Our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in the Northern Napa Valley where we have warm temperatures during the days and cool nights, making a great location to grow Cabernet. The cabernet grapes hang on the vine as long as possible to maximize those deep flavors typical of Calistoga fruit.
The 2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon opens with solid fruit structure and is full of rich blackberry, boysenberry, dark chocolate and chewy tannins yielding a medium-bodied, well-balanced wine.
Specs
Vintage: 2012
Blend: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Calistoga, Napa Valley
Barrel Regime: 30% new French oak
Alcohol: 13.45%
pH: 3.53
TA: 6.7
Bottled: August 2014
Included in the Box
2-bottles:
2x 2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Case:
12x 2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Price Comparison
$540 for a Case/$45 MSRP/Not for sale on winery website
Vincent Arroyo has been producing limited quantities of wine from his estate-grown vineyards in Calistoga since 1984. His winemaking style is the embodiment of his philosophy about his land. Take what you have and do the best you can with it. Each wine at the winery is hand-crafted, starting from before the grapes are harvested. Vince decides how the grapes from each vineyard will be vinified, when they will be picked, how they will be crushed, what fermentation regimes they will undergo (pumpovers, extended macerations, pressings), and finally, what percentage of French or American barrels, new or old barrels to maximize the optimum flavors of the wine during the barrel-aging process. The wines produced at the Vincent Arroyo Winery have put a star on many Napa Valley maps as a place that shouldnāt be missed.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, 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
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon - $60 = 16.66%
@ttboy23 It may be the early hour, but Iām not finding it on their site. At least, not via the link above in the write-up. I looked under Reds and Library. Am I missing a link?
@kaolis@MarkDaSpark@ttboy23
It was a live link this morningā¦l saw it with my own two bleary eyes!!
(but I couldnāt find it in any section on their website).
Well, it was the 2013, not the 2012 offered here, so it was different. Second, if you noticed, shipping was $48.
And tax upped the total to over $300 ā¦ $18 sales tax? 6.25%? To my wine locker it would have been $22.32(7.75%), home would have been $32.52 (10.25%)!!
Either way, someone at VA, forgot to pull it before. Iām sure that part of the contract is they donāt offer better pricing (even on a year newer wine) during the offer here. And WCC is pretty good at making sure thereās no other better prices out there.
Iām sure that part of the contract is they donāt offer better pricing (even on a year newer wine) during the offer here. And WCC is pretty good at making sure thereās no other better prices out there.
Everyone knows ālibraryā wines are more expensive, so that explains the discrepancy.
OK, please bear with me this is dictated to my phone because my computer is on the Fritz again. Red wine and me are not the best of friends. It has never been my wine of choice or something that Iāve gone out of my way to drank. I have drank more red wine in the past year going wine tasting with my daughter and son-in-law then I have the rest of my 64 years of life
So when I got the bottle and I opened the Box I thought well at least I donāt have to worry about waiting for it to get really cold like a nice dessert wines many of whom have to be really cold.
I also donāt eat dinner so I canāt tell you anything about it with food. dinner for me is a protein shake and thatās it.
So I got home and I opened the bottle because red wines are supposed to breathe right? But I did take a nice smell and it smelled really Fruity, berries mostly I couldnāt tell you one berry from another but it smelled like a berry juice but not exactly cause not so sweet.
So I let it sit for a while then poured a small amount in the bottom of a casemates class. Then I smelled it a little bit more and I could still smell the berries and not the sweet berries not like strawberries which I think of as sweet but more blackberries or raspberries the tarter berries. Then I slipped and tasted and I can taste the tannins in the bitter part of my tongue and it I can taste it itās kind of got I um to me itās a little heavy bodied itās not a light white wine. I didnāt like it because I donāt like red wines in general and cab in particular because itās so overly tannined usually, but I could have drank it if thatās when I needed to do.
So then I actually chilled it down a little bit and the tannins and generic red wine taste I dont like were so strong I didnāt want any part of it. it was much better at pure Room temperature then even slightly chilled.
I did actually Google why donāt I like red wines and came out with a big thing about the bitterness and the tannins and how it strikes your tongue and how some people just really donāt like that and I think thatās me. But for a red wine it werenāt so bad at Room temperature
Wish I could say more about it I donāt taste the berries like I smell them but 90% of taste is smell ( I wonder for drank it through a straw if Iād like it better donāt laugh but I didnāt try that)
Hope I injected some humor into some really bad rattage
@Cerridwyn Well, your rattage is honest at least, if not especially helpful for those who do drink red wineā¦ What I did get that might be helpful is that the wine has noticeable, good tart fruit aromas that are not uncharacteristic of Cabernet (not sure if you would recognize the more typical black currant descriptor) and is at least medium bodied, with significant tannin. To be expected from a generally very good year like 2012. Combine that with the stats at mid-range alcohol levels, good acidity and balanced pH suggests a wine at least worth a solid look.
