The Lenz Winery has been making a lot of noise lately about its wines and how they rate against top-flight Bordeaux in professional blind tastings. It’s an interesting marketing hook to be sure.
The recently released Lenz 2001 Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) is one of the wines that fared best. And I can see why. It’s obviously much more important that consumers like a wine (instead of critics), but something tells me this wine will be well received.
"Old vines" doesn’t have any official meaning (much like "reserve") but this rich, deep purple-crimson cab is impressive nonetheless.
The nose is dense with raspberries, blueberries and plums and a sprinkling of cracked black pepper and oak. Youthful, but ready for drinking today, blueberry, cassis and plum flavors live within a medium-full body red that features apparent, but very ripe tannins. With 45 minutes or so in the glass, black pepper and cinnamon flavors reveal themselves, adding complexity on a lingering finish.