Thursday, February 5, 2015

Kathryn Kennedy 2008 Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains


Last weekend, we decided to slip out to visit an old friend – Zinful Wine Bar in Waterville. I happened to receive an email from Nick Kubiak, who now is the wine manager. Zinful is open on a limited basis after being closed for quite some time. Although they no longer have the restaurant, Zinful has outstanding wine – and Nick!
Zinful now offers a half dozen or so choices each of white or red wine (plus a nice selection of craft beer). After looking over the choices, and debating whether Green Dragon wanted a wine flight, I strolled into the retail area.
At Zinful you can purchase a bottle in their retail area and pay a corkage fee. This allows you to sip your vino at leisure in the bar area. With Ohio wine laws now allowing you to take your unfinished bottle of wine home with you, it’s a great bargain.
The inventory at Zinful isn’t massive in numbers, because they are actually trying to reduce the inventory size. It is, however, deep in delicious bottles. They have some sensational collector-caliber Cabernets.
This bottle from Kathryn Kennedy Winery caught my attention. I’ve had just a few wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains, but they left me wanting more. As I recall, it cost $33.
Santa Cruz Mountains is the first AVA in the nation to be defined by its mountain topography. The region produces outstanding Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Nick mentioned that the signature flavor of Santa Cruz Mountain wines is the olive flavor. True enough, the savory flavor of olives came shining through. This wine has incredibly smooth tannins and a superb symphony of flavors. It has blueberry, cranberry and a bit of dust in its profile.
So, on this evening we made a couple of great discoveries: Kathryn Kennedy Cabernet is outstanding, and Zinful Wine Bar is alive and kicking with some great bottles available. Plan to stop in.
Rating: 4 of 5  Value: 3.5 of 5

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