1995 Cabernet Sauvignon 'Premiere Cuvee'

Grapes for this 100 percent cabernet sauvignon wines come from the highest point of the Renaissance vineyards, and in the wine’s deep, dusty, minerally and earthy qualities, in its muscularity, you feel the sparseness of the soil, the slight strain and effort brought about by the elevation and exposure. A sensualist’s delight, the wine’s bouquet teems with potpourri, licorice and lavender and violets, cloves and sandalwood, macerated and roasted black currants and black cherries. This cabernet sees NO NEW OAK instead, it ages 18 months in large, neutral barrels. It’s quite dry and austere, and zinging acid keeps the structure taut and vibrant. Lovely fruit and incredible presence, but the astringency requires aging until 2012 through 2019 or ‘20. The alcohol level is 12.7 percent. Excellent.

"Medium garnet in the glass, this wine smells of dates, candied plums, and somewhat I can only describe as a light funk, perhaps in the key of George Clinton. In the mouth it astonishes with a lightness of step and clarity that is almost never found in California Cabernet. Tart cherry flavors play through silky textures to dance with velvety tannins all of which express a beautiful essence of fruit without a trace of oak, alcoholic heat, or sweetness. Lovely  and ready to age for another 10 years without blinking." Score: between 9 and 9.5.

"The '95 vintage was, along with 1997, an outstanding vintage at Renaissance. Both are intense, beautifully structured and clearly long-lived. The difference is that '97 is richer while '95 shows a bit more delicacy.

Premiere Cuvee is Renaissance's intended "signature" wine, the one the winery sees as the richest, fullest, most long-lived of its array of cabernets. Indeed, this is powerful, full-bodied wine, but it's nowhere near the fruit bombs so commonly found today. Instead, this is penetrating, dimensional cabernet suffused with an austere fruit and lovely balance, a blend of cabernet sauvignon (76%) and merlot (24%). This is eminently drinkable today, but will make old bones for sure".

"Whereas many producers' tête de cuvées come from extra-ripe grapes or are lavished with expensive new oak, Renaissance does none of that. Instead, they pick and raise their best lots much the same way they raise their basic wines and let the terroir speak.
This isn't quite infanticide to drink this now. It's more like cutting a man down in his 30s (chilling enough, don't you think?). But over the course of three nights, this wine, which is 24% merlot and a mere 12.4% abv, proved that it will just get better. It kicks off with intense aromas of plum pudding, beef broth, black pepper, gray sea salt, blackberries, blueberries, and spice cake. It's structured yet velvety (more velvety than the "standard" 1995 cabernet), with a preliminary attack of sweet black fruit quickly giving way to bold tannins and a more austere rendering of the fruit. A note of cherry rings on the bright, brothy finish, and its spiciness is quieter compared to several other Renaissance wines, although a white pepper note lingers with the tannins for some time."
This is elegant and balanced, and the little bit left on night three shows a slight melting of the tannins and hints of blackcurrant and dried fruit on the palate. Although this was really good with the lamb that I grilled, it would have been even better had I decanted it 24 hours before serving.