2016, 2017, & 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Tasting Notes
Dark red fruit, a touch of smoke and pepper on the nose, and a delightful finish.
Our Rutherford Cabernet comes from a beautiful site on the western hills of Napa Valley, in the heart of the Rutherford Bench. Dusty characteristics predominate on the palate, with supple tannins framing the bold style of this wine. Red fruit bursts from the glass offering a subtle vanilla note from the French Oak barrels used to age the wine. Decant if you plan to drink in the next few years, or cellar to soften the structure and drink by 2036.
All three wines were aged on 100% French oak, and 30%-40% new barrels for 18-20 months.
Specs
Vintage: 2016
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Rutherford
Alcohol: 13.0%
pH: 3.69
Specs
Vintage: 2017
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Rutherford
Alcohol: 13.5%
pH: 3.70
Specs
Vintage: 2018
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Rutherford
Alcohol: 14.2%
pH: 3.63
What’s Included
3-bottles:
1x 2016 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1x 2017 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1x 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Case:
4x 2016 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
4x 2017 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
4x 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Laura and Michael Swanton know the many challenges of establishing a boutique winery dedicated to crafting small quantities of fine wine in the Napa Valley. They have experienced them all in their demanding, yet delicious, journey from fledging winery to award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel producers.
A long-time wine enthusiast, Owner, and Proprietor Laura Swanton purchased the Calistoga winery estate that would become Laura Michael Wines from the Traulsen family in 1999. At the time, Laura was a sales specialist with Cisco Systems in San Jose. It was a career that required intimate knowledge of high-tech product application. Knowing how the technology worked was critical to her success in selling the product.
At the time Laura purchased the winery, Michael had embarked on an independent career in power generation and services, a career that spanned nearly two decades. When they came together in 2006, their current journey started and continues to this day.
Today, their tenacity for learning systems and science is directed at running their small winery and vineyard estate dedicated to limited-production, premium red wines. Since 1999, Laura has managed all winemaking processes from grape sourcing to the logistics of launching and operating a winery. Her zeal to understand winegrowing at its root has her pruning, picking, irrigating, and collecting samples in the vineyard. A thirst for winemaking knowledge encourages her participation in crush, pump-overs, racking and bottling.
“We do it all,” says Laura. “It’s so important that we work alongside every member of our team from the temporary harvest help to our consulting winemaker. We are not ones to stand on the sidelines, and fortunately, because we are as small as we are, we can be actively involved in every aspect of this business.”
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Laura Michael Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical
3 bottles for $99.99 $33.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $349.99 $29.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
It’s always a happy day when the Rat email appears in your inbox. Thanks to Alice and the gang for the opportunity to share an opinion.
I received and tasted a bottle of 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. California Cabs aren’t my go-to. This isn’t because I don’t like them. It’s because the ones I tend to like are a bit hard on my wallet.
The bottle arrived Wednesday afternoon, and since Thursday is a non-drinking day for me, I had to take one for the team last night and enjoy a couple glasses of wine.
Bottle and cork looked good. Opening it, I immediately poured a 375ml bottle up to the very brim, capped it, and put it in the fridge for Friday afternoon. I’ll report back on how that held up later today.
This is a very dark wine, in the glass and on the nose. No distinct fruits except to say “dark.” Very slight alcohol on the nose and long, firm legs in the glass.
I poured a first glass at just below room temperature - probably low 60s.
First sip - yes, dark fruits. Not too much alcohol. Firm tannins. This is pretty good. By the end of that glass I was really enjoying it. Still no distinct fruits I could pick out but a lovely overall taste. Very small amount of acid on the start, rich fruits in the middle, and a really nice dry finish.
While I was drinking the first glass I put the bottle in the fridge so I could try the second glass colder - mid 50s. I didn’t enjoy that first several sips of that glass nearly as much. Once it warmed up a bit, it was as good as the first.
It was late and I wasn’t eating, so I only tried to “pair” it with some salty chips to see if that made a difference. It did not improve the wine. At the right temperature, this stood on its own quite well.
I’m very interested to see what the price will be. I’m thinking this is not an inexpensive cab. It doesn’t drink like one.
My wife and I are not fans of Cabernet Sauvignon, nor other Bordeaux varietals (Merlot is OK). (And an odd exception for Bordeaux varietals we taste locally here in Virginia – a very different terroir, and many we find tasty.) Nor Zinfandel. We’re big Rhone folk. When I saw the 2017 Laura Michael Cabernet Sauvignon in my Lab Rat box, I was excited to try a wine I knew to be high quality, that I normally would just not pay for. But I thought it was not ideal for casemates, as I probably wouldn’t like it that much.
