I had the great pleasure of being selected as a lab rat for this bottle. I received the bottle on Friday afternoon. I’ve been drinking wine for about 20 years now and I love a good dry cab, but I rarely write down what I think, but I made lots of notes. As this is a relatively young bottle, I decided to drink it over 3 evenings as I expect it to be a bit closed up.
Friday night I pulled the cork and poured a glass. Color is a beautiful dark ruby/garnet and had nice legs when swirling in the glass. It was a bit closed but I initially detected blackberry, black cherry, oak, and a bit of dusk in the bouquet. I tasted the glass slowly over an hour tasting black cherry, a bit of pepper, and a subtle amount of coffee and cocoa. There is a nice amount of tanins. They are prominent but not obnoxious. Nice mouth feel and a medium to medium long finish.
Saturday tasting was more of the same, with the wine opening up a slight bit more each day, but not as much as I’d hoped. It’s Sunday and I’m finishing the bottle as I write this. It’s opened up a bit more and I’m really enjoying this last glass.
Ribeye for dinner on Saturday with some dark chocolate for dessert and the wine paired beautifully. Paired with some cheese and more dark chocolate this evening.
Overall, I thought this was a lovely bottle. I moved to Washington almost 4 years ago and have been disappointed by most of the cabernets I’ve found locally, but this bottle is one I will be buying. It’s young though. The bottle’s description says it’s ageworthy. I’m not sure if I know enough to tell if a wine will age well or not, but my gut feeling is that this will. It feels solid and like it has even more to offer than what it is showing currently, even thought I found it nice to drink now.
@aces219 crap appearantly. Still haven’t managed a wine tasting trip so mostly what is available by the glass at restaurants (since it’s a bad idea for me to drink a whole bottle in one sitting).
I was selected as a Lab Rat for this against my wishes, but since it was on the way to me before I even knew I was selected, I figured I give it a shot and try to provide people with useful info. (My objection to me lab ratting is my lack of skillz, nothing else. Now that I’ve done it once, I have less objection, tho I’ve decided I need to learn more about wine tasting.)
I got the bottle on Wednesday and parked it in my 57°F cellar until Saturday evening, when @miraclewhispers and my girlfriend were coming for dinner. Dinner was a basil/onion/garlic tomato sauce with meatballs over linguine with freshly grated pecorino romano and green beans; nothing very spicy but not mild either.
Girlfriend dislikes sweet wines; cabs are one of her favorites. Note that she does not like malbec at all and won’t drink it (more for me!). @miraclewhispers isn’t a red wine drinker.
I pulled it from the cellar maybe 30 minutes before serving dinner and we all tried it right after popping the cork. MW was pleasantly surprised, saying she liked it a lot more than she expected to. GF said it was ok, but not great: that there was something she didn’t like. I now see that it is 5% malbec, which might explain her opinion.
Between the three of us we came up with cherries (all of us said this, right up front), blackberries, black currant and sweet pepper, with a hint of something spicy (black pepper?) and anise. It has a nice mouth feel and the tannins do not jump out at you, tho they are definitely there. It is dry, but not extremely so, which might explain MW liking it more and GF liking it less.
As it warmed up a bit during dinner, MW continued to like it and GF’s opinion didn’t change much (she only had one glass). I noted more anise/licorice in the finish.
GF had an early morning, so headed home shortly after dinner. MW finished her 2nd glass while we talked and later tried a bit more with it closer to room temp, ~72°. The tannins were much more pronounced and she liked it less.
I tried it again on Sunday evening, straight from the fridge (meh… way too cold) and then after it had warmed up to maybe 60°. It had not changed much from Saturday, though I did notice a hotter odor on Sunday evening.
So… MW and I both liked it a lot and said I should get some when it goes on sale. GF said it was ok, but not one of her favorites.
Wine Enthusiast 1/11/17:
Cadaretta 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon 89 points
Light herb, sweet spice, orange peel, maple and red and black fruit aromas are followed by dark fruit flavors in this wine. It’s a bit wound up now, so give it some time in the cellar or a long decant.
Some other nice press from lesser known folks. All seem to point out that this needs a little time.
Cadaretta Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
3 bottles for $81.99 $27.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $257.99 $21.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
@Twich22 I would be interested in a 2nd case and would also want 3-4 bottles. Is there 1 or 2 more Seattle mate that are also interested in a split? @aces219 ??
How much are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2013 Cadaretta Cabernet Sauvignon - $70 = 21.34%
Wanted to say I’m really enjoying Casemates - I missed wine.woot before and just joined this because of the VMPBRIBE stuff for Meh, but it’s really fantastic to be able to sample some excellent wines at good prices, as otherwise I’m lost there, no way to judge what’s actually good when in the store. Starting to feel like a real bonafide ‘wino’!
