A wonderfully pure and unmanipulated Sonoma Cabernet” organically farmed, wild yeast fermented, aged sur lies in neutral French oak and bottled unfiltered.
As the San Francisco Chronicle said, this is both “thrilling” and makes you see Sonoma Cabernets through a new lens – one that’s both purer and more delicious (and above all, more “real”) than anything at anywhere near this price point.
Winemaker Dan Obrien has made some very expensive and high-flying Cabernets (like Larkmead), but this – his home winery – is his labor of love.
And it shows in the quality and the sheer beauty of this delightful Cabernet.
Here’s an excerpt from an article on Gail in Vinography, which gives a pretty good idea of how unique and special this wine is:
“I’m trying to fit into a missing puzzle piece,” says O’Brien. “Doing good, clean, simple winemaking, but not having the wines feel made. I want classic expressions of specific grape varieties that are appealing.”
And then once the wines are made, he sells them for incredibly reasonable prices.
“My wine journey has to a certain extent been about getting in touch with the joy of drinking a hard-to-find, more affordable wine,” says O’Brien, suggesting that his apotheosis of wine drinking is a great wine that he can easily “buy a case of and not feel ripped off,” something that is increasingly difficult to do in Northern California.
I was about to write, “For the money, Gail wines are shockingly good,” but honestly, to think about these as “value wines” is to not give O’Brien or his wines enough credit. Regardless of price, this entire portfolio of wines is excellent, especially for a self-taught former sommelier who’s only 5 vintages into this journey of being a winemaker.
Of course, the fact that you can buy some of these wines for twenty bucks at retail is kind of magical.
(Though he puts the Cabernet at $35…it’s only $20 here!)
Again, only 20 cases of this bargain beauty. Cabernet fans – and real wine lovers – don’t miss it!
