I was very surprised by this wine and happily so. I decanted the wine for a couple of hours before drinking. On the nose, you get black currents and hint of chocolate. These flavors follow onto the palate where I thought the black current was very intense. This wine does not have the complexity of most Napa cabs and it tastes a little rough to me. However, I think it will improve a little over the next couple of years and hold for about five more. I nice wine to serve folks new to drinking wine and fun with burgers. About $32 if I recall correctly.

Dehlinger makes a fine under the radar Cabernet.

They make a cabernet? My memory must be slipping (as usual). I had no idea.

Dehlinger does indeed produce a Cab each vintage, at a reasonable price I might add. In the past, they have also occassionally released a Bordeaux Blend in certain years. Last year they released an 02 Claret.

I have already drunk 1 of my 4 2001 Cabs. Excellent wine--not as flamboyant as many cal cabs--closer to a bordeaux in flavor profile. Unless I am mistaken, I think this is pretty typical of Dehlinger cabs.

I think with a few more years in the cellar, the 2001 will really show well.

Dehlinger has grown Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, Cab Franc, Syrah, and Pinot noir while I have been on his mailing list. The Cab Franc and Merlot are no longer being grown. The last bordeaux blend that I remember seeing was the 1997 vintage. It was a cab and merlot blend.

We open and decanted this wine for about an hour. The wine conitues to improve and has become smoother since the last one we open. There is more cedar (nice) and a hint of dusty cocoa. This wine has again exceed my expecations. I am not sure that this wine would do very well in a blind tasting, but it really enhanced that steak we had with it.

This bottle seemed less open than the last one we had. We did not decant and that was a mistake. I would recommend about an hour. We had this with steak and really enjoyed it. I have a few more so it will be intersting to see how this develops. Definately a food-friendly wine.

We opened and decanted the wine for about 1/2 hour. It was open and ready to drink. Thw wine is developing some secondary aromas and flavors. Cedar joins the dark berry nose and there are some spicy notes on the plate along with the dark fruit and chocolate. More elegant than the last bottle and drinking very nicely.