2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
If you grow good fruit then your wine will be delicious. The winemaker helps the fruit speak but is not the storyteller. Cabernet from this small Dry Creek Valley vineyard is a delicious example of why it’s good to care for and nurture your grapes to perfect ripeness.
This wine has aged well and the flavors are just now, six years later, truly shining. Deep luscious black fruits shine alongside hints of cocoa, and spices including black pepper and tobacco. This is a deep rich velvety wine that has aged quite well. Enjoy it with roast meats, hearty vegetable dishes, and full-flavored aged cheeses.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Cabernet
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley
Farming: Dry Creek Valley Terroir: soils of rocky, medium clay
Harvest date: October 1, 2018
In the Cellar: Fermentation in open-top tanks with manual punch down 2-4 times a day
Fermentation: 3-day cold soak followed by 5-day active fermentation.
Oak Regimen: Aged in new and 2-year-old French oak barrels for 19 months.
Bottled Date: June 2020
Release Date: September 2024
Alcohol: 14.2%
pH: 3.24
Residual Sugar: Less than 0.1%
Winemakers: Lucas Meeker & Dick Handal and David Noyes, consulting winemaker
2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
If you grow good fruit then your wine will be delicious. The winemaker helps the fruit speak but is not the storyteller. Cabernet from this small Dry Creek Valley vineyard is a delicious example of why it’s good to care for and nurture your grapes to perfect ripeness.
This wine has aged well and the flavors are just now, six years later, truly shining. Deep luscious black fruits shine alongside hints of cocoa, and spices including black pepper and tobacco. This is a deep rich velvety wine that has aged quite well. Enjoy it with roast meats, hearty vegetable dishes, and full-flavored aged cheeses.
Specs
Varietal: 100% Cabernet
Appellation: Dry Creek Valley
Farming: Dry Creek Valley Terroir: soils of rocky, medium clay
Harvest date: October 2019
In the Cellar: Fermentation in open-top tanks with manual punch down 2-4 times a day
Fermentation: 3-day cold soak followed by 5-day active fermentation.
Oak Regimen: Aged in new and 2-year-old French oak barrels for 19 months.
Bottled Date: June 2021
Release Date: September 2024
Alcohol: 14%
pH: 3.24
Residual Sugar: Less than 0.1%
Winemakers: Lucas Meeker & Dick Handal and David Noyes, consulting winemaker
What’s Included
2-bottles:
1x 2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
1x 2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Case:
6x 2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
6x 2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $540/case MSRP
About The Winery
Winery: Handal-Denier Vineyards, LLC
Owners: Alyce Denier and Dick Handal
Founded: Vineyard was founded
Location: Glen Ellen, CA
An award-winning, family-run winery in the heart of Dry Creek Valley
Our fascination with wine-grape growing began in South America, where we lived in Ecuador for 38 years, and continues today with our grape growing and wine-making ventures in Sonoma County.
Our winemaking is a relatively recent venture. For over twenty years we were primarily grape growers selling our premium grapes to some of the best wineries in Sonoma and Napa counties with whom we have long-standing relationships. One of our client wineries was Wellington Vineyards in Glen Ellen owned by the Wellington family of Sonoma. Peter Wellington, owner-winemaker, produced several award-winning, vineyard-specific Cabernet Sauvignons, including one from our Dry Creek Vineyard. Peter Wellington helped us develop and make our wines. We grew and produced boutique lots of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Sagrantino, a Red Blend, and Cabernet Sauvignon at the Wellington facility in Glen Ellen. We now produce our wines at the Meeker custom crush facility in Healdsburg and continue to receive consulting support from Peter Wellington as well as David Noyes who also worked with Wellington.
Though we no longer farm our own grapes we continue to consult for the family that purchased our vineyard in Dry Creek Valley from which we continue to make our Cabernet Sauvignon and Sagrantino wines. We also maintain close contact with our farming colleagues in Sonoma County and Mendocino County where we source our other grapes. We are fortunate to work with our friend Larry Venturi at Venturi Family Vineyards in Mendocino. Larry grows our Sangiovese and Petite Sirah.
We continue to source excellent Zinfandel and Syrah grapes from small family-owned vineyards that follow our high standards in growing grapes using organic practices and supporting sustainability. These farming relationships ensure that our grapes will continue to produce award-winning wines.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
@denierhandal
Dick, was this the same vineyard source used by Peter W?
Looking back at what I’ve purchased in the past, I have both Alexander and DCV sources from you.
How do those compare to this DCV bottling?
@rjquillin For the 2018 and 2019 all the fruit comes from the vineyard that we owned on West Dry Creek. That is the same vineyard that Peter W sourced from. The fruit went into Peter W’s Victory blend as well as some other blends for his brand.
Our first vintage under our own label from the DCV vineyard was 2009. But, Peter began to thank our vineyard designate on his wines starting in 2005.
What vintages have you had and are there any that stand out?
We have released some older Cabs if you are interested.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon - $105 = 38.88%
@pseudogourmet98 Not quite. There have been a few offers where the case price discount was north of 40%. The highest that I found doing a quick search was 44.43% for this offer.