After it arrived, I put in freezer to get down to room temp-, opened quick, put through cheap aerator, and got into some glasses for spaghetti and meatball dinner. Maybe just 10 minutes in glasses. And it was great with that. All the muscle needed to stand up to spicy dinner, certainly. But balanced. Finish was strong, but balanced.
My wife has had maybe a dozen good Cabernet Sauvignons, some very expensive, from Cali, Washington, and Bordeaux. This is the first one she’s really liked.
On the nose and pallette: Berries, dark fruit. (We just weren’t able to do our normal color-wheel thing.)
We left about 55% sitting on the counter, corked, for the next day. This was great with left-over beef stew, 20 hours after opening, to nobody’s surprise. It was really hard to leave any for the evening.
On day 2, about 27 hours after opening, I brought the room-temperature bottle over to the neighbors’, new casematers. (In fact, I brought them over their share of the de Négoce Cabs in the same trip.) A stand alone tasting, no food. This was a hit. Fantastic. When evaluating a wine, I taste it in different ways. I tried to do a sip where I just drank it quick like a beverage; I couldn’t. Once the quality hit my tongue I just had to swish it around and savor.
I’m sure a Cab-lover will love this, but it may also have the characteristic of being approachable for the rest of us. Hard to say of course. Maybe ‘Rutherford’ is just my wife and I finding the terroir we like. Maybe we’re now ‘ready’ for Cabs? (Probably not that, as we had an acclaimed Cab just a few months ago, with our typical ‘meh’ reaction.) I think I can safely say, this stuff is darn good, and may well delight a wider audience than other high-quality Cabs.
Wow. I thought about getting some. I am pulling myself out of wine-budget-hole with heroic discipline, and slots for expensive reds have to be saved for Syrah. But I’ve got some friends that are much more Cabby, and I will probably suggest this to them; a completely unique time when I can personally vouch for a Cabernet Sauvignon. So I may pull the trigger, as the wine-pimp for some chums, but none for me. (Well, who am I kidding; I’ll snag one or two before the rest move on.)
@rjquillin I wouldn’t be able to recall; they weren’t mine, and since I didn’t enjoy, I didn’t worry about remembering. But they were mostly Washington state Cabs. A few Delille’s. An Upchurch or 2. I can’t recall other one-offs (didn’t try to).
As painful this was for the wallet - I figure that the price for case(s) I just bought will be long forgotten when I am savoring these bottles in ten years. Like Corison and a few others, these will be meted out sparingly. Her Zins are fantastic as well. If the rumor is true, it will be sad to see her go, as it was Peter Wellington.
I was very excited to get my Lab Rat e-mail on Tuesday from Alice! I saw it was going ot be a Friday release and knew it was going to be one of the special ones. It arrived on Wednesday and we had plans so that gave the bottle time to rest for a day (but meant I wouldn’t really be able to taste it over multiple.
The cork had a very dark lovely red on the base and the wine was a very deep red in the glass base. On the nose I got leather, tobacco, plums and cherries primarily. Very nice scents I typically get with good reds. I swirled it in the glass, and it seemed a bit more thin than most cabs I have had, although it has been awhile. Beautiful color though!
The first sip was dry, with a clean finish. It was thinner than I expected and not as full a mouthfeel as I typically associate with Cab. The flavor had cherry, currant, tobacco, and strong hints of leather. There might be some baking spices lingering in the background. It’s pretty balanced with the tannins up front giving way to a clean finish.
I left the bottle open on the counter for an hour and it opened up a bit. There was more fruit up front and the tannins had mellowed slightly. It’s an easy drinking wine. I wish I had been able to try it with food, but we didn’t have anything other than Mediterranean chicken pizza.
I took one for the team and poured a small glass this morning after having the bottle corked on the counter overnight to see how it changed. I opened up a bit more and has a much more balanced profile. The fruit is really present on the front with some solid tannins and a clean acidic finish. It has become more “full” in the mouth as well. This is definitely a wine you want to aerate for a bit to let it really open up. It is a very tasty and easy to drink Cab!
I can’t let the potentially last Laura Michael offer go by without being a part of it… always a top tier purchase on this site. Really sad to hear about the potential sale of the winery.