@rpm thx I obviously couldnāt put it better myself
I have had cabs on wine tasting expeditions with my daughter and son-in-law and this was better than most of the ones I have had.
I donāt really want to say that to me most red wines just taste like red wines with no distinct characteristics. But thatās true. This one was more unique and was less obnoxious to my palette I guess is the word then many of them I have tried
Hello, my good friends!
Joel and Michelle here to give you the downlow on this most excellent bottle.
For starters, the bottle didnāt arrive until about 5pm, which did not provide an opportunity to really determine a good dinner pairing, nor did it allow for the bottle to ārestā from itās travels. However, we were very excited to receive an aged Cab from a known name winery.
The wine is a nice dark garnet (or āplumā color according to Michelle). There is noticeable tannic residue in the bottle neck, which isnāt hugely surprising for an 8 year old Cabernet.
At pop and pour, initial aromas are pretty tightā¦ hints of chalk and cedar with some dark fruit. I would not call this fruity at all.
First taste was EXTREMELY closed, highly tannic, and very āoldā wine profile. I was surprised, as this tasted more like a 12-15+ year old wine than 8 years. Iām not sure if this is consistent with bottle shock or whether that is a real phenomenon. There was leather and cedar and tannins, but just hints of that dark fruit. This wine definitely needs some breathing time! Finish isnāt very long, but definitely bitter dryness.
Michelle tends to appreciate the high tannin, closed profile more than most, and her initial response was ādry but good. Iām having trouble identifying any specific flavors, but it is lovely on itās own.ā
After 10-15 minutes, not much change, though the tannins fade slightly.
Luckily enough, we were able to pair with leftover pot roast and potatoes, and this was an excellent choice.
I think the fattiness of the roast played particularly well against the tannin and started to allow some additional flavors to come out of both the wine and the meat.
After about 30 minutes, the wine shows more acidity, and the dark fruits start to become more clear - cassis and blackberry, among others. The finish grows a bit and the bitterness fades. Still strong leather and more vanilla.
We put the kids to bed, and I came back to the glass after nearly 90 minutes of being open, just standing in the bottle. The wine is much more open, the tannins are very well integrated, there is more of a red fruit or cherry flavor, but itās also getting lighter bodied and finish is pretty short. There is still some vanilla and leather, but faded.
Clearly this wine is presenting predominantly tertiary flavor profile. If you appreciate wine with some age, this is a good choice. Iām not sure if it is truly in ādeclineā yet or is entering a ādumb phaseā or any sort of ābottle shockā, but it definitely tastes āolderā than itās age. Pairing with pot roast definitely helped enhance both. I was expecting it to price in the $20-30 range, so I think itās ok QPR for an aged Cab.
apparently not everyone can see the photos. Iām going to try this once more, directly uploading. If not, see if this link will work to view photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8mSAoNtsXR8HgnjP6.
I would expect a top classically-made 2012 Cab to have a couple more years in a closed phase, but it sounds like this one is coming out on the drying side. Probably doesnāt betoken a long life, but should be good value for current drinking mature Cab.
Tasting Notes
Our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in the Northern Napa Valley where we have warm temperatures during the days and cool nights, making a great location to grow Cabernet. The cabernet grapes hang on the vine as long as possible to maximize those deep flavors typical of Calistoga fruit.
The 2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon opens with solid fruit structure and is full of rich blackberry, boysenberry, dark chocolate and chewy tannins yielding a medium-bodied, well-balanced wine.
Specs
Included in the Box
Price Comparison
$540 for a Case/$45 MSRP/Not for sale on winery website
About The Winery
Vincent Arroyo Winery
Vincent Arroyo has been producing limited quantities of wine from his estate-grown vineyards in Calistoga since 1984. His winemaking style is the embodiment of his philosophy about his land. Take what you have and do the best you can with it. Each wine at the winery is hand-crafted, starting from before the grapes are harvested. Vince decides how the grapes from each vineyard will be vinified, when they will be picked, how they will be crushed, what fermentation regimes they will undergo (pumpovers, extended macerations, pressings), and finally, what percentage of French or American barrels, new or old barrels to maximize the optimum flavors of the wine during the barrel-aging process. The wines produced at the Vincent Arroyo Winery have put a star on many Napa Valley maps as a place that shouldnāt be missed.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, 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, February 6th - Monday, February 10th
Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon
2 bottles for $59.99 $30/bottle + $4/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $299.99 $25/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: Tax & Shipping not included in savings calculations)
2012 Vincent Arroyo Cabernet Sauvignon - $60 = 16.66%
Iāll take 2 or 3 if someone is going in on a case.