Just went in for a case! This may be my last purchase for a while as it is already heating up in Florida, so I decided to make it count with a robust cab.
@kaolis If Casemates wants to ship in cooled trucks/containers, I’d be happy to buy all year long (hint! hint!). As it is, I can really only safely ship wine between November and February.
@michaepf I’ll take 3 bottles off your hands. I think we’ve met before, it’s been a few years though; I’m in silicon valley but I can make a trip up to your neck of the woods to pick up.
I was expecting something different tonight…guess that’ll be another day.
This looks interesting. Hard to tell where in the style spectrum it falls based on the one note so far.
@klezman I have read about what is meant by old world and new world style and I just don’t know that I can point to a wine and say it is this style or that. I can say that this one is in a style I like and the majority of wine in my wine racks is Pedroncelli, Wellington, Scott Harvey, and Iron Horse, if that helps at all.
CADARETTA, Columbia Valley
2013 Cabernet Sauvignon
91POINTS
“This estate always delivers fruit and texture, and the 2013 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception. Made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and the balance Merlot and Malbec, it’s loaded with notions of dark fruits, earth and chocolaty herbs. Rich, mouth-filling, round and supple, it’s a pleasure-bent effort that does a lot right.”
– JEB DUNNUCK, JUNE 30, 2017, WINE ADVOCATE ISSUE 231
This wine exhibits intense aromas of pomegranate, Bing cherry, and black currants. Its primary fruit qualities are accented by hints of fresh rosemary. There’s a wonderful richness in the mouth, filled with black cherry fruit. Silky, round tannins linger on the palate, ever so gently. Finally, there’s a light hint of licorice, right on the finish.
The preponderance of fruit for this wine came from Southwind and nearby vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA (50%), and from the Red Mountain AVA (43%).
Winery: Cadaretta
Owner: the Middleton family
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Our winery is named for a ship that once carried our family’s goods to market. Today, that part of our history, that ship’s name, is carried on with a new generation of our family company: Handcrafted wines from our home state. Cadaretta is a Walla Walla winery owned and operated by the Middleton family. The Middleton commitment to Washington State dates back to 1898, when we started the Anderson & Middleton forestry products company in Aberdeen, Washington.
We began farming grapes 22 years ago. In 2005 we brought that grape and wine experience to Walla Walla, making wine and planting an estate vineyard for that wine. This vineyard is named “Southwind” … the name with which our ship “Cadaretta” was re-christened when it was conscripted for military duty in World War II.
Our Walla Walla winery combines our family’s long Washington agricultural heritage with our more recently acquired winemaking skill and experience. It joins our essential commitment to the land with our abiding passion for making the best from that land. Cadaretta is a blend of science and soul, tempered with tradition and balance.
Video
Note: overview is applicable, but video features a previous vintage
Little off topic but I’ll ask anyway… can we expect pretty much all American wines? Just happened to stumble upon casemates whilst trying to find wine.woot.
I had the great pleasure of being selected as a lab rat for this bottle. I received the bottle on Friday afternoon. I’ve been drinking wine for about 20 years now and I love a good dry cab, but I rarely write down what I think, but I made lots of notes. As this is a relatively young bottle, I decided to drink it over 3 evenings as I expect it to be a bit closed up.
Friday night I pulled the cork and poured a glass. Color is a beautiful dark ruby/garnet and had nice legs when swirling in the glass. It was a bit closed but I initially detected blackberry, black cherry, oak, and a bit of dusk in the bouquet. I tasted the glass slowly over an hour tasting black cherry, a bit of pepper, and a subtle amount of coffee and cocoa. There is a nice amount of tanins. They are prominent but not obnoxious. Nice mouth feel and a medium to medium long finish.
Saturday tasting was more of the same, with the wine opening up a slight bit more each day, but not as much as I’d hoped. It’s Sunday and I’m finishing the bottle as I write this. It’s opened up a bit more and I’m really enjoying this last glass.
Ribeye for dinner on Saturday with some dark chocolate for dessert and the wine paired beautifully. Paired with some cheese and more dark chocolate this evening.
Overall, I thought this was a lovely bottle. I moved to Washington almost 4 years ago and have been disappointed by most of the cabernets I’ve found locally, but this bottle is one I will be buying. It’s young though. The bottle’s description says it’s ageworthy. I’m not sure if I know enough to tell if a wine will age well or not, but my gut feeling is that this will. It feels solid and like it has even more to offer than what it is showing currently, even thought I found it nice to drink now.
