second half-bottle to share a glass with two friends.  Because I did not allow the wine to breathe, they felt the wine had bad flavor and gave up on it quickly.  I tasted it and was reminded of the 1997 Duckhorn, which required a few hours to decant and open up.  I found that after about 90 minutes the fruit was beginning to unlock, but it was time to retire for the night so I rebottled the remaining wine.  The next night, I uncorked the wine and found that the palette had opened up, revealing juicy flavors of dark cherry, red currant, leather, pomegranate, and minerals.

2006 Steltzner Cabernet Sauvignon