Clare Luce Abbey Estate Wine: Return Home

It was our great honor to be reviewed by reknowned wine critic Robert Parker. We've provided the complete text of his review below.

Clare Luce Abbey Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate Review 12-28-07 issue 174

This 8.5 acre mountainside vineyard just to the north of the quaint town of St Helena was purchased in 1991. The wines are 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, and they seem to be going from strength to strength. Interestingly, they are aged in a combination of French and Hungarian wood.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits beautiful elegance and a lovely black currant nose intermixed with hints of licorice, toast and spice box. Some espresso and white chocolate aromas are also present in this medium-bodied, beautifully complex wine that shows good acidity and freshness in a well-delineated style. It is not terribly dissimilar from a ripe vintage of Bordeaux. This wine should come into its own in 2-3 years, and drink nicely for 12-15.

The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits slightly more opulent, riper black currant fruit in the aromas along with some hints of anise and spicy oak as well as some cocoa and espresso. The wine is dense ruby/purple, medium to full-bodied, beautifully rich in fruit, with silkier tannins and slightly lower acidity than the 2005. It should drink well when released and age nicely for 12-15+ years. Production is around 1,000 cases from this vineyard that sits nearly adjacent to the famous Vineyard 29 off Route 29.

CLARE LUCE ABBEY ESTATE 2006 CABERNET SAUVIGNON Napa (not yet released) RED (91-93)
CLARE LUCE ABBEY ESTATE 2005 CABERNET SAUVIGNON Napa ($115) RED (91)

2005 Vintage	2006 Vintage
8.5 mountainside acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon 1-10R rootstock, clone 7 1000 cases Cluster profiling Guyot Simple Single low yield farming method 24 months in oak Custom crush at Vineyard 29 Winery Winemaker: Gerry Rowland Owners: Clare Luce Abbey and Clifford L. Abbey	8.5 mountainside acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon 1-10R rootstock, clone 7 800 cases Cluster profiling Guyot Simple Single low yield farming method 24 months in oak Custom crush at Vineyard 29 Winery Winemaker: Gerry Rowland Owners: Clare Luce Abbey and Clifford L. Abbey

Other Reviews:

Karen MacNeil, author of the Wine Bible and host of the PBS series “Wine, Food and Friends with Karen MacNeil” has this to say:

Clare Luce Abbey Estate 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon: "A massively structured Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon with notes of pie berries, cocoa, espresso minerals and dark chocolate. The ripe fruit character is nicely framed by just a touch of acidity which gives the wine definition and precision. Best of all, the texture is extremely plush—something akin to crushed velvet—and the finish is long, sustained and satisfying. Think, a roast of meat or a seared sirloin."

Clare Luce Abbey Estate 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon: “Possibly the finest vintage from this estate, the Clare Luce Abbey Estate Cabernet Sauvignon possesses perfect balance between enveloping softness and majestic fine tannin. The aromas --- tobacco, graphite, spice and blackberry --- are already complex for such a young wine. The dense, rich berry flavors are hedonistic to say the least, but above all, it’s the voluminous, velvety suppleness of the wine that is so instantly captivating. Drink it now or cellar it for a decade or more.”

Karen MacNeil
Author, The Wine Bible

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