14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Washington State | 14 Hands Winery
N ew Year’s Resolutions can be a good thing especially if you can accomplish them. Just after “lose weight” and “stop smoking” comes “reduce the clutter.”
Someone actually hired me to come over and help with their resolution. They needed help with their clutter and I said yes. Unfortunately helping them kind of breaks my attempt to reduce the clutter this year by bringing home their clutter.
They had three really cool artifacts: 2 incredible petrified logs and some dinosaur poop. One log looks like a log but made of stone. The long striations of bark make for a really cool piece. The other is full of rich beautiful colors, weighs about 10 pounds and would look gorgeous if I could get one end polished down. The third is a small oblong shape that the shop owner who sold it said was dinosaur poop. I’ll have to take that on faith. These incredibly beautiful pieces were not appreciated by his wife so they became “clutter.” Now it’s my clutter.
I had a reason to take because Mr. Ben is now 5 and fascinated about anything related to dinosaurs. I knew he would be so excited if I told him I had something from the age of the dinosaurs. With much fanfare I brought them in one piece at a time. He started jumping up and down when I described them. After he actually saw them he went looking for a hammer. He thought this was like the cheesy plastic dinosaur parts encased in plaster that the Smithsonian sells. He was ready to start whacking the heck out of them to get what was obviously way more interesting inside.
So, I now have some incredible 15 pound paper weights. (I am tempted to get the colorful one polished).
I decided to do my own archeological dig. My big New Year’s Resolution is to not buy any wine or beer until I have finished the wine and beer we already have. It’s now January 21st and I have yet to part with any money for either.
In my archeological pursuits I found a 2009 14 Hands Cab I bought sometime last year. I can’t find the receipt but I know I paid under $10 on sale somewhere. The Vineyard Wine Market has featured this wine at least twice at tastings since we started BottleReport. I remember this as being a great little wine although their Hot To Trot Red is more often featured at tastings.
I can’t think of a Cab from Washington State that tastes better…. I have a bad memory….I’m sure there are others.
Mrs. Dan’s first reaction was “nice and oaky.” That’s fine and dandy but I’m not sure this wine gets any oak. I think I need to dig into this because the label doesn’t mention any oak.
The tech sheet on their website doesn’t appear to have a vintage date on it. The label says 2009 and that the flavors hint at “black currants and dark cherries” but the site says “aromas of red currants and raspberries with subtle hints of spice. Spiced cherry & plum flavors are joined by notes of cocoa and complemented by fine, velvety tannins.” It also says it spends “The wine was aged for 12 months in a combination of American and French oak barrels to build structure and complexity in the blend.” I think Mrs. Dan was correct.
Oops. I noticed in fancy script that the techseet is for 2009. So either their trade writers didn’t bother to update the tasting notes on the sheet or they skimped on editing the label on the bottle.
The sheet says it’s a blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, 1% Syrah, 1% Petit Verdot & 2% other select red varieties from around Washington State.
I think the techsheet seems to be closer on what we’re tasting but instead of raspberry aromas the flavors lean toward raspberry (at least so Mrs. Dan says). We had some great enchiladas tonight with some of our own homegrown ground hot peppers that really kicked them up a notch. The spicy enchiladas really brings out the oak which I can now taste. I like this wine. It won’t last the night.
The aromas are intense leaning toward…. I suppose plums. (I need to buy some red currants so I can better judge that flavor). Nice mouthfeel. Nice tannins that make for a slightly dry finish. This wine is great alone as well with spicy food.
Enough of that. Mrs. Dan made the enchiladas, I have to clean up. The price you pay for a great meal. I also have to find a new home for these nice big rocks.
