It takes a special wine to rise to the occasion during these “unprecedented” times. We found a single vineyard Cab that meets the challenge.
Recalling A Sonoma Visit
About a month ago we started having a virtual dinner party with our good friends Cabernetor and Glorious T from Ohio. We relocated to North Carolina three years ago, but still get together for wine adventures and special occasions.
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Thanks to Zoom, we’ve been able to “share” dinner and wine on a weekly basis, despite the virus that’s wracking the country. Cabernetor came up with a great idea that is starting to pay great dividends. He suggested that we open the same bottle and that, if possible, it be a wine we purchased on a winery visit together.
We started the meal with a white wine or a rosé. It was pretty forgettable, but it was chilled and went with our dinner. Meanwhile, Cabernetor revealed that he had opened the Kenwood 2013 Lone Pine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon that we each had picked up during a winery visit to Sonoma.
Wandering To The Lone Pine
Our first wine “evaporated” pretty quickly as we enjoyed dinner and convivial conversation. I wandered into the wine room and grabbed our bottle of the Lone Pine Cab – to the digital hoots and hollers coming from the computer screen. “That’s what I’m talking about,” said Cabernetor as I popped the cork.
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We had a great visit to Kenwood Vineyards and were joined by my cousin Mary and her husband Cleve. We tasted a wide array of wines and toured the barrel room and production facility. Many people are familiar with the lower tier Kenwood wines that populate the grocery store shelves, but are unaware that the winery produces higher priced and higher quality offerings.
We had a chance to taste their Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon, always a favorite of ours, as well as the 30th Anniversary 2006 Jack London Vineyard Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Flashing lights came on, though, when we tasted the 2013 Lone Pine Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. This single vineyard Cab is the backbone of Kenwood’s famous Artist Series wine. While the Artist Series will set you back $75, the Lone Pine is an amazing buy at $44.
A Wine for The Times
Our visit to Kenwood was in 2018 and the two additional years of aging has only improved the Lone Pine. The grapes come from sandy-loam soil at the base of Sonoma Mountain. The wine is aged in French oak for 26 months – after that the best barrels are selected for the single vineyard bottling.
On the palate this has riffs of dried berries, coffee and leather. Tannins have started to integrate, but the wine has legs to go another three years with style. It’s a big wine with 14.5% ABV.
For us, it wasn’t just a bottle of wine. We uncorked a earlier time, filled with jokes and hugs, toasts and no facemasks. This is a great wine for the times. We also recommend you explore the other wines in the Kenwood Single Vineyard series – available online if you can’t find it in your wine shop.
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