Laura here - wanted to thank the lab rats for all the great comments on the wines. I’ve been sourcing from this vineyard since 2009 and managing the site since 2012. We try to be very consistent in our treatment of the fruit once it comes into the winery. It’s a beautiful vineyard primarily facing toward the southeast in the foothills above White Hall Lane. If the upmost block produces enough grapes, those go into our Bentley program - it’s a great vineyard. (and yes, it’s time for Michael and me to retire, so the winery is for sale. I’ve poured my heart and soul into my winery for 23 years and look forward to being able to have time to travel and kick back after working for 45 years).
@lauramichaelnv Thank you for your craftsmanship over these many years and for hosting the wooters so long ago. It has been wonderful enjoying your wines and I hope to continue to enjoy them for many years to come. Happy Retirement!
@kawichris650 Would you be up for a split? The last thing I need is more Cab, but Laura Michael has never let me down and this may well be a final opportunity!
Bought the 2014 two pack that was Calistoga and Rutherford. Unfortunately the Calistoga just felt very one dimensional and lacking. Not to say it was bad but expected much more out of it.
Love the vertical but can’t justify a whole case and hate ending up with singles of vintages. Hope everyone enjoys!
@kawichris650 the bottle image clearly says Calistoga…?
Edit: the description clearly calls out Rutherford. I wonder what it actually is. My Calistoga bottles say Calistoga while my Rutherford bottles clearly say Rutherford on the front.
Edit edit : I now see the rat bottles show Rutherford. Now I regret not getting in on this. Shit.
@pmarin
You must not have a garden! This season I started one for the first time and I’ve never had anything against rabbits until now. They are garden destroying machines.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Laura Michael Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical - $50 = 12.49%
@chipgreen if you look up the Rutherford cab prices on their site, this is about 55% off for a case. I ordered one, with shipping it was about $365 I think (I did the casemates membership to save on the shipping ($6 vs $20), but may cancel it). This is a good savings even compared to wine club discounts
@dotat The computed savings are the savings of buying a case vs buying the smaller quantity offering. In this case, if you wanted a full 12 bottles of the offering it would be $400 at the 3-pack price. It’s $350 at the case price. Hence the arithmetic @chipgreen so graciously provides us four times a week.
(And the savings vs MSRP are listed in the first post.)
Oh and thanks to @danandlisa for taking my order up in Oregon, if I can get them to take about 20 more cases I will be able to convince my wife to buy a retirement home up there
We love Laura Michael wines! Reds club member for years and it’s a pretty common boutique go to for us with company. Love to pour something great and something you can’t easily get away from the winery.
2016, 2017, & 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Tasting Notes
Specs
Specs
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
$780.00/Case for 4x 2016 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley & 4x Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley & 4x 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Not for sale online, $321/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, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jul 25 - Wednesday, Jul 27
Laura Michael Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical
3 bottles for $99.99 $33.33/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $349.99 $29.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2016
2017
2018
She’s selling the winery?
@rjquillin ?
Pictures say Calistoga?
@rjquillin that’s my question too
@rjquillin huh?
@bahwm see the clue thread
@rjquillin
Ahhh okay. I was wondering what gave you that idea.
I wonder what will her and Michael be doing next?
Damn if it wasn’t a million degrees down here I might jump on these.
@ScottW58 agreed it’s tempting, especially with the lower alcohols
@ScottW58 agreed.
with supply constraints, it won’t be long before one will not be able to find a $30.00 Napa cab. and certainly not of this quality. IMHO.
Big fan of Laura as a winemaker and a contemporary business associate. top shelf.
notification of her winery being for sale is fresh news.
WD39
@Winedavid49
due to fires?
@rjquillin fires and two low yields in a row.
It’s always a happy day when the Rat email appears in your inbox. Thanks to Alice and the gang for the opportunity to share an opinion.
I received and tasted a bottle of 2018 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. California Cabs aren’t my go-to. This isn’t because I don’t like them. It’s because the ones I tend to like are a bit hard on my wallet.
The bottle arrived Wednesday afternoon, and since Thursday is a non-drinking day for me, I had to take one for the team last night and enjoy a couple glasses of wine.
Bottle and cork looked good. Opening it, I immediately poured a 375ml bottle up to the very brim, capped it, and put it in the fridge for Friday afternoon. I’ll report back on how that held up later today.
This is a very dark wine, in the glass and on the nose. No distinct fruits except to say “dark.” Very slight alcohol on the nose and long, firm legs in the glass.
I poured a first glass at just below room temperature - probably low 60s.
First sip - yes, dark fruits. Not too much alcohol. Firm tannins. This is pretty good. By the end of that glass I was really enjoying it. Still no distinct fruits I could pick out but a lovely overall taste. Very small amount of acid on the start, rich fruits in the middle, and a really nice dry finish.