Lab Rat reporting for duty and man am I excited to file this report. For those of us that go back to Wine Woot days, this is one that I would put up in the Hall of Fame - especially seeing the case price this morning. Details to follow, but TLDR my recommendation is grab the case while you can and think about where to put it in your overloaded cellar later.
After some challenges with UPS, my wife and I were excited to receive not one but two unexpected bottles. Bottles arrived at a good temperature and because we were going to have to drink two, we went right to work last night.
2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon Handal-Denier Vineyard Dry Creek Valley
On Pop & Pour, there was an immediate rich dark fruit bouquet. Wine poured a medium garnet with long heavy legs in the glass. (Will post pictures later when off of in-flight Wifi). First taste struck us both with the depth of the wine. This drinks like expensive juice and my first estimate would be a retail price of around $50-$70 a bottle.
After setting the wine aside for an hour or so, we came back and poured through an aerator. The wine had opened up even more and really had some dark berry, tobacco and a long finish. Tannins are really well integrated and there is a beautiful mouthfeel. Given the wine is now seven years old, it is really drinking beautifully.
We poured another small glass later with some chicken thighs sauted in olive oil and garlic alongside roasted cauliflower and fingerling potatoes. The wine paired very nicely, but would easily stand up to ribeye.
2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma
We opened this at the same time as the 2018 estate bottle and after resetting with some cold Pellegrino, we went right in for first taste. The wine poured a similar deep red and the slight difference in color between the two is almost imperceptible. A long smell picked up similar dark fruit though my wife also said she got some oak. The initial taste has a little more berry and drinks a bit brighter. There is some sweetness that we didn’t pick up before, but not overripe. The alcohol might be a little more pronounced here.
After one hour we poured again and this time through the aerator. The fruit is a little less sweet now and seems to be more balanced. Still getting those same characteristics; warm dark fruit, a little tobacco and vanilla and just a touch of spice at the tail end of the finish. Really a nice wine and had we not been tasting the 2018 alongside, I would have probably been even more complimentary.
Final official tastings for the evening were with the garlic chicken thighs mentioned above. This again paired really nicely with the meal and seems to be a great match.
Conclusion, these are two beautiful bottles of wine. Reading the official posting this morning, I am even more excited to buy. We loved Wellington cabs back in the Woot days and am happy to see the ties here. I have not had the opportunity to taste either vintage before, but I can say that they are drinking beautifully right now and seem to be in their window. Great juice and judicious use of oak (19 months in a mix of new and seasoned) along with a good nap have resulted in two wonderful wines. As mentioned, I would put this up with some our favorites WW/Casemate purchases over years (Wellington, Zahtila, Raised By Wolves, Reininger, amongst others) and at $165 a case the value here is just exceptional! Will post photos later when back on the ground and can try to answer any questions throughout the weekend.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a lab rat! These are tasty wines. Notes of dark berries, dark chocolate, a little earth and tight tannins, very dry. I would pair this with rich foods/cooking more than sipping.
The 2019 is a little more approachable from a sipping standpoint than the 2018 but they are both solid. At this price point I am not going to buy but I do recommend these wines.
Edit: I just tried both wines again (yes, 9am EST, I take my lab rat job seriously) and they are much more mellow on day two, for what it’s worth. Tannins are more relaxed and smooth.
I enjoyed the D/H mixed Italian reds from last year and they were a bit more per bottle. I like Cabs better so think this is a great deal. Plus, these will fit nicely into mixed case I give my kids each year.
Thank you for supporting our brand. Hope you enjoy the wines. If you are in California or plan to travel to California, please stop by Locals Tasting Room and say hi! We would love to connect! -
Oooohh boy. The cellar is overflowing, but a case from these talented folks has been on the short list a long while. Needed some cab anyway, so getting two birds stoned at once.
2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Specs
2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County
Tasting Notes
Specs
What’s Included
2-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $540/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Mar 24 - Wednesday, Mar 26
Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon
2 bottles for $44.99 $22.50/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $164.99 $13.75/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2018 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon
2019 Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon
Are these grapes all from the estate or are they coming from a broader set of sources?
@klezman
The grapes from for these two vintages are coming from the vineyard we used to own on the Western Bench of Dry Creek Valley.
@denierhandal
Dick, was this the same vineyard source used by Peter W?
Looking back at what I’ve purchased in the past, I have both Alexander and DCV sources from you.
How do those compare to this DCV bottling?
@rjquillin For the 2018 and 2019 all the fruit comes from the vineyard that we owned on West Dry Creek. That is the same vineyard that Peter W sourced from. The fruit went into Peter W’s Victory blend as well as some other blends for his brand.
Our first vintage under our own label from the DCV vineyard was 2009. But, Peter began to thank our vineyard designate on his wines starting in 2005.
What vintages have you had and are there any that stand out?
We have released some older Cabs if you are interested.
Wow, that’s a big price differential. I was going to impulse-buy a 2-pack, I think I’ll sleep on it.
@InFrom yeah, if they’d have a 4 or 6 bottle option at a more reasonable markup I would’ve jumped. For now, I’ll wait for the rats …
@InFrom @stolicat
At the case pricing this is like WW and PeterW in the old days!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
Denier-Handal Cabernet Sauvignon - $105 = 38.88%
@Mark_L
Wow! Is that record?
