Fetzer reserve cab?

Grocery Outlet is seeing some interesting wines lately, they always do well in down times. I saw a 2000 Fetzer Reserve Napa Valley cab for $10, but Cellartracker has little information. Worth a flier?

Walt

[David M. Bueker]

Hey for $10 you at least can make a good reduciton sauce.

before brown forman took over these used to be pretty darned good. and for a few years they didn't mess around too much with the winery; so..... yeah, i think it could be a great deal.

Sure, why not? I don't think I'd buy more than one or two - Fetzer is Ok generally, but you don't know that this wasn't stored in a warehouse in Madera.

John

You'll have to make up your own mind about the wine, but I can give you some basic info.

That wine is from the Usibelli Vineyard, Rutherford Bench, Napa. It's 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, a combination of some older vines and some younger ones.

Usibelli was established in the 1950s, and Fetzer/Brown-Forman has been sourcing fruit from there for many years. The only other folks that receive fruit from there (in different blocks) are Frog's Leap and Caymus. Usibelli is right off Silverado Trail, on the far eastern edge of the Bench, immediately south of Quintessa and immediately north (across the creek) from one of Heitz's vineyards.

The winemaker has always made the wine in small fermenters, with lots of personal attention.

The Usibelli customarily gives fruit that is softer in tannins and restrained in style, and the winemaker's preference for this wine is very much NOT in the "Napa Blockbuster" mode. It's a softer, slightly more acidic and leaner style. Little or no emphasis on late ripening/long hang time as is currently the fashion.

I doubt it has been sitting in Madera, since it was only recently sold to GO, and it was never in large quantities anyway. Most vintages from that vineyard are limited to about 1500 cases, I think, and what GO got was the 'end of bin' from the old tasting room.

Haven't taste it from Library in quite a while, so I won't speak to it personally. But $10---I mean, take a plunge, dude.

Awright, I just wanted to make sure that "reserve" wasn't a pure marketing distinction, I'll try it out. Already had a good hit with a Nahe QbA.

Walt