While I was drinking the first glass I put the bottle in the fridge so I could try the second glass colder - mid 50s. I didn’t enjoy that first several sips of that glass nearly as much. Once it warmed up a bit, it was as good as the first.
It was late and I wasn’t eating, so I only tried to “pair” it with some salty chips to see if that made a difference. It did not improve the wine. At the right temperature, this stood on its own quite well.
I’m very interested to see what the price will be. I’m thinking this is not an inexpensive cab. It doesn’t drink like one.
This wine is good.
My wife and I are not fans of Cabernet Sauvignon, nor other Bordeaux varietals (Merlot is OK). (And an odd exception for Bordeaux varietals we taste locally here in Virginia – a very different terroir, and many we find tasty.) Nor Zinfandel. We’re big Rhone folk. When I saw the 2017 Laura Michael Cabernet Sauvignon in my Lab Rat box, I was excited to try a wine I knew to be high quality, that I normally would just not pay for. But I thought it was not ideal for casemates, as I probably wouldn’t like it that much.
After it arrived, I put in freezer to get down to room temp-, opened quick, put through cheap aerator, and got into some glasses for spaghetti and meatball dinner. Maybe just 10 minutes in glasses. And it was great with that. All the muscle needed to stand up to spicy dinner, certainly. But balanced. Finish was strong, but balanced.
My wife has had maybe a dozen good Cabernet Sauvignons, some very expensive, from Cali, Washington, and Bordeaux. This is the first one she’s really liked.
On the nose and pallette: Berries, dark fruit. (We just weren’t able to do our normal color-wheel thing.)
We left about 55% sitting on the counter, corked, for the next day. This was great with left-over beef stew, 20 hours after opening, to nobody’s surprise. It was really hard to leave any for the evening.
On day 2, about 27 hours after opening, I brought the room-temperature bottle over to the neighbors’, new casematers. (In fact, I brought them over their share of the de Négoce Cabs in the same trip.) A stand alone tasting, no food. This was a hit. Fantastic. When evaluating a wine, I taste it in different ways. I tried to do a sip where I just drank it quick like a beverage; I couldn’t. Once the quality hit my tongue I just had to swish it around and savor.
I’m sure a Cab-lover will love this, but it may also have the characteristic of being approachable for the rest of us. Hard to say of course. Maybe ‘Rutherford’ is just my wife and I finding the terroir we like. Maybe we’re now ‘ready’ for Cabs? (Probably not that, as we had an acclaimed Cab just a few months ago, with our typical ‘meh’ reaction.) I think I can safely say, this stuff is darn good, and may well delight a wider audience than other high-quality Cabs.
Wow. I thought about getting some. I am pulling myself out of wine-budget-hole with heroic discipline, and slots for expensive reds have to be saved for Syrah. But I’ve got some friends that are much more Cabby, and I will probably suggest this to them; a completely unique time when I can personally vouch for a Cabernet Sauvignon. So I may pull the trigger, as the wine-pimp for some chums, but none for me. (Well, who am I kidding; I’ll snag one or two before the rest move on.)
@wardad Thinking about your comments on those other ‘very expensive’ bottles, could really add additional perspective here…
@rjquillin @wardad yes, what are those other cabs? Many acclaimed cabs are quite different than my tastes as well.
@rjquillin I wouldn’t be able to recall; they weren’t mine, and since I didn’t enjoy, I didn’t worry about remembering. But they were mostly Washington state Cabs. A few Delille’s. An Upchurch or 2. I can’t recall other one-offs (didn’t try to).
As painful this was for the wallet - I figure that the price for case(s) I just bought will be long forgotten when I am savoring these bottles in ten years. Like Corison and a few others, these will be meted out sparingly. Her Zins are fantastic as well. If the rumor is true, it will be sad to see her go, as it was Peter Wellington.
2016 Laura Michael Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
I was very excited to get my Lab Rat e-mail on Tuesday from Alice! I saw it was going ot be a Friday release and knew it was going to be one of the special ones.
It arrived on Wednesday and we had plans so that gave the bottle time to rest for a day (but meant I wouldn’t really be able to taste it over multiple.
The cork had a very dark lovely red on the base and the wine was a very deep red in the glass base. On the nose I got leather, tobacco, plums and cherries primarily. Very nice scents I typically get with good reds. I swirled it in the glass, and it seemed a bit more thin than most cabs I have had, although it has been awhile. Beautiful color though!
