Last night I went to the Barrel Room in Rancho Bernardo with Lisa and enjoyed a bottle of wine. We had a 2005 Cab from the Hollywood and Vine Cellars of Napa Valley. The BR price was $94, though it retails for $75. We had the bottle 
decanted. The wine is made by 2008 wine maker of the year, Celia Masyczek.
Our thoughts on this wine:
The color was a deep, opaque red. The wine was very easy to drink and held a very smooth finish. Our waitress put it well when she said that it was one of her favorites because “It is very fruity tasting for a cabernet. And depsite its fruity jam like tastes, it is complex and really holds its cabernet muscles that you would expect from a cab.”
We ranked this wine as an 8 out of 10, yet the best review something can get, is that yes, we would order this wine again.
The Wine Spectator gave this vintage of wine a 92 point score and wrote:Â “A big, rich, hearty mouthful of Cabernet, but not without its measure of elegance and refinement, offering ripe, plump, sumptuous layers of blackberry, black cherry, currant, sage and spice. Keeps a tight focus through the long, persistent finish.”
Below is the makers review of this wine:
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We are privileged, once again, to be harvesting fruit from some of the finest vineyards in the Napa Valley; both hillside and mid-valley benchland fruit. Our winemaker, Celia Masyczek, has performed magic in blending this powerhouse of a wine.
2480 – 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Tasting Notes
VARIETAL COMPOSITION:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
VINEYARDS: The Hollywood & Vine 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was harvested from five very unique growing regions, all within Napa Valley. The fruit comes from the highest reaches of Mount Veeder, the exceptional terroirs of the Oakville and Rutherford Bench, and from the steepest Spring Mountain slopes. Harvested in separate small lots between October 3 and October 31, 2005, the vineyards were kept entirely separate in barrels for the first 6 months, then judiciously blended and allowed to “marry” for several additional months of aging before being lightly filtered for clarity, previous to bottling in May of 2007.
BARREL AGING: Fermented on skins for approximately three weeks, then transferred to barrels (60% new French oak). The wine was aged in small oak for approximately 20 months.
ANALYSIS: Alcohol: 14.9% by volume
CASES PRODUCED: 1380 – 12 x.750ml cases, 119 cases – 12 x 375 ml , 50 cases – 6 x 1.5lt., 24 – 3lt.
RELEASE DATE: April 2008
WINEMAKER: Celia Masyczek
WINEMAKER NOTES: This ultra-ripe Cabernet shows the complexity of its multi-faceted origins. Juicy black cherry and raspberry notes from Oakville and Rutherford dominate the aromas, as Spring Mountain’s trademark purple plum, mocha, and sweet black olive notes add complexity. Structurally, while the wine shows the density of hillside fruit from Mt. Veeder and Spring Mountain, part of the identity of the 2005 vintage seems to be a slightly more elegant and approachable tannin profile, supplemented by the silky qualities of the Rutherford and Oakville benchland vineyards.
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