2016 Century Oak Winery Judy's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Sunday!  I'll admit, I was tempted to nap the day away, but ended up being far more productive than I expected, doing two loads of laundry, some minor repairs around the house and I even made it to the gym!  So, with all that, I'd say I am quite deserving of a nice dinner and a glass of wine.  Tonight's wine is one I recently bought from an outfit called "Wine Slash" who sends me e-mails every so often, and this one intrigued me enough to purchase, the 2016 Century Oak Winery Judy's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Lodi.  What intrigued me was that the wine maker, Heather Pyle and her husband, have previous connections to Robert Mondavi, where Heather was a wine maker at Mondavi in their Cabernet and Merlot programs and also involved in the Opus One team in 1996, where she met her future husband.  Although semi-retired, they still have a passion for wine makeing and have crafted this wine.  So let's see what it has to offer!

The wine is a deep inky black at the center, with bright ruby along the edges, just as you might expect from a classic Cabernet.  The nose is a somewhat tawny combination of green grass, violets, vanilla beans, and spice notes that reflect a more casual style.  The taste is almost the exact opposite of what I was expecting based on the nose.  I was expecting warm fruit and spice to dominate, but what emerged was a rush of cool black cherry, blueberry and plum that would fit right in with a classic Napa Cabernet.  The black fruit transitions effortlessly to some notes of cedar, pipe tobacco, violet and black pepper spice midpalate.  The tannins are expertly structured and well integrated for the long, smooth and velvety dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's punching way above its weight class, as I only paid $17 for this wine!  This would pair well with a broad range of dishes that you'd pair with a classic Napa Cabernet, steaks and chops, roast game, lamb and classic Italian dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled prime ribcap topped with some horseradish, grilled asparagus and a big baked potato with all the trimmings.  Cheers!