Region: Russian River Valley, California, US
Composition: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Background: I have a special fondness in my heart for Davis Bynum, since the first case of wine I ever bought was a Davis Bynum Fume Blanc. Cabernet Sauvignon is different, and I don't have a special place in my heart for it. I don't end up drinking a lot of it since it's not really something I seek out. It's not that I don't like it, I just haven't gotten into it, like The Flaming Lips or The Magic Mountain (I am making my attempts with The Flaming Lips, but may have given up on the latter). I sometimes have good ones and think I should reconsider, but never do. If given a choice between Cabernet and Syrah, I will pick Syrah many times before I go for a Cabernet. And even then I will usually be more interested in Bordeaux.
I don't think a 1998 California Cabernet will change my mind. '98 wasn't a great year, especially after 1997. The growing season was cool and wet, and the grapes didn't ripen quickly. The cool weather continued into fall, when the grapes were supposed to be harvested, and it left the wineries with a decision... hope for some warmer weather (which didn't happen), or thin the grapes to allow the remaining grapes to ripen. Many grapes were harvested a month or so later than usual, and the resulting wines varied greatly in quality and many were not very intense or full.
The Hedin Vineyard (as far as I can tell) has not been used for Cabernet by Bynum after 1999. At least, I can find no records of a Hedin Cab from post 1999 (it looks like they are now using the grapes from Hedin in their second-label River Bend wines). The vineyard, owned by Dr. Roger Hedin, is on Westside road close to the winery, and this wine was made under Gary Farrell's supervision (he was a consultant in this case, even though his first winemaking job had been at Davis Bynum). Each vintage (this one 900 cases) was aged in French oak for a year and a half. You can tell this when you taste it.
I remember I bought this back in 2001 on a trip up to Arcata (I got in to town the day after The Great Fire of 2001, and was in town to meet Kevin Hoover, writer of the best police log ever). I wasn't sure I liked it then, but was intruigued by the band-aid I got in the nose (brett). Funnily, I got a whiff of it when I opened the bottle, but it was mostly gone, now, almost four years later. Or my nose has changed. In any case, it was a lovely tasting and lunch I had at the winery, and there were a lot of Bynum family members running around working (there are four or five Bynums, at least, involved with running the winery and making wine).
Notes: Ruby red, and it hardly shows its age aside from the fact that the red is slightly red-based and almost orange-based, rather than bluer. Typical blackcurrant and some tobacco leaves are strong in the nose, along with some cedar, and it has black fruit and olives in the mouth with a bitter chocolate finish. It's got a minty/bell pepper thing going on, too. The tannins weren't too bad, which was a nice thing, although I think this could age longer and it might be a little smoother and more integrated... there were a lot of flavors roaming around in the glass, but they felt a little disjointed and smorgasboard-y to me.
Cost: About $30, from the winery
Overall: C+
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