This new/old Cabernet just blew us away, especially at its price.
It’s “new” because it’s the first bottling for the Sommerville Collection. Steve Sommerville’s daughter Lynn painted the (beautiful) label.
It’s old because it’s from Topel, who makes one of our favorite old school California mountain Cabernets – otherwise available only from Topel – for $45.
Only older vintages of Topel’s Cabernet are on Wine-Searcher, starting at $70. But this 2017 is a powerful, concentrated classic.
The winery says:
This site is made very special by the Maymen-Etsel-Snook complex soils, hosting our vines. The Maymen-Etsel-Snook complex soil type is mostly composed of weathered shale and sandstone. This contributes to excessive drainage and tough growing conditions; yet, it’s perfect for premium grape growing. The battle for water, nutrients, and minerals result in small concentrated berries, with phenomenal color and flavors. Furthermore, our 4 x 5-foot planting ensures that all work in our sloping vineyard is done by hand – no tractors or machines. This slow and strenuous way of farming allows our vineyard team to learn its every contour and every vine. As vignerons, we use this knowledge during harvest to fillet the vineyard row-by-row, or vine-by-vine, to select the perfectly ripe clusters, at the exact right time.
When harvest time arrives, we accept, with humility, that the quality of our fruit has been set by nature and our helping hands in the vineyard. Grapes are fermented in small batches of about one ton. This allows us to keep each pick separate, and then to learn what each has to offer.
Reminiscent of an Old World Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine leads with aromas of violets and cassis. The aromatic elegance translates to the palate with a balanced brightness of ripe red fruits, figs, currants, and a persistent minerality of graphite that is the common thread of our Estate wines. Although it is drinking beautifully now, the youthful tannin structure leads us to the conclusion that it will age well for another 15-25 years. Be patient and lay down a few bottles for a wonderful future surprise.
Unusually, it sees over two full years in all French oak, 40% new. But the sheer raw material is such that there’s not a hint of oakiness.
This is VERY serious Cabernet – definitely one for the cellar, but as Topel says, one that’s already extremely impressive.
“Addiah,” by the way, is Swahili for “gift of God.” Which of course all wine is. But this one is definitely a gift from Steve and us!
It’s 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot, with only 56 cases bottled under this label.
