March 27, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Provenance Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon

When this wine was young, it showed promise.  Of course, I succumbed to the hoopla in the media about the quality of the vintage and started seeking out these wines.  At one point, the half-bottles were reduced in price by 50%, so I snatched up another case.  (The one good thing to come from the economic downturn was these wine opportunities.)  It wasn’t long before the wine began to shut down, featuring flavors of mineral, tamarind, and tobacco above the flavors of fruit.  Then, about a year ago, this wine started coming back into balance, presenting more tasty red fruit flavors and more muted earth notes.  Today, this bottle was spectacular, presenting a wonderfully smooth and beautifully balanced palette, with flavors of delicious red fruits featured prominently above a subtle, yet complex bath of earth and minerals.  (It is interesting to note that I found the flavors in the half-bottle more interesting than in the full bottle from last December.)  Dang if there isn’t just one half-bottle remaining.

2005 Provenance Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon