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 2030.
Specifications
Vintage: 2012
Varietal: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Rutherford, Napa Valley
Alcohol: 13.9%
TA: .60
Harvest Date: September 23, 2012
pH: 3.58
Brix at Harvest: 26.3
Cooperage: 100% French Oak
Production: 448 cases
Included In The Box
2-bottles:
2x 2012 Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
Case:
12x 2012 Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
Winery: Laura Michael Wines
Owner: Laura and Michael Swanton
Founded: 1999
Location: Rutherford, Napa Valley, CA
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.
āWe do it all,ā says Laura. āItās 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.ā
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, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
2 bottles for $69.99 $34.99/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2012 Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon - $120 = 28.56%
@LambruscoKid Cool. Iāll give it a little time to see if anyone else chimes in. I may pull the trigger either way, but the racks are getting pretty full. Heh.
@cbrehman Sounds good; totally your call if nobody else chimes in. Iāve got some of their '14 Rutherford tucked away, so I wonāt be heartbroken if this one doesnāt work out.
@douglasp60@CruelMelody@LambruscoKid The wine is here! I know we have another order coming, so Iād love to be able to take care of both of them at the same time, but Iām fairly flexible.
With each opportunity to rat a bottle I feel excited and hopeful. Excited because well, duh! (sorry) Hopeful that I will be a truly helpful rat despite my overall inexperience. Thank you for giving me the chance again.
Letās dive in. Received the bottle yesterday, luckily it is summer and someone happened to be home. The email arrived this morning.
Opened the bottle. Cork is deep purple. Initial nose is fruity, grape and something I canāt quite place. No burning alcohol presence. Took the first sips right away and it is closed. After about 15 minutes it seemed about the same. A little fruit is detectable and it is a clean finish. I struggled to describe it and I asked my father in law if āthinā is a legitimate term in tasting wines. He laughed at me. That was the only thing I could think of (an hour later my mother in law said that when it was first opened she thought it was thinā¦BOOM! HA HA) It tasted like a cab but something was missing, kind of like when you eat something when your nose is stuffy and you only detect certain flavors, not the whole of the melded flavor. At that point I could honestly say I wasnāt impressed at all.
We were in a bit of a rush. I made pasta with a marinara/cheese sauce and that changed everything. The flavor opened nicely with that and the rotisserie chicken we picked up from winn dixie. With the food I could detect the full complimented flavors Iād hoped for. A little fruit, a bit of spiciness/peppery on the tongue and clean finish.
Everyone agreed that it was delicious with dinner and the cheddar cheese we had. I asked for opinions on price point and we agreed it would be great at $20+ per bottle and could see it easily at $30. Looks like we were close.
I donāt have experience aging wine in a cellar (my oldest bottles are a couple of the original meh wines and a couple victories from the last days at wine.woot) but I assume that this will continue to age well. There is about one glass left in the bottle. Iāll let it age until tomorrow
Final thought: If you like cabs and this fits your budget, it is a definite buy.
Edit: I wanted to write this without reading any notes on it. Now that Iāve read the official tasting notes, they are spot on. It was probably vanilla I detected but couldnāt place.
@kasandrae If you signed up during the kickstarter campaign, certain levels got fs for a year, iirc, and after that to maintain your meh status you paid $5/mo for fs on most of the sites. If you let it lapse, donāt think you can easily get it back.
The details elude me but @thumperchick can fill in the gory ones and correct my memory.
That would seriously piss me off as the only benefit of my continued VMP (which was then opened to Kickstarters, but hey, welcome to the previously shut-off program) is casemates shipping.
10% off Morningsave is a joke, and if I can just pick and choose my months to pay 4.99 and get free shipping on casemates, there would be no thanks for suckering me into VMP for all these years.
Monica and I were really excited to be Labrats for this bottle. OK, maybe I was the one who was really excited as I love Napa Cabs.
We opened this an hour before dinner and let it air in the decanter. First taste was quite smooth with well integrated tannins, so this would undoubtedly have drank well with a pop and pour.
We had Porterhouse steaks planned for dinner and after we took them out of the sous vide and we were finishing them on the grill we poured our first glasses. Medium purple in color with a nose of vanilla and black cherry. The first taste in the glass confirmed the vanilla and black cherry flavors on the palate. Once again, the tannins are well integrated and quite smooth. This is not an in your face Napa Cab. It was quite enjoyable to drink during dinner, but we both had the impression that it was more of a Cab that was longing to be paired with burgers. I think that this wine will be best drinkable in the next 5-7 years.
Overall an enjoyable bottle of wine! Well worth the price offered.