@MarkDaSpark I wouldnāt mind three or four as well.
$20/bottle from the wineryā¦just saying
@ttboy23 It may be the early hour, but Iām not finding it on their site. At least, not via the link above in the write-up. I looked under Reds and Library. Am I missing a link?
I found the 2013 on the website for $20. Looks like same wine different vintageā¦link says 2012 but it takes you to the 2013. Looks like a live link.
https://www.vincentarroyo.com/product/2012-CABERNET-SAUVIGNON-Copy
I clicked through, did not order:
2013 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
$240.00
Price: $20.00
Qty: 12
Subtotal$240.00
Shipping$48.00
Sales Tax$18.00
Total$306.00
@kaolis
Not anymore! Link is 404, and none sighted under current or Library wines. It did work when I first clicked on it, but not the next time.
@kaolis @MarkDaSpark They shut us down! lol.
@kaolis @MarkDaSpark @ttboy23
It was a live link this morningā¦l saw it with my own two bleary eyes!!
(but I couldnāt find it in any section on their website).
@kaolis @karenhynes @MarkDaSpark @ttboy23 I smell a rat ā and not a lab rat!
@InFrom @karenhynes @MarkDaSpark @ttboy23 Weāve been hacked!! Russia? China? I say we subpoena WD, but will meh let him testify???
@InFrom @kaolis @karenhynes @ttboy23
Well, it was the 2013, not the 2012 offered here, so it was different. Second, if you noticed, shipping was $48.
And tax upped the total to over $300 ā¦ $18 sales tax? 6.25%? To my wine locker it would have been $22.32(7.75%), home would have been $32.52 (10.25%)!!
Either way, someone at VA, forgot to pull it before. Iām sure that part of the contract is they donāt offer better pricing (even on a year newer wine) during the offer here. And WCC is pretty good at making sure thereās no other better prices out there.
@InFrom @kaolis @karenhynes @MarkDaSpark @ttboy23
Iām sure that part of the contract is they donāt offer better pricing (even on a year newer wine) during the offer here. And WCC is pretty good at making sure thereās no other better prices out there.
Everyone knows ālibraryā wines are more expensive, so that explains the discrepancy.
@InFrom @kaolis @karenhynes @MarkDaSpark @ttboy23 Itās clear WD colluded with Russia to take down the other site.
Rats?
Rattage without an image
OK, please bear with me this is dictated to my phone because my computer is on the Fritz again. Red wine and me are not the best of friends. It has never been my wine of choice or something that Iāve gone out of my way to drank. I have drank more red wine in the past year going wine tasting with my daughter and son-in-law then I have the rest of my 64 years of life
So when I got the bottle and I opened the Box I thought well at least I donāt have to worry about waiting for it to get really cold like a nice dessert wines many of whom have to be really cold.
I also donāt eat dinner so I canāt tell you anything about it with food. dinner for me is a protein shake and thatās it.
So I got home and I opened the bottle because red wines are supposed to breathe right? But I did take a nice smell and it smelled really Fruity, berries mostly I couldnāt tell you one berry from another but it smelled like a berry juice but not exactly cause not so sweet.
So I let it sit for a while then poured a small amount in the bottom of a casemates class. Then I smelled it a little bit more and I could still smell the berries and not the sweet berries not like strawberries which I think of as sweet but more blackberries or raspberries the tarter berries. Then I slipped and tasted and I can taste the tannins in the bitter part of my tongue and it I can taste it itās kind of got I um to me itās a little heavy bodied itās not a light white wine. I didnāt like it because I donāt like red wines in general and cab in particular because itās so overly tannined usually, but I could have drank it if thatās when I needed to do.
So then I actually chilled it down a little bit and the tannins and generic red wine taste I dont like were so strong I didnāt want any part of it. it was much better at pure Room temperature then even slightly chilled.