@airynne disappointed by Washington Cabernets? What have you been drinking?
@aces219 crap appearantly. Still haven’t managed a wine tasting trip so mostly what is available by the glass at restaurants (since it’s a bad idea for me to drink a whole bottle in one sitting).
@airynne ohhh that’s your problem.
@aces219 @airynne We’ll have to bring some good ones for you to try at our gatherings!
I was selected as a Lab Rat for this against my wishes, but since it was on the way to me before I even knew I was selected, I figured I give it a shot and try to provide people with useful info. (My objection to me lab ratting is my lack of skillz, nothing else. Now that I’ve done it once, I have less objection, tho I’ve decided I need to learn more about wine tasting.)
I got the bottle on Wednesday and parked it in my 57°F cellar until Saturday evening, when @miraclewhispers and my girlfriend were coming for dinner. Dinner was a basil/onion/garlic tomato sauce with meatballs over linguine with freshly grated pecorino romano and green beans; nothing very spicy but not mild either.
Girlfriend dislikes sweet wines; cabs are one of her favorites. Note that she does not like malbec at all and won’t drink it (more for me!). @miraclewhispers isn’t a red wine drinker.
I pulled it from the cellar maybe 30 minutes before serving dinner and we all tried it right after popping the cork. MW was pleasantly surprised, saying she liked it a lot more than she expected to. GF said it was ok, but not great: that there was something she didn’t like. I now see that it is 5% malbec, which might explain her opinion.
Between the three of us we came up with cherries (all of us said this, right up front), blackberries, black currant and sweet pepper, with a hint of something spicy (black pepper?) and anise. It has a nice mouth feel and the tannins do not jump out at you, tho they are definitely there. It is dry, but not extremely so, which might explain MW liking it more and GF liking it less.
As it warmed up a bit during dinner, MW continued to like it and GF’s opinion didn’t change much (she only had one glass). I noted more anise/licorice in the finish.
GF had an early morning, so headed home shortly after dinner. MW finished her 2nd glass while we talked and later tried a bit more with it closer to room temp, ~72°. The tannins were much more pronounced and she liked it less.
I tried it again on Sunday evening, straight from the fridge (meh… way too cold) and then after it had warmed up to maybe 60°. It had not changed much from Saturday, though I did notice a hotter odor on Sunday evening.
So… MW and I both liked it a lot and said I should get some when it goes on sale. GF said it was ok, but not one of her favorites.
This has some scores as well.
Wine Enthusiast 1/11/17:
Cadaretta 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon 89 points
Light herb, sweet spice, orange peel, maple and red and black fruit aromas are followed by dark fruit flavors in this wine. It’s a bit wound up now, so give it some time in the cellar or a long decant.
Some other nice press from lesser known folks. All seem to point out that this needs a little time.
fwiw
Cadaretta Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
3 bottles for $81.99 $27.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $257.99 $21.50/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2013 Cadaretta Cabernet Sauvignon New CT
2013 Cadaretta Cabernet Sauvignon Old CT
Seattle folks, I’m up for a split. Willing to take 3 bottles. First guess I got right, even though there were many clues.
@trifecta I’m in! I’ll take up to 4 bottles, but whatever makes a case work best.
@trifecta I would also be in for up to 4 bottles!
@airynne @StingingJ I can come up to 4, which would make a case between the 3 of us. Who’s pulling the trigger?
@StingingJ @trifecta I got this one. With tax, it’s $22.90 a bottle.
@airynne @StingingJ Nice! Thanks.
@trifecta I want in as well, anyone want to share a bottle? I have way too much wine.
Anyone interested in a second case? I would want 3-4 bottles.
@Twich22 I would be interested in a 2nd case and would also want 3-4 bottles. Is there 1 or 2 more Seattle mate that are also interested in a split? @aces219 ??
@lindylouwho @Twich22 yes, I’m in.
@aces219 @lindylouwho alright, ill grab a case and if someone else wants to join in im okay with that
@airynne @trifecta awesome! Thanks!
@aces219 @Twich22 Thanks Twich - add it to my tab! I’ll get the next one…
How much are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2013 Cadaretta Cabernet Sauvignon - $70 = 21.34%
Wanted to say I’m really enjoying Casemates - I missed wine.woot before and just joined this because of the VMPBRIBE stuff for Meh, but it’s really fantastic to be able to sample some excellent wines at good prices, as otherwise I’m lost there, no way to judge what’s actually good when in the store. Starting to feel like a real bonafide ‘wino’!
Your GF left you alone with wine and @miraclewhipsers ??
@scott0210 @miracleshispers is daughter unit two, so no problem there.