Once again we were thankful for the opportunity to be LabRats and look forward to our next bottleā¦
@davidj94112 myself and @chaosdreamer are splitting a case just purchased. We are in Oakland/Alameda area. If you would like to go thirds, let us know. Total price including shipping/tax for a third share is $112.31
@chaosdreamer@coolac5 Hey thanks for the offer. Iāll be in the Oakland area a couple of times over the next week but then I donāt foresee myself in the east bay for quite some time. So might be tough for me to meet up to make the exchange (I live and work in SF). I think I will have to pass as I donāt know when Iād be able to pick it up.
WOW, Wow, wowā¦Rutherford, Laura Michael Wine, Cab Sauvignon!! This would be a normal AUTOBUY for me, but Iām up to my ears in wine and the SO is getting pretty XXXXXX! (Sure most of you been there!) Plus I just spent big bucks on a new patio gazebo that needs to be built. What to do, what to do!! NE OH peeps, any thoughts?
Wonder if this was sourced from the Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard? Inventory show that Iām holding a 2005.
Tasting Notes
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 2030.
Specifications
Included In The Box
Price Comparison
$885.41/case at Laura Michael Wines (including shipping)
About The Winery
Winery: Laura Michael Wines
Owner: Laura and Michael Swanton
Founded: 1999
Location: Rutherford, Napa Valley, CA
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.
āWe do it all,ā says Laura. āItās 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.ā
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, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Thursday, July 25th - Monday, July 29th
Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
2 bottles for $69.99 $34.99/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2012 Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2012 Laura Michael Wines Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon - $120 = 28.56%
@chipgreen Save BIG moneyā¦
/giphy menards
Would anyone in Baltimore care to split a case?
Any rats? this sounds intriguing.
Any PDX peeps interested in a split? Iād take 6 of these.
@cbrehman I was thinking of a two-pack. I could do three at most, if anyone else is willing to take the other three.
@LambruscoKid Cool. Iāll give it a little time to see if anyone else chimes in. I may pull the trigger either way, but the racks are getting pretty full. Heh.
@cbrehman Sounds good; totally your call if nobody else chimes in. Iāve got some of their '14 Rutherford tucked away, so I wonāt be heartbroken if this one doesnāt work out.
@cbrehman @LambruscoKid Iāll take the other 3
@CruelMelody @LambruscoKid Cool. Iāll pull the trigger.
@cbrehman I would take up to three
@cbrehman I didnāt refresh and see those are covered. Next time
@douglasp60 No worries. If you want them, we can split 4 ways. I have a shortage of space anyway.
Case is ordered. Iāll let you guys know when it arrives.
@douglasp60 @CruelMelody @LambruscoKid The wine is here! I know we have another order coming, so Iād love to be able to take care of both of them at the same time, but Iām fairly flexible.
Laura Michael is an autobuy for me. Iām in for a case.
Oh how I envy the Rat on this one!
If the February offer was any indication, this is likely to go quickā¦especially considering a 24 hour sale window only. Thank you, WD!
/giphy cunning-playful-butterfly
Well, this looks tasty, but Iām suddenly funemployed so no wine for me
With each opportunity to rat a bottle I feel excited and hopeful. Excited because well, duh! (sorry) Hopeful that I will be a truly helpful rat despite my overall inexperience. Thank you for giving me the chance again.
Letās dive in. Received the bottle yesterday, luckily it is summer and someone happened to be home. The email arrived this morning.
Opened the bottle. Cork is deep purple. Initial nose is fruity, grape and something I canāt quite place. No burning alcohol presence. Took the first sips right away and it is closed. After about 15 minutes it seemed about the same. A little fruit is detectable and it is a clean finish. I struggled to describe it and I asked my father in law if āthinā is a legitimate term in tasting wines. He laughed at me. That was the only thing I could think of (an hour later my mother in law said that when it was first opened she thought it was thinā¦BOOM! HA HA) It tasted like a cab but something was missing, kind of like when you eat something when your nose is stuffy and you only detect certain flavors, not the whole of the melded flavor. At that point I could honestly say I wasnāt impressed at all.
We were in a bit of a rush. I made pasta with a marinara/cheese sauce and that changed everything. The flavor opened nicely with that and the rotisserie chicken we picked up from winn dixie. With the food I could detect the full complimented flavors Iād hoped for. A little fruit, a bit of spiciness/peppery on the tongue and clean finish.
Everyone agreed that it was delicious with dinner and the cheddar cheese we had. I asked for opinions on price point and we agreed it would be great at $20+ per bottle and could see it easily at $30. Looks like we were close.
I donāt have experience aging wine in a cellar (my oldest bottles are a couple of the original meh wines and a couple victories from the last days at wine.woot) but I assume that this will continue to age well. There is about one glass left in the bottle. Iāll let it age until tomorrow
Final thought: If you like cabs and this fits your budget, it is a definite buy.