I did actually Google why donāt I like red wines and came out with a big thing about the bitterness and the tannins and how it strikes your tongue and how some people just really donāt like that and I think thatās me. But for a red wine it werenāt so bad at Room temperature
Wish I could say more about it I donāt taste the berries like I smell them but 90% of taste is smell ( I wonder for drank it through a straw if Iād like it better donāt laugh but I didnāt try that)
Hope I injected some humor into some really bad rattage
@Cerridwyn Well, your rattage is honest at least, if not especially helpful for those who do drink red wineā¦ What I did get that might be helpful is that the wine has noticeable, good tart fruit aromas that are not uncharacteristic of Cabernet (not sure if you would recognize the more typical black currant descriptor) and is at least medium bodied, with significant tannin. To be expected from a generally very good year like 2012. Combine that with the stats at mid-range alcohol levels, good acidity and balanced pH suggests a wine at least worth a solid look.
@rpm thx I obviously couldnāt put it better myself
I have had cabs on wine tasting expeditions with my daughter and son-in-law and this was better than most of the ones I have had.
I donāt really want to say that to me most red wines just taste like red wines with no distinct characteristics. But thatās true. This one was more unique and was less obnoxious to my palette I guess is the word then many of them I have tried
@Cerridwyn @rpm
Hello, my good friends!
Joel and Michelle here to give you the downlow on this most excellent bottle.
For starters, the bottle didnāt arrive until about 5pm, which did not provide an opportunity to really determine a good dinner pairing, nor did it allow for the bottle to ārestā from itās travels. However, we were very excited to receive an aged Cab from a known name winery.
The wine is a nice dark garnet (or āplumā color according to Michelle). There is noticeable tannic residue in the bottle neck, which isnāt hugely surprising for an 8 year old Cabernet.
At pop and pour, initial aromas are pretty tightā¦ hints of chalk and cedar with some dark fruit. I would not call this fruity at all.
First taste was EXTREMELY closed, highly tannic, and very āoldā wine profile. I was surprised, as this tasted more like a 12-15+ year old wine than 8 years. Iām not sure if this is consistent with bottle shock or whether that is a real phenomenon. There was leather and cedar and tannins, but just hints of that dark fruit. This wine definitely needs some breathing time! Finish isnāt very long, but definitely bitter dryness.
Michelle tends to appreciate the high tannin, closed profile more than most, and her initial response was ādry but good. Iām having trouble identifying any specific flavors, but it is lovely on itās own.ā
After 10-15 minutes, not much change, though the tannins fade slightly.
Luckily enough, we were able to pair with leftover pot roast and potatoes, and this was an excellent choice.
I think the fattiness of the roast played particularly well against the tannin and started to allow some additional flavors to come out of both the wine and the meat.
After about 30 minutes, the wine shows more acidity, and the dark fruits start to become more clear - cassis and blackberry, among others. The finish grows a bit and the bitterness fades. Still strong leather and more vanilla.
We put the kids to bed, and I came back to the glass after nearly 90 minutes of being open, just standing in the bottle. The wine is much more open, the tannins are very well integrated, there is more of a red fruit or cherry flavor, but itās also getting lighter bodied and finish is pretty short. There is still some vanilla and leather, but faded.
Clearly this wine is presenting predominantly tertiary flavor profile. If you appreciate wine with some age, this is a good choice. Iām not sure if it is truly in ādeclineā yet or is entering a ādumb phaseā or any sort of ābottle shockā, but it definitely tastes āolderā than itās age. Pairing with pot roast definitely helped enhance both. I was expecting it to price in the $20-30 range, so I think itās ok QPR for an aged Cab.
@jasisk Nice informative report. How was the cork? Did it show some age? Lots of staining?
apparently not everyone can see the photos. Iām going to try this once more, directly uploading. If not, see if this link will work to view photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8mSAoNtsXR8HgnjP6.
@jasisk Fantastic, now that I can see the photos I can judge for myself. This wine does seem to show some age around the edges, at least to my eye.
@jasisk Good to hear from you!
@jasisk Excellent work! Thank you!
I would expect a top classically-made 2012 Cab to have a couple more years in a closed phase, but it sounds like this one is coming out on the drying side. Probably doesnāt betoken a long life, but should be good value for current drinking mature Cab.
@jasisk I think that was the lowdown. The downlow is a different thing. Either way sfi enjoyed both rat reports.
crummy-memorable-hook
Canāt make it work.
@crabbyman did you have too many spaces after /giphy?
/giphy crummy-memorable-hook
Anyone besides Sparky and I interested in a SoCal split?
@markdaspark
@MarkDaSpark @klezman
Ok, found a co-worker that will take some bottles.
3 MdS
2~3 klez
the balance stays in the office in SD
reliant-decisive-jasmine