The first sip was dry, with a clean finish. It was thinner than I expected and not as full a mouthfeel as I typically associate with Cab. The flavor had cherry, currant, tobacco, and strong hints of leather. There might be some baking spices lingering in the background. It’s pretty balanced with the tannins up front giving way to a clean finish.
I left the bottle open on the counter for an hour and it opened up a bit. There was more fruit up front and the tannins had mellowed slightly. It’s an easy drinking wine. I wish I had been able to try it with food, but we didn’t have anything other than Mediterranean chicken pizza.
I took one for the team and poured a small glass this morning after having the bottle corked on the counter overnight to see how it changed. I opened up a bit more and has a much more balanced profile. The fruit is really present on the front with some solid tannins and a clean acidic finish. It has become more “full” in the mouth as well. This is definitely a wine you want to aerate for a bit to let it really open up. It is a very tasty and easy to drink Cab!
I can’t let the potentially last Laura Michael offer go by without being a part of it… always a top tier purchase on this site. Really sad to hear about the potential sale of the winery.
/giphy lopsided-ugliest-servant
@vandemusser I would order that pair of animals any day! The sheep could maintain the yard and his buddy would take care of the mice.
Laura here - wanted to thank the lab rats for all the great comments on the wines. I’ve been sourcing from this vineyard since 2009 and managing the site since 2012. We try to be very consistent in our treatment of the fruit once it comes into the winery. It’s a beautiful vineyard primarily facing toward the southeast in the foothills above White Hall Lane. If the upmost block produces enough grapes, those go into our Bentley program - it’s a great vineyard. (and yes, it’s time for Michael and me to retire, so the winery is for sale. I’ve poured my heart and soul into my winery for 23 years and look forward to being able to have time to travel and kick back after working for 45 years).
@lauramichaelnv Congratulations to you and Michael.
@lauramichaelnv
Yes congratulations on retirement and I hope the two of you have some amazing travels!
@lauramichaelnv Thank you for your craftsmanship over these many years and for hosting the wooters so long ago. It has been wonderful enjoying your wines and I hope to continue to enjoy them for many years to come. Happy Retirement!
@kawichris650 Would you be up for a split? The last thing I need is more Cab, but Laura Michael has never let me down and this may well be a final opportunity!
@lauramichaelnv Congratulations! I was going to share my case with a friend but now am going to stock up!
Bought the 2014 two pack that was Calistoga and Rutherford. Unfortunately the Calistoga just felt very one dimensional and lacking. Not to say it was bad but expected much more out of it.
Love the vertical but can’t justify a whole case and hate ending up with singles of vintages. Hope everyone enjoys!
This is the Rutherford, just to prevent any confusion for others.
@kawichris650 the bottle image clearly says Calistoga…?
Edit: the description clearly calls out Rutherford. I wonder what it actually is. My Calistoga bottles say Calistoga while my Rutherford bottles clearly say Rutherford on the front.
Edit edit : I now see the rat bottles show Rutherford. Now I regret not getting in on this. Shit.
Any Chicago splits?
@pete0744 split or not, I bought a case. Let me know.
In for a 3-pack. How can I not?
I like my rabbits and they are usually respectful.
/giphy respectful-ultimate-rabbit
@pmarin
You must not have a garden! This season I started one for the first time and I’ve never had anything against rabbits until now. They are garden destroying machines.
@kawichris650 @pmarin
as are squirrels, but even more destructive.
/giphy harmful-qualified-cobra
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations).
Laura Michael Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical - $50 = 12.49%
@chipgreen if you look up the Rutherford cab prices on their site, this is about 55% off for a case. I ordered one, with shipping it was about $365 I think (I did the casemates membership to save on the shipping ($6 vs $20), but may cancel it). This is a good savings even compared to wine club discounts
@dotat The computed savings are the savings of buying a case vs buying the smaller quantity offering. In this case, if you wanted a full 12 bottles of the offering it would be $400 at the 3-pack price. It’s $350 at the case price. Hence the arithmetic @chipgreen so graciously provides us four times a week.
(And the savings vs MSRP are listed in the first post.)
/giphy spiky-dated-bedbug
/giphy harmful-qualified-cobra
Oh and thanks to @danandlisa for taking my order up in Oregon, if I can get them to take about 20 more cases I will be able to convince my wife to buy a retirement home up there
@ScottW58 I will gladly store your wine here, especially if it means you move up here to the land of cooler summers.
We love Laura Michael wines! Reds club member for years and it’s a pretty common boutique go to for us with company. Love to pour something great and something you can’t easily get away from the winery.