@pseudogourmet98 Not quite. There have been a few offers where the case price discount was north of 40%. The highest that I found doing a quick search was 44.43% for this offer.
@pseudogourmet98 Somehow, I didn’t get the offer link right.
***** QPR MONSTER ALERT *****
Lab Rat reporting for duty and man am I excited to file this report. For those of us that go back to Wine Woot days, this is one that I would put up in the Hall of Fame - especially seeing the case price this morning. Details to follow, but TLDR my recommendation is grab the case while you can and think about where to put it in your overloaded cellar later.
After some challenges with UPS, my wife and I were excited to receive not one but two unexpected bottles. Bottles arrived at a good temperature and because we were going to have to drink two, we went right to work last night.
On Pop & Pour, there was an immediate rich dark fruit bouquet. Wine poured a medium garnet with long heavy legs in the glass. (Will post pictures later when off of in-flight Wifi). First taste struck us both with the depth of the wine. This drinks like expensive juice and my first estimate would be a retail price of around $50-$70 a bottle.
After setting the wine aside for an hour or so, we came back and poured through an aerator. The wine had opened up even more and really had some dark berry, tobacco and a long finish. Tannins are really well integrated and there is a beautiful mouthfeel. Given the wine is now seven years old, it is really drinking beautifully.
We poured another small glass later with some chicken thighs sauted in olive oil and garlic alongside roasted cauliflower and fingerling potatoes. The wine paired very nicely, but would easily stand up to ribeye.
We opened this at the same time as the 2018 estate bottle and after resetting with some cold Pellegrino, we went right in for first taste. The wine poured a similar deep red and the slight difference in color between the two is almost imperceptible. A long smell picked up similar dark fruit though my wife also said she got some oak. The initial taste has a little more berry and drinks a bit brighter. There is some sweetness that we didn’t pick up before, but not overripe. The alcohol might be a little more pronounced here.
After one hour we poured again and this time through the aerator. The fruit is a little less sweet now and seems to be more balanced. Still getting those same characteristics; warm dark fruit, a little tobacco and vanilla and just a touch of spice at the tail end of the finish. Really a nice wine and had we not been tasting the 2018 alongside, I would have probably been even more complimentary.
Final official tastings for the evening were with the garlic chicken thighs mentioned above. This again paired really nicely with the meal and seems to be a great match.
Conclusion, these are two beautiful bottles of wine. Reading the official posting this morning, I am even more excited to buy. We loved Wellington cabs back in the Woot days and am happy to see the ties here. I have not had the opportunity to taste either vintage before, but I can say that they are drinking beautifully right now and seem to be in their window. Great juice and judicious use of oak (19 months in a mix of new and seasoned) along with a good nap have resulted in two wonderful wines. As mentioned, I would put this up with some our favorites WW/Casemate purchases over years (Wellington, Zahtila, Raised By Wolves, Reininger, amongst others) and at $165 a case the value here is just exceptional! Will post photos later when back on the ground and can try to answer any questions throughout the weekend.
@winstoncharles “…because we were going to have to drink two, we went right to work last night.”
Rough work!
@winstoncharles Here are my photos - for some reason I am now unable to edit my review.
@winstoncharles The edit window is a mere 5 mins.
Thank you for the opportunity to be a lab rat! These are tasty wines. Notes of dark berries, dark chocolate, a little earth and tight tannins, very dry. I would pair this with rich foods/cooking more than sipping.
The 2019 is a little more approachable from a sipping standpoint than the 2018 but they are both solid. At this price point I am not going to buy but I do recommend these wines.
Edit: I just tried both wines again (yes, 9am EST, I take my lab rat job seriously) and they are much more mellow on day two, for what it’s worth. Tannins are more relaxed and smooth.
Anyone near Joplin, MO want to split a case? This is a great wine at a great price either way.
Hard to pass this one up with such great rats!
/giphy drain-novel-play
I enjoyed the D/H mixed Italian reds from last year and they were a bit more per bottle. I like Cabs better so think this is a great deal. Plus, these will fit nicely into mixed case I give my kids each year.
/giphy circular-practical-map
Thank you for supporting our brand. Hope you enjoy the wines. If you are in California or plan to travel to California, please stop by Locals Tasting Room and say hi! We would love to connect! -
@denierhandal
Is there a way to connect directly with you, other than a physical appearance?
I tend to be shy on the pricier deals, but this seem too good a QPR to pass up:
/giphy nutritious-thinkable-woodchuck
/giphy young-sloppy-sausage
@n8white13 that giphy could have gone in a very different direction!
Oooohh boy. The cellar is overflowing, but a case from these talented folks has been on the short list a long while. Needed some cab anyway, so getting two birds stoned at once.
/giphy gainful-wry-lemming
/giphy worthy-lethargic-sock
Case is sold out. Didn’t have space for it anyways.
Bummer. Came to buy a case but they’re all gone.
Any chance there stock to refill for the case option?
@winedavid59 @wccwinegirl
A couple requests to bundle those twins into cases…
Bummer