Acclaim for Cabernet Sauvignon

Ratings

Vintage 1999:

• 95 points - Keith Levenberg - eRobert Parker - 11.08.08
  

  FULL ARTICLE HERE
  Gideon Bienstock brings the Sierra Foothills to New York
  The Renaissance Vineyard 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon and the Renaissance Vineyard 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Vin de Terroir were both masterpieces, though, with the standard cabernet making me ashamed I'd always ignored it in favor of the prestige bottlings here. So when I said Renaissance makes one of the two or three best cabernets in California it would have been more accurate to say they make four of the five or six best cabernets in California. Unlike the special bottlings, though, the standard '99 is totally ready to drink, suave and svelte in mouthfeel with intense stony minerality and a savory brothiness balancing the sweetness of the bluish fruit. A great intro to Renaissance because it shows the inimitable character of the vineyard in an exceptionally drinkable package. As one would expect, the 1995 Vin de Terroir is more tannic and austere, similar in its stony flavor but redder in its fruit complexion. It's still a wine to hold in the cellar.

Awards

Vintage 2000:

• Double Gold Medal - Taster's Guild International
• Silver Medal - Taster's Guild International 2008
• Link to award

Vintage 1999:

• From Matt Kramer's article: Thanksgiving drinks to satisfy savvy (and unsavvy) palates.

  Finding a compelling cabernet sauvignon that can arouse the admiration of both wine lovers and wine novices is not easy. Sure, plenty of drink-now cabs are available, but too many lack character. They sell on smooth, as it were, but not on content.

  Renaissance Vineyard & Winery in California's Sierra Foothills near Sacramento is an unusual winery by any measure. Located in a tiny town called Oregon House, the vineyard is rooted in decomposing granite soil and occupies elevations as high as 2,400 feet. Days are hot, yet the high elevation brings cool nights.

  What results is a cabernet sauvignon of uncommon character. In the singularly fine 1999 vintage Renaissance crafted one of its smoothest, richest yet most characterful cabernets yet. It has all the classic cabernet sauvignon flavor notes such as plums, leather, black and red cherries and cedar along with a you-can't-miss-it note of stones or minerals. No oak is apparent. Best of all, the ripeness of the vintage plus its seven years of age makes this cabernet plush on the palate.

  The bargain price seals the deal. California cabernets nowhere near as good as this unblushingly ask $50 per bottle or more (the price is $27 a bottle – or $324 a case). There simply isn't a finer cabernet sauvignon on the market today at that low price. This is a standout red wine of rare goodness and character. It will do nothing but improve for at least another five years, maybe even ten.
  

  (This wine increased in price to $30/btl. with the release of the 2000 vintage.)

  
  Matt Kramer - - 11/12/2006
• Gold Medal - Taster's Guild International

Vintage 1997:

• Matt Kramer - Sunday, September 25, 2005

  Fall seems to bring out great wines, especially reds. During warm months wineries and distributors hang out the same wine wash of whites and pinks. The reds are left for later -- which has now arrived.
  Renaissance "Sierra Foothills" Cabernet Sauvignon 1997: Those who follow California cabernets likely did a double take at this vintage. A 1997? It must be a typo. It's not. So why is a 1997 cabernet sauvignon from Renaissance Vineyard and Winery only now appearing? Therein hangs a tale. Renaissance lies in the Sierra Foothills district, about 60 miles northeast of Sacramento….
  Yet, these wines exist in their own right -- sometimes stunningly -- with their own style, especially in cabernet sauvignon. Today's preferred red wine style is big, fruity and oaky -- "fruit bombs," as they're derisively called, that offer instant gratification.
  Renaissance cabernet is about something else. The vineyard is rooted in granitic soil at elevations between 1,700 and 2,200 feet.
  What results is a firm wine of exceptional detail and evident longevity. Far from seeking to suffocate this "voice of the land," Renaissance amplifies it without distortion. What results is one of California's most profound cabernet sauvignons.
  The 1997 vintage is a rare wine in every sense. Not only are there no other '97s -- a very great vintage -- on the market but also only a few ghostly California cabernets are issued today in what might be called Renaissance's "classical" style.

  Renaissance Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 delivers a striking minerality, concentrated fruit, discernible but not intrusive fine-grained tannins and no apparent oak. (Small oak barrels are used to mature the wine, but they are mostly older barrels devoid of the vanilla perfume of new oak.) The fruit is present and quite deep. But subtly so.

   

  This is flat-out great cabernet sauvignon, the sort that used to come from some of Bordeaux's greatest chateaus in the 1950s and '60s before the New World wine order took over. Composed 100 percent of cabernet sauvignon, this wine begs to be served with roast beef, lamb or game. Like its classical Bordeaux model, it needs food in which to be, if you will, understood.

  You can't beat the price. To reintroduce Renaissance to the Oregon market (it was sold here years ago and then disappeared), local distributor Galaxy Wine Co. has reduced the price to $24.95 a bottle through the end of October. This is a steal in exceptional cabernet sauvignon, let alone a vintage as great as 1997. This wine is worth seeking out.
  (Of course, this is an old article and the $24.95 price is not applicable. The current retail is $45.)

  
  Matt Kramer - The Oregonian - 09/25/2005

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