Edit: I wanted to write this without reading any notes on it. Now that Iāve read the official tasting notes, they are spot on. It was probably vanilla I detected but couldnāt place.
Did the 4.99 a month free shipping membership option go away? Went to sign up, and could not find it anymoreā¦
@kasandrae If you signed up during the kickstarter campaign, certain levels got fs for a year, iirc, and after that to maintain your meh status you paid $5/mo for fs on most of the sites. If you let it lapse, donāt think you can easily get it back.
The details elude me but @thumperchick can fill in the gory ones and correct my memory.
@kasandrae @rjquillin
Weāre in the middle of making a few tweaks and changes, but for now you can sign up for membership over at mediocre.com/membership
@kasandrae @Thumperchick Is this also going to include Casemates? Donāt see us listed on the page.
@kasandrae @rjquillin @Thumperchick
That would seriously piss me off as the only benefit of my continued VMP (which was then opened to Kickstarters, but hey, welcome to the previously shut-off program) is casemates shipping.
10% off Morningsave is a joke, and if I can just pick and choose my months to pay 4.99 and get free shipping on casemates, there would be no thanks for suckering me into VMP for all these years.
In for a case. Let me know if anyone in CMH area would like any part
Monica and I were really excited to be Labrats for this bottle. OK, maybe I was the one who was really excited as I love Napa Cabs.
We opened this an hour before dinner and let it air in the decanter. First taste was quite smooth with well integrated tannins, so this would undoubtedly have drank well with a pop and pour.
We had Porterhouse steaks planned for dinner and after we took them out of the sous vide and we were finishing them on the grill we poured our first glasses. Medium purple in color with a nose of vanilla and black cherry. The first taste in the glass confirmed the vanilla and black cherry flavors on the palate. Once again, the tannins are well integrated and quite smooth. This is not an in your face Napa Cab. It was quite enjoyable to drink during dinner, but we both had the impression that it was more of a Cab that was longing to be paired with burgers. I think that this wine will be best drinkable in the next 5-7 years.
Overall an enjoyable bottle of wine! Well worth the price offered.
Once again we were thankful for the opportunity to be LabRats and look forward to our next bottleā¦
@vwsmaltz curious, why do you think it will go 5-7 if the tannins are already so integrated?
@canonizer I think that is a maximum as opposed to what was listed in the descriptionā¦
Auto buy. Thank you WD/WCC!
/giphy rebellious-miraculously-goldfish
In for a case before it sells out. Would share with any WNY folks whoād like some, @ddeuddeg, @bahwm, @schristopher524, @noodles, @lamplighter.
stiff-tender-grade
I am a big fan of Laura Michaelās wines. Currently have some Zins in my cellar but no Cabs. Anyone in the Bay Area interested in a split???
@davidj94112 myself and @chaosdreamer are splitting a case just purchased. We are in Oakland/Alameda area. If you would like to go thirds, let us know. Total price including shipping/tax for a third share is $112.31
@chaosdreamer @coolac5 Hey thanks for the offer. Iāll be in the Oakland area a couple of times over the next week but then I donāt foresee myself in the east bay for quite some time. So might be tough for me to meet up to make the exchange (I live and work in SF). I think I will have to pass as I donāt know when Iād be able to pick it up.
WOW, Wow, wowā¦Rutherford, Laura Michael Wine, Cab Sauvignon!! This would be a normal AUTOBUY for me, but Iām up to my ears in wine and the SO is getting pretty XXXXXX! (Sure most of you been there!) Plus I just spent big bucks on a new patio gazebo that needs to be built. What to do, what to do!! NE OH peeps, any thoughts?
Wonder if this was sourced from the Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard? Inventory show that Iām holding a 2005.
just love having Laura back on. A main stay for us and always great QPR. Rock on Laura!
So love the Laura wines - still have some in the ācellarā - not sure of how many. Re-stocking and holding on for a while.
CMH case split is done. Thanks
Any SoCal peepers interested in a split? Iām down for 4-6 if anyone else will pick up the other half.
@funnywontons Not a huge fan, but I could do a couple at the case price to see how/if her style has changed much.
Anyone in CT - Lower Fairfield County - interested in splitting a case?
Anyone in Chicago buying a case and willing to part with two or three of these?
Iām slowly filling our second bedroom with wine boxes and as such donāt check the site as often as Iād like. Then this happensā¦ DOH!
Anyone received and tasted yet? Picked up from my local fedex office, unfortunately seems like I got a cooked case.
Evidence of corks bleeding through top of bottle / opened several bottles which all seem very flat in profile / almost burntā¦
My case showed up in pristine condition. Havenāt opened any yet, but no cork protrusion at all and very tight foil capsules on all bottles.
@jasisk Very tight foil might get my attentionā¦