Tag Archives: Buccella

60 Second Wine Review — Brilliant Mistake Cabernet Sauvignon

A few quick thoughts on the 2014 Brilliant Mistake Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.

The Geekery

Brilliant Mistake was founded in 2013 by John and Stacy Reinert with Rebekah Wineburg making the inaugural vintage, sourcing Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards in Rutherford and the Stags Leap District.

With a background that included stints at Tenuta dell’Ornellaia, Staglin, Rudd and Buccella, Wineburg finished the 2013 vintage before returning to Buccella and later moving on to Quintessa. She was succeeded at Brilliant Mistake by Maayan Koschitzky, a protege of Philippe Melka.

An Israeli native, Koschitzky started in the wine industry with Margalit Winery in Galilee before moving to Napa Valley in 2011 to work at Screaming Eagle and then Dalle Valle.

At this year’s Premiere Napa Valley, Brilliant Mistake was one of the top selling lots at the auction joining the likes of Chappellet, Shafer Vineyards and Ovid to help raise more than $4.1 million for charity.

The Wine

Photo by Keith Weller, U.S. Department of Agriculture. Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under PD-author

Rich dark fruit like plums characterize this Napa Cab.

Medium-plus intensity nose. Very rich dark fruit–black plums, blackberry and noticeable oak spice.

On the palate, those rich dark fruits carry through. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced the richness was with the medium-plus acidity. The noticeable oak spices of clove, cinnamon and allspice are also present. But the oak is well-balanced with the sweet vanilla playing a supporting role in rounding out the high tannins. Very full bodied and seductive mouthfeel with a long, minute-plus finish that lingers on the juicy black fruits.

The Verdict

This is your classic, hedonistic Napa Cabernet Sauvignon but an exceptionally well made one. It seduces you with the bold, rich dark fruits. But it certainly toes the line with enough acidity and structure to keep it from being sweet and one dimensional.

While it’s drinking absolutely scrumptious now, I’m skeptical at how much better it will get with bottle age over the next 5-10 years.  Compared to its Napa peers, the wine is well priced at $150-175 a bottle. However, I can see this wine eclipsing the $200 mark soon enough.

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60 Second Wine Review — 2012 Mark Herold Brown Label

A few quick thoughts on the 2012 Mark Herold Brown Label Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Geekery

Mark Herold got his start in the wine industry as a research enologist for Joseph Phelps before founding Merus in 1998 in his garage with his then wife, Erika Gottl. Jim Gordon notes in Opus Vino, that over the next 10 years Herold turned his small 1500 case production of Merus into one of the most acclaimed wines in Napa. In 2007, Merus was sold to Foley Wine Group with Herold leaving the following year as Camille Benitah and Paul Hobbs took over winemaking.

After leaving Merus, Herold continued consulting at estates like Buccella, Celani Family, Kamen, Kobalt, Harris, Hestan and Maze. As part of a divorce settlement and non-compete, he agreed not to make any Cabernet Sauvignon under his own label until 2010.

According to Barnivore, Mark Herold Wines are vegan-friendly. The 2012 Brown Label is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon with around 575 cases made.

The Wine

Medium-plus intensity nose. Lots of sweet oak spices and vanilla. Rich dark fruit–currants, blackberries. There is also a smokey, roasted coffee element to the nose as well.

On the palate, the wine is very big and full-bodied with medium-plus acidity and medium-plus tannins. The dark fruits carry through but the oak still dominants with the vanilla adding a lushness that rounds out the tannic edge. I wished the coffee note carried through with the smokey element instead being more toasted wood on the palate instead of roasted coffee. Moderate length finished.

Photo by Paolo Neo. Released on Wikimedia Commons under Public Domain

Rich dark fruits like black currant and oak are abundant in this Cab.

The Verdict

The 2012 Mark Herold Brown Label falls in line with your classic big, bold Napa Cabs that have noticeable oak. Though while it does have rich dark fruit and vanilla lusciousness, it is a bit better balanced than most of its peers with the tannins keeping it from being sweet and the acidity bringing freshness.

At around $95-110, it is very much in line with wines from estates like Cakebread, Silver Oak, Frank Family and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.

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