Frog's Leap's 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (92 points) Wine & Spirits Best Cabernets of the Year Ahead of Staglin Family (91 pts.,/$185) and Ridge At $45 ($40 online) a W&S BEST BUY |
Each year, we wait to see who will get the best cabernet ratings in various competitions. In this case, it's the Wine & Spirits year's best rankings.
The overall ratings game is not quite as exciting since Parker stopped tasting California wines himself for the Wine Advocate, but it's still a tiny thrill to see where the organically grown wineries wind up on this and other year's best lists.
Here are the organically grown ones from the Wine & Spirits list.
CABERNETS
94 Points
• Spottswoode
2007 St. Helena Napa Valley, $136
92 Points
• Frog's Leap
2008 Napa Valley Cabernet, $45
Best Buy
(Not 100% certified grapes as Williams buys grapes from "practicing organic" growers)
91 Points
• Rubicon Estate
2007 Rutherford Napa Valley Cask Cabernet Sauvignon, $75
• Staglin Family
2008 Rutherford Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $185
90 Points
• Chappellet
2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $135
(midway in the 3-year transition to certified organic)
• Peju
2007 Rutherford Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $105
CABERNET BLENDS
For comparison's sake, the top wine was Ridge Montebello (95 pts./$146) while Rothschild-owned Dominus 2008 Napa Valley ($149) came in at 93 pts.
93 Points
• Benziger
2008 Sonoma Mountain Tribute, $80
100% biodynamic
79% Cabernet Sauvignon with Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot
• Rubicon Estate
2008 Rutherford Napa Valley Rubicon, $200
• Volker Eisele
2007 Napa Valley Terzetto, $75
91 Points
• Joseph Phelps
2007 Napa Valley Insignia, $225
100% biodynamic grapes (even though they don't like to advertise this, they are)
90 Points
• Rubicon Estate
2007 Rutherford Napa Valley Rubicon, $145
Just a FYI you should be a bit more careful about how you specifically have your "organic wineries" listed. The idea is great, and the way you have it mapped out is really user friendly. However, a number of these wineries only have a couple "organic" wines. Landmark, for instance, only has one, and their largest production wines (like "Overlook" are not certified, nor do all the grapes come from their estate.
ReplyDelete