Ackerman Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2003
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Peter Marks, Master of Wine (MW), first tasted our 2003 vintage upon its release in 2007 and has been kind enough to retaste the 2003 in 2008 and 2009 to see how the vintage has developed.
2009 Re-Tasting Notes:
"This wine continues to amaze me. I love it since I grew up in the ‘70s drinking wines with ~13% alcohol, unlike many of today’s 15%+ fruit bombs (this wine measures in at a relatively modest 13.5%). It’s developing into a lovely, elegant wine with great complexity and styled much like classic, red Bordeaux with cedar, cigar box and leather. That said, it still reveals some of its bolder California fruit, yet now in a more reserved form – dried black cherry and cassis. The finish? I gave up counting after a minute, by then I was impatient for another sip."
2008 Re-Tasting Notes:
“Many pundits criticized the 2003 vintage due to uneven ripeness caused by heat spikes close to harvest time, but the Ackerman’s vineyard, located in southern Napa and naturally cooled by the blessed fog from San Francisco Bay, didn’t suffer the temperature extremes of more northern vineyards. The result is an exquisite 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon, which continues to develop beautifully in the bottle since I last had the pleasure of tasting it a year ago.Nuances of dark currant, black cherry, cocoa, cedar, earth and oak spice have combined to yield an even more profound and complex wine. The enchanting flavors, medium-full body and rich, yet balanced tannins make this wine eminently drinkable now, but I believe it will continue to improve in the bottle for another three to four years, and will easily hold for five or more years beyond that.”
Peter Marks, Master of Wine (MW)