Narkoojee Cabernet Sauvignon
Narkoojee Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage: 2004
Region: Central Gippsland, Victoria, Australia
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc
Price: $20.00
Time to head back to the land down under for this weeks wine selection. This example was brought to me by my father-in-law Paul, whose wine selections and palate grow more astute each time we get together. A little bit about the producer, Narkoojee is a family run vineyard located in the relatively obscure Central Gippsland sub-region in Victoria, Australia. This sub-region is considered cool climate from an Australian perspective and produces grapes known for being full flavored with good intensity . Lets see if the folks from Narkoojee were able to reign in that intensity for this blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.
Out of the bottle, the color to the body is garnet red and has good clarity. Immediately, even without decanting the perfume of this wine makes itself known. It has a wonderful aroma of cooked sweet beets, with toasted oak and caramel notes. As the wine settles in, there are notes of spiced mint which is unique and appealing. In the mouth, this wine has reasonable extraction with black current, blackberry and cherries indicative up front trailing to that beet like component on the mid palate. It closes with tart cherries leading soft, generous tannins trailing over a medium finish. I am also pulling some pencil lead, which is curious and unexpected.
Overall, if you are a lover of green / vegetal Cabernet based wine, this one would be worthy selection. I personally enjoyed it for its uniqueness on its nose and its reasonable price It isn’t one of these Napa Valley fruit/oak bombs we might be accustomed to, but it has an identity with signs of character, grace and elegance. Keep your eye open for it at your next market visit.
90 Points
- Narkoojee Cabernet Sauvignon
- by Adrian Bryksa
- Published on July 15th, 2009
- Rating:
- 90 Points
More from Adrian Bryksa:
-
Annie’s Lane Riesling
I love the versatility that Riesling offers from its potential presentation as a sticky sweet late harvest or as mouth-puckering dry example and all of the spots that it can occupy in between.
-
Stark – Condé Syrah
For the most part, I typically stay away from South African wines, for no good reason other than I haven’t had one that has really excited me or blown me away. Maybe this Syrah will change that.
-
Airlie Maréchal Foch
The varietal is an interesting one as it is a hybrid grape that may produce wines of tremendous breadth from light, Beaujolais stylized examples to rich, full bodied wines.
-
Sustainable Dining at Red Door Bistro
Using local and provincial producers, Red Door Bistro has tried to ensure that where possible, their materials are as organic and are as free from hormones, pesticides and all those other undesirable ingredients as possible.
-
St. Supéry Élu
I decided to check out the selection of wines at a corner market near where I was staying. Amongst the Bud Light Lime and other various malt beverages, I came upon a small but modest wine section.
-
Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva
Lately, I have found several very good wines from Spain at value prices and lately it seems like the number of offerings is expanding due to their high quality and affordable prices. Perhaps I can add this offering to the list?
Other recent features:
-
Sónar 2010 – Barcelona, Spain
The festival attracts a lot of outsiders, but the Mediterranean, Spanish and more specifically Catalan nature of the people makes the festival what it is. Catalan people are passionate and this passion is infectious. The atmosphere is electric in Barcelona as a city and heightened by music and intoxicants at Sónar.
-
Summer Party Naval Styles at Seven RestoLounge
Oysters, like wine are affected by terroir and these Miyagi’s flavor profiles ranged with one showing a cleaner, almost tropical profile and the other being more salty, marine driven. As I was devouring the seemingly endless plates put in front of us, I sipped on a glass of fine sauvignon blanc.
-
R4NT Radio March 2010
R4NT Radio March 2010 um wow it’s been far too long since the last edition edition, featuring: Hector Hernandez, The Infesticons, Blockhead, Gramatik, Emika, Thunderheist, Parov Stelar, Eddy Meets Yannah, Anti-Pop Consortium, The Slew, Lighterthief, Andreya Triana, Parasyte Woman, Mathon, Venetian Snares, and Funki Porcini.
-
O Restaurant & Lounge revisited
Calgary has a diverse set of urban communities, most of which have the ubiquitous strip mall watering hole. In the South West community of Marda Loop, a reinvention of this paradigm has been established.
-
Predictions 2010.. and beyond!
So 2010 eh? Almost but not quite (no year zero they say) another decade? It seems like just yesterday that the world was waiting for Y2K. R4NT started publishing in March 2001, so we’re not quite 10 years old yet, but in internet years we are already a senior citizen.
-
Invictus
No matter what, the reality of Nelson Mandela is something that deserves screen time. Should this film even remotely intrigue the masses to take interest in this figure, the world would likely benefit greatly from it.
