Caravan Vineyards (Darioush)
Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa, California
2005
14.5%
$45.00 -- Highlands, NC
Color: Deep cherry red
Nose: Cherry
Body: Heavy
Front: Cherry vanilla
Middle: Clove and cream
Back: Heat, blueberries
Burns clean?: Yes
Cap: Cork
After it's been open for two hours, it tastes like French toast. I had it with pecan crushed, slightly spicy shrimp and it was fantastic. It's Napa loveliness; not too tannic, but it held up to the shrimpy pecans. I'm a sucker for Rumi--the back label contains nothing more than a saying from Rumi, who was a spiritual oenophile (but see here for some doubts about the business of attribution). Perhaps it should be decanted; after it's open awhile the heat goes away entirely, and the fruit and oak and spiciness come into harmony.
Note on 2 October 2010: Tried the 2007 ($36, H.E.B., Austin, TX): it needs just as much air as the '05 did at its age. Probably isn't quite as...transcendent as the '05, but it's damn fine. I see no reason to spend twice as much or more on the Darioush Cabernet.
