Freemark Abbey Winery, February 22, 2014

www.freemarkabbey.com

This is the reason to join a wine club.  The discounts on the wine are a terrific economic incentive, and the exclusive attention in the tasting room may be another.  Only a few wine collectors like me tend to join for the member-only wine releases.  All of that is nice, but the wine release party for the flagship wine is probably enough to make joining the wine club worthwhile.  When I arrived, I first picked up my shipment and returned it to my car (after tasting a couple of gems).  Then I headed down to the large lawn tucked away behind the two tasting rooms.  There, in the glorious sunshine, a band played a number of fun tunes from decades past.  Just beyond the band was the portal to the lower level winery operations floor, where they were pouring their flagship wine, the 2009 Sycamore Cabernet.  Even better than the wine were the h’orderves being shuttled about.  They had a lamb dish, a chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce garnish, and my favorite, a pulled-pork on polenta dish that drew me back for more.

The lawn at Freemark Abbey under spectacular skies

Of course, the event was not about the h’orderves, nor the music, but the wine.  Upon entering the winery operations area and registering, you are handed a pour of the newly released 2009 Sycamore Cabernet Sauvignon.  Then, at a second table, they were pouring a short vertical of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintages.  Many people favored the 2006, but I preferred the 2004 as a close second to the 2009.  Then, the staff mentioned that these recent vintages were all on sale at 25% off the price of the newest 2009 Sycamore, so I headed up to the members’ tasting room to try the 2007 vintage.  This wine was by far the tastiest of the five vintages, and I bought a bottle.  (I may have convinced a couple other people to follow my lead too.)  I am pleased to have the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Sycamore Cabernets in my collection now and am eagerly looking forward to opening them all.


A full review was written already about Freemark Abbey during my visit on December 28^th, 2012.