A big, fleshy and flashy merlot, with mouth-puckering tannins on the attack for fat; better at table than alone in the glass, but here's to that.

2008 Freemark Abbey Merlot, Napa Valley: hint of oak, flavors of mulberries and cocoa, full-bodied and hearty.

...dense fruit (black cherry and plum jam), with whispers of cedar and tobacco; well-knit tannin and a touch of earthy dust; lingers; grilled portobello with herbed butter.

Blackberry and black coffee aromas and flavors, full-bodied, rich and smooth, long finish.

Blended with cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, this interesting merlot has plum and blackberry flavors and coffee, chocolate aromas.

Freemark Abbey's Napa Valley merlot is a triumph of precision blending - 79 percent merlot, 11.2 percent cabernet sauvignon, 8.9 percent petit verdot, 0.53 percent petite sirah. 0.23 percent malbec and 0.14 percent cabernet franc. When new flavours are added almost by the eye-dropperful, it might sound like too little to make a difference. But I've gone to many blending demonstrations, and I can attest that even 1 percent can create a change you can taste.

Reasonably aromatic and then sandpaper dry on the end but without quite enough compelling fruit in the middle. Relatively lean (for a Napa Valley wine) with some freshness. Probably not such a bargain as a really good Chinon. 16/20

Earning 4.5 out of possible 5 Stars in the Press Democrat's recent 10-Year Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective Tasting.

Need to Restock Your Cellar After the Holidays? Here Are 6 Promising Cabernets to Fill the Gaps The winery is releasing a small amount of this 20-year-old Freemark Abbey. Fresh-looking color belies beautiful secondary notes—dried rose petal and fig—while cherry, cassis, and toasted spice morphing into compote suggests the wine is in its sweet spot. It’s also interesting to note the light glass the wine is in; such was the state of the industry a couple of decades ago.

Bordeaux-like. Elegant, with red and black fruit. Plenty of spice. Drink now or hold five to seven years.

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey The winery’s top red wine, its calling card, is the Bosché Cabernet Sauvignon from the vineyard of that name in Rutherford, and the new 2013 is nearly as good as my all-time favorite Bosché wine, the 1995. The aroma has faint hints of mint and walnuts(!), and the complexity is impressive.

The Best 5 Wine Pairing That Go Perfectly With These Romance Novels 4. For Having a Sexy Moment With a Friend... or Alone Picture this: You just opened a new bottle of Freemark Abbey's Cabernet Sauvignon. The pop from the cork makes your heart flutter like Millie's when she's around her best friend, Reid. And maybe like Millie, you'll sip some red wine like the one we've paired with My Favorite Half-Night Stand. With nuances of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of tobacco, maybe you'll follow in Mille's footsteps and sign up for an online dating service. If you don't drink responsibly, you'll end up having a half-night stand with your BFF.

Salut! Best of the Vancouver International Wine Festival CALL ME A CAB Cabernet Sauvignon remains irresistible to most consumers and lucky for them the grape does invariably well around the world, although Bordeaux and Napa Valley set the trend. Global warming is making things interesting, especially in northern regions like the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia where traditionally Cabernet Sauvignon struggled to physiologically ripen in time. There’s a lot to taste inside the room this year.

Top 14 Wines For February 14th! Boasting with dark fruit aromas and notes of oak, blackberries, and currants. There are notes of dark chocolate, cinnamon, and cedar followed by a full-bodied and a seductive mouthfeel. Overall this is a delicious wine that would pair perfectly with steak, veal, and hearty tomato dishes!

A strong and classic example of why most of us still love – and should never full count out – Napa. A-.

The day after his keynote address, Spurrier led a tasting at the CIA Greystone of current and older vintage wines from estates that participated in the 1976 tasting. My notes from my favorites appear below... The Napa Valley, Rutherford, Bosché, Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 has rich earthy aromas, round and spicy in the mouth and chewy tannins needing time to pull it all together. The 2002 Napa Valley, Bosché Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 shows how beautiful the 2014 can be when it does come together. This wine is seamless and balanced with cassis flavors with a note of dark chocolate and smooth with silky tannins.

Wines of the Week The “stone temple” at the corner of Highway 29 and Lodi Lane in the Napa Valley is the historic Freemark Abbey Winery. During my early wine years in the 1970s, the winery was venerated for great wines and an indomitable spirit. It was the only winery to have both a Chardonnay and Cabernet included in Steven Spurrier’s 1976 Judgement of Paris tastings. Drink this wine for its rich and spicy aromas, plum, dark cherry and toasty oak, and for its structure and balance on the palate.

The Vancouver International Wine Festival opened this week. The eight-day extravaganza is Canada’s biggest wine show with 54 events, 1450 wines from 16 countries and 160 wineries. The festival had humble origins when it began in 1979 with only one winery, Robert Mondavi from the Napa Valley in California. This year the theme region is once again, California. On Monday, I was at Joey’s downtown for a media launch and on deck were five delicious wines from the Golden State. Finally, another classic red from the Wine State: Freemark Abbey 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery was established by one of the first female grape growers in Napa. I loved the powerful bouquet of cassis and slightly charred oak. It has a rich flavour with of black fruit. Very approachable now but has the acidity and tannins to develop further. Decanter magazine awarded it 95 points, which indicates the high quality of this Cab.

The perfect party gifts for any occasion this holiday season - To meet your girlfriend's parents A foolproof way to get her family on your good side: Bring a bottle of vino to the table. Just make sure your pick isn't too cheap (you are dating their child, after all) or too pricey (you definitely don't want to make them uncomfortable). If you're looking for a white that's sure to please any palate, opt for Kendall-Jackson's 2014 Camelot Highlands Chardonnay... When it comes to red wines, we love ...or Freemark Abbey's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. And if you're still coming up blank (or if they're nondrinkers), don't be afraid to simply ask your girlfriend what they like—she's the expert when it comes to your (potential) future in-laws.

Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2018: Gold

The sybaritic style of Freemark Abbey The winery’s 2013 Rutherford Cabernet is nearly as good since 43 percent of it is from the Bosché vineyard.

A colossal wine from an often-forgotten producer, this Rutherford giant is intense and rich. Good balance with notes of cherries, black currants and blackberries.

Some cabernet sauvignons to pair with your Valentine’s Day meal Drinking this delicious and well-balanced wine reminded us of why Rutherford is not only one of the most historic districts for cabernet sauvignon but also the best. With a legacy dating back to 1886, Freemark Abbey has been producing top cabernets year after year. The 2013 has bottle age (and with some sediment), layered fruit flavors, firm tannins and a bit of that famous “Rutherford dust.” Blackberry notes with a hint of cloves, cedar and olive.

Cedar, dark fruit and rocky minerality nose through palate. The palate opens with a wash of dark fruit and carries forward through well-integrated baking spice and hints of cocoa with rocky minerality and savoury notes through the finish. Taut, persistent, fine tannins give this wine a lot of structure with well-balanced acidity for a long finish. This is a well-structured wine that wants air upon opening or a couple years in bottle.