Also, if you click the Reply link before typing, your post will be a reply to my message, rather than a comment to the thread at large.
@baqui63 yeah I’ve replied properly before I swear.
Just went in for a case! This may be my last purchase for a while as it is already heating up in Florida, so I decided to make it count with a robust cab.
@gemeinschaft79 Good point. Do we know if casemates is following the wine.woot shipping model? I’m assuming so.
@kaolis If Casemates wants to ship in cooled trucks/containers, I’d be happy to buy all year long (hint! hint!). As it is, I can really only safely ship wine between November and February.
Anyone in SF down for a split? Live in Cole Valley, work downtown. Could take 3-4 bottles, I think. [Edit: It’d be $23/bottle.]
@michaepf I’ll take 3 bottles off your hands. I think we’ve met before, it’s been a few years though; I’m in silicon valley but I can make a trip up to your neck of the woods to pick up.
@AjRod27 Cool! We’ll see if anyone else bites. I think there’s another 24 hours before the sale ends.
Hey, SF/Bay Area friends, we did end up ordering a case. If you’d like a bottle or two, let me know. $23 each.
@michaepf i live in the city and would be happy to buy a bottle of your hands. Awesome, finally see somebody from SF on casemates
I was expecting something different tonight…guess that’ll be another day.
This looks interesting. Hard to tell where in the style spectrum it falls based on the one note so far.
@klezman I have read about what is meant by old world and new world style and I just don’t know that I can point to a wine and say it is this style or that. I can say that this one is in a style I like and the majority of wine in my wine racks is Pedroncelli, Wellington, Scott Harvey, and Iron Horse, if that helps at all.
CADARETTA, Columbia Valley
2013 Cabernet Sauvignon
91POINTS
“This estate always delivers fruit and texture, and the 2013 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception. Made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and the balance Merlot and Malbec, it’s loaded with notions of dark fruits, earth and chocolaty herbs. Rich, mouth-filling, round and supple, it’s a pleasure-bent effort that does a lot right.”
– JEB DUNNUCK, JUNE 30, 2017, WINE ADVOCATE ISSUE 231
No love for MO, which is actually a good thing for my wallet. I have 2 cases that I haven’t received, yet, from previous deals.
Tasting Notes
This wine exhibits intense aromas of pomegranate, Bing cherry, and black currants. Its primary fruit qualities are accented by hints of fresh rosemary. There’s a wonderful richness in the mouth, filled with black cherry fruit. Silky, round tannins linger on the palate, ever so gently. Finally, there’s a light hint of licorice, right on the finish.
The preponderance of fruit for this wine came from Southwind and nearby vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA (50%), and from the Red Mountain AVA (43%).
Specifications
Price Comparison
$584.55/case at Cadaretta (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: Cadaretta
Owner: the Middleton family
Location: Walla Walla, WA
Our winery is named for a ship that once carried our family’s goods to market. Today, that part of our history, that ship’s name, is carried on with a new generation of our family company: Handcrafted wines from our home state. Cadaretta is a Walla Walla winery owned and operated by the Middleton family. The Middleton commitment to Washington State dates back to 1898, when we started the Anderson & Middleton forestry products company in Aberdeen, Washington.
We began farming grapes 22 years ago. In 2005 we brought that grape and wine experience to Walla Walla, making wine and planting an estate vineyard for that wine. This vineyard is named “Southwind” … the name with which our ship “Cadaretta” was re-christened when it was conscripted for military duty in World War II.
Our Walla Walla winery combines our family’s long Washington agricultural heritage with our more recently acquired winemaking skill and experience. It joins our essential commitment to the land with our abiding passion for making the best from that land. Cadaretta is a blend of science and soul, tempered with tradition and balance.
Video
Note: overview is applicable, but video features a previous vintage
Available States
CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, ID, IL, IA, KS, ME, MD, MI, MN, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OR, SC, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, February 26th - Thursday, March 1st
@airynne pops the cork on our first LabRat Report of the day.
@baqui63 has 3 unique perspectives on this offer.
Booo! No Georgia.
No Missouri.
Anyone in the Raleigh area want to split a case?
Anyone in Chicago up for a case split?
Sad and thirsty in PA
Little off topic but I’ll ask anyway… can we expect pretty much all American wines? Just happened to stumble upon casemates whilst trying to find wine.woot.
@pjoeltyler pretty much all american wines.
@pjoeltyler I’m curious to see whether any of those imports that occasionally popped up on woot will make an appearance here.
I need a case or two of Gruet for my sister’s Bridal Shower. Can you guys hook me up soon!?
@jchasma Wrong thread. See Wish List thread or whisper in WineDavid’s ear.