Gain
Bay 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Family is the inaugural release of a new negociant firm, Location, Elevation & Slope,
Inc. The company’s mission is to locate marketplace opportunities, blend
various wines from multiple sources to elevate them, and price them to fit attractively in the budget of target consumers. Gain Bay is the Napa Valley label of the negociant house.
This
wine is a blend of three Bordeaux varieties; Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot. Each adds a specific component to the wine that is essential to making it a complete wine, from the bouquet
to the finish.
Cabernet
Sauvignon (51%) adds mid-palate flavor, body and structure. This component was
completely ripe, so the typical flavor profile of cassis and current with a very mild, moderate spice come to bear. Layered with mild oak, this wine, in its pure form, was a delicious base from which the overall wine springs
forth. While produced at an exquisite winery in Calistoga, the grapes were grown
in the Coombsville area of Napa. This undulating and steep hillside region just
east of Napa City, perhaps someday an appellation of its own, is known to be cooler than other parts of Napa. When cooler regions fully ripen a variety to perfection, they produce wines of significantly higher quality
because of the longer hang time and even more so when they are hillside grown, as was this wine. Steep hillside fruit, fully ripe, not over-oaked base wine from a cool region; this was perfect wine to
blend!
Cabernet
Franc (36%) adds a distinctively enticing aromatic component. From berry to red
fruits and jam, the Cabernet Franc aroma grabs attention and foreshadows wonderful things to come. It also offers a subtle background texture from the front into the mid-palate of the wine, softening the
mouth-feel. This wine is sourced from a premier vineyard in the Stags Leap appellation,
an area renowned for wines with finesse and elegance.
Last
is Petit Verdot (13%). The 2005 Gain Bay is complemented by three sources of
this rare variety. All add terrific mid-to-back-palate depth, weight and structure,
yet are subtly different. The first wine is from Stag’s Leap appellation. It added just over 5% to the blend and a silky, elegant core of mixed berry jam like
flavor to the finish. The second wine, just under 5% of the blend, was grown
in the Mt. Veeder appellation. It is a powerhouse of a wine, and is noticeable
for its expansive lingering finish of red-fruit berry, almost blackberry like really.
It is the heart of the lingering finish. Also added was a third Petit
Verdot, just 3 ½ % of the blend, from the Coombsville region again. It added
a nifty spice that gives the wine complexity on the finish. That little, subtle
twist from the final piece is the charmer that discerning palates will find and greet warmly and thankfully.
From
aroma to entre to mid-palate to the expansive finish, this wine was crafted to be a harmonious, full bodied, subtle and pleasing
beverage.
Gain Bay 2005 Cabernet Family Red Blend
TA 5.90 g/L
Alc. 14.3%
PH 3.67
Cases Produced 1100
Suggested Retail Price: $20.00
VA .73 g/L Bottled
August 13, 2007 Cab Sauvignon 51% Cab Franc 36 %
Petit Verdot 13%