![By Brian Sterling (Flickr: Vineyard on Montebello Ridge) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://www.palatepress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Vineyard_on_Monte_Bello_Ridge_Cabernet_Sauvignon-360x240.jpeg)
One of the main statistical canards about wine is that smaller yields equal better quality.
Semi-private sit down epicurean experiences like the one offered at St. Francis are not uncommon anymore, but they are for this price.
Simon Woolf, an admitted Briton, takes on five very different Napa Cabs.
The era of buying wine that is meant to age is gone like the era of intentionally oxidized white wines and undetected TCA in wineries. Undrinkability upon release is seen the same way by the marketplace—as a flaw. And that's not going away.
This is billed as an “Old World meets New World” wine. It might be more correctly labeled as a “French wine aimed directly at cutting into the American market.” There are some nice blackberry nuances around the nose but they seem to get cut off by some herbal notes. Fruit-forward, it’s a little cluttered on the palate, with cassis flavors battling it out a bit with some briar and red licorice notes, but has some nice silken tones after it has a little time to sort itself out. Tannins are soft and the finish is pleasant. Nothing here to distinguish this from the ocean of low-to-mid range American Cabernets produced each year, but still a pleasant quaff, and not a bad value. Try with a roast pork or grilled chops. Recommended.