Michel-Schlumberger – 2007 La Cime Cabernet Sauvignon
December 29, 2010
The Facts:
The Michel-Schlumberger 2007 La Cime Cabernet Sauvignon was produced using only Estate fruit from their Dry Creek Valley Vineyard. This offering is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine spent 26 months aging in oak. 862 cases were produced and it has a suggested retail price of $40.
Michel-Schlumberger is a Dry Creek Valley producer that totally kills it when it comes to Bordeaux varietals. Winemaker Mike Brunson and his staff are quite gifted with a range of varieties outside the Bordeaux classics as well. The absolute best way to get to know their wines is to pay them a visit. They’re open everyday and they offer a wide array of tasting and tour options. Check their website for specific details and contact information. The bottom line though, if you’re going to be in Dry Creek Valley, you want to stop at Michel-Schlumberger.
Gabe’s Take:
The last few times I stopped in to visit at Michel-Schlumberger they were pouring some library selections in addition to the normal lineup of wines. Those library wines happened to be Cabernet Sauvignon. I was pretty knocked out by some of the older vintages, and heartened as well, to see how they were holding up over 15 years from harvest. That made it particularly interesting for me to sample the current Cabernets and see how they stacked up today as well as what promise they hold for the future.
Toasty oak and dark berry aromas waft convincingly from the nose of this 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Through the palate black fruit flavors win the day with hints of red fruit popping through as accents from time to time. Black cherry is of particular note and it’s accompanied by a generous component of spices. The finish brings out earth and black pepper as the parade of dark fruit flavors continue. This wine has firm, gripping tannins and excellent acidity.
The 2007 La Cime Cabernet Sauvignon is an ager to be sure. If you drink it over the next few years you’ll want to decant it for a couple of hours to allow it to show at its best. But if you have some patience, lay it down for the next decade or so and you’ll be rewarded with an even more outstanding wine. This release represents another in the line of outstanding Cabernets from Michel-Schlumberger. They do many things well, but when it comes to the Red Bordeaux varietals they outshine many of their peers.
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