What about the Trailside?

That's right! I still have to write a post about the OTBN wine we opened. It was pretty extravagant for us; the 2001 Heitz Cellar Trailside Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon retails in the neighborhood of $120 per bottle. We actually procured ours through a screaming deal from Bin Ends. Screaming. It was so cheap it makes you wonder...

Anyway, back to the wine. I have to admit, it's a bit of an enigma. The nose is sublime. It's all canned bing cherries, and creamy vanilla ice cream, and almond. Wow, that sounds like a sundae. It's actually nothing like a sundae... There are light violet notes as well. On the other hand, take a sip of this bad boy and it's pretty tough. It was only bottled in 2005 (spending 3.5 years barrel-aging) so it could probably stand some more years in the bottle. It's flush with firm tannins but, the balance is there. It's very meaty in flavor with some eucalyptus overtones. I get a hint of raspberry, and cherry on the finish. Oh, by the way, it is not oaky at all despite all that time in oak.

I thought we had tried a 1998 Trailside when we visited the winery, but I guess it was the Martha's Vineyard. I understand Martha's Vineyard to be the flagship vineyard so it's probably not fair to say that the 2001 Trailside isn't quite in the same class as the 1998 Martha's. No matter. This isn't your typical Napa Cab and I appreciate that. A lot of Napa Cabs just taste like a cherry-red Porsche to me. Not literally! I mean in terms of gloss and inanimate flawlessness. This wine tastes real and I like that. I think I'm going to save our second bottle for 2013.