2006 Mayo Family winery Red Dog Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Mission Codename: Clifford!
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Return to Mayo Family Winery, secure the last remaining bottles of their coveted Red Dog Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine that we a smash hit with out Operatives during previous vintages.
Mission Status: Accomplished
Current Winery: Mayo Family Winery
Wine Subject: 2006 Red Dog Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker: Michel Berthoud
Backgrounder: Our Operatives know, by now, of our fondness for Mayo Family wines. Over the course of the last four and a half years, we have gotten to know Jeffrey Mayo, who runs the winery, and his entire crew. We love the people as much as we love the wines.
Some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world come from Napa Valley. A delicious and elegant example of the varietal, today’s wine is a Classic Napa Cabernet. Approachable, richly layered and deeply delicious, this wine shows off the winemaking skills of Michael Berthoud. It is a delicious wine at a price that is difficult to resist.
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Beautiful dark crimson hues, with evenly concentrated color, from center to edge of glass. After swirling, wine-stained legs take a long time to emerge, starting high on the glass.
Smell – Lush, fragrant and bursting with berries, this wine exudes sweet blackberry, raspberry, blueberry and cassis. After swirling (or decanting) for a while, the wine reveals additional aromas of spiced cherry, cranberry, anise, bramble, dried tobacco and dark chocolate.
Feel – Round and soft at first. Then, the wine gains some dimension on the mid-palate where plush tannins and a balanced acidity add intriguing structure.
Taste – Generous, concentrated and richly layered, with dark berry fruit of blackberry, blueberry and dark strawberry. These set the stage – and prepare the palate for more complex follow-on flavors that include dried violets, soft spice, cocoa dust, cigar box and subtle bramble.
Finish – Very long and concentrated, with sustained berry flavors. These give way to spice, cigar box and slate. At the very end, a hint of black pepper put a fine point on your sip.
Conclusion – Today’s high-elevation wine, the 2006 Red Dog Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, from our friends at Mayo Family Winery, is a rich, concentrated, delicious delight! As with the previous vintage of this wine, today’s balances big, bold flavors against a certain elegance that had our tasting panel admiring it greatly. Drinking beautifully now, this wine is the sort that could improve for the next decade or longer. Personally, I’m not that patient. Though I will do my best to lay some down for the next few years. Pair as you would a big, classic Cabernet. Our tasting panel enjoyed ours with a grilled New York steak with lot’s of black pepper and garlic.