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Austin Robaire Cabernet - Printable Version

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- stevebody - 03-26-2003

Every wine-trade person in Seattle that I've mentioned this wine to has swooned over it. Me, too. What a lusty, balanced, chewy bottle of Cab! And, at about $24, a bargain in the Cab-saturated WA market. At the same price, the Sand Hill Cab is a cellar job but should turn into a whopper with a year or two to think about it. I've tasted the usual twelve bushels of crap out of my poor, confused, oversaturated home state but have also tasted more good, value-conscious wines this year than any in memory. Hedges, especially, deserves a Gold Star for realizing that, hey!, we're in a RECESSION and maybe dropping prices would be smart. Their Three Vineyards and CMS are excellent wines and real bargains this vintage and their Fume Chardonnay is stunning. Ditto for Barnard Griffin for pricing that jazzy new Syrah where most people can easily try it. Things here are looking up...a bit.


- Bucko - 03-27-2003

I did an article in the News Tribune on this winery. Here is my note on the 2000 Cab:

2000 Austin Robaire, Cabernet Sauvignon, Select, Columbia Valley, Washington, $52, 50 cases. This is your big boy, made in a Leonetti style. Lots of extract and new oak ushers in a host of chocolate flavors. As big as the wine is, it manages to maintain a degree of balance. Rounded tannins and bright acidity add to the overall package. Very nice if you like the style. November release. 91/89.


- winoweenie - 03-27-2003

OK youse guys. Bucko " 52 " and SB " 26 ".
I like the Bods' figures a lot better! WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]


- Kcwhippet - 03-27-2003

So, are there two different wines here - the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Cabernet Sauvignon Select?


- stevebody - 03-28-2003

I don't know of a "select". What we have in stock is just marked "Columbia Valley". It's $23.99 on our shelf and is the one that every wine person I know in Seattle is drooling over. If there's an upper tier os this stuff, count me in. I'll go back to our distributor and see.


- hhhanson - 03-28-2003

Stevebody,
Where's your shop?


- stevebody - 03-28-2003

Esquin Wine Merchants, Bub. Corner of Lander and South Fourth in swingin' Sea-town.


- Bucko - 03-28-2003

Here are all of the wines that I tasted when visiting the winery:

1999 Austin Robaire, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington, 221 cases, $26. Their first release is well-structured, with brisk acidity and great balance. The wine yields lots of dark fruit and cocoa, with a streak of vanilla and anise coming forth on the long finish. 88/90.

2000 Austin Robaire, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington, $26, 160 cases. Similar in style to the 1999 version, the 2000 has about 10% more Cabernet Sauvignon in the final blend, showing a bit more structure. Full-bodied, the dense black fruit is delightful. November release. 89/91.

2000 Austin Robaire, Cabernet Sauvignon, Select, Columbia Valley, Washington, $52, 50 cases. This is your big boy, made in a Leonetti style. Lots of extract and new oak ushers in a host of chocolate flavors. As big as the wine is, it manages to maintain a degree of balance. Rounded tannins and bright acidity add to the overall package. Very nice if you like the style. November release. 91/89.

2001 Austin Robaire, White Wine, Charmaine Angela, Columbia Valley, Washington, $26, 60 cases. This is a blend of 65% Viognier and 35% Chardonnay. Very floral on the nose, the honeysuckle is a most prominent. Fruity, spicy, with surprisingly brisk acidity, the wine finishes on a leesy note. 87/86.

Pretty darn nice start for a winery IMHO.

BTW, Esquin is a nice shop with an easy web page to navigate as well........


- winoweenie - 03-29-2003

I used to do a lot of biz with their store in San Fran Draper & Esquin. I have a rep in Wash/Oregon so don't get to Seattle anymore. Miss the Pike st mkt and the super restaurants I used to terrorize. Are any of these hummers still alive and kicking?,,,Ostrio Mitchellini, Canlis, Adriatica, Cafe Juanita, Labuznik, Le Tastvin, Red Cabbage, Le Petite Maison, Or the Oyster Bar. Just bemember, I don' be going to the lovely rain-forest for 7 years. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]

[This message has been edited by winoweenie (edited 03-29-2003).]


- Bucko - 03-29-2003

Ostrio Mitchellini, Canlis, Adriatica, Cafe Juanita, Labuznik, Le Tastvin, Red Cabbage, Le Petite Maison, Or the Oyster Bar?
******************
I know that Canlis, Adriatica, and Cafe Juanita are still around.


- stevebody - 03-30-2003

Sadly, many of the places you listed are gone. Labuznik's owner just finally reached the same state of terminal burnout that motivated my own recent retirement from chefdom and closed it about two years ago. Adriatica is a sadder case. Some pack of A-holes built a big, ugly office building right across Dexter Ave from it and completely blocked their wonderful view of Lake Union. They lost business and folded almost a year ago. Mitchellini has been gone a long time, Red Cabbage I never heard of, Le Tastevin esta muerte, and The Oyster Bar...which one? If you're referring to Emmett Watson's, it is happily still there although, sadly, Emmett himself is no longer among us. He is now telling God how things ought to be. God, as i hear it, is listening.

Canlis is quite well and still perched up there on thecrest of QA hill above the lake. Le Petite Maison bit the dust. What is that...one for ten? Seattle is a BAD place to be running a restaurant right now. I had the grain of sense necessary to see it coming and sell out. My places back east always produced five to one more money than anything I ran here anyway.

Sorry to be the bearer of sad tidings. Adriatica, especially, really breaks my heart. There are some great new places around, though, so come on back and email me when you do. I'll be glad to offer some suggestions.

Steve Body


- winoweenie - 03-30-2003

Whar a BUMMER!!!! So many fond memories and great evenings. I'll forget I read this post and bemuse myself as iff'n nothings changed. PLEASE tell mr that HARBOR LIGHTS on the sound in Tacoma is still alive and well> WW


- Bucko - 03-30-2003

Still there last time I was down on Ruston Way. They used to serve big plates of seafood.


- winoweenie - 03-31-2003

The best salmon I've ever tasted. I've seen the fishermen pull up to his dock and unload linch as I sipped my SW. WW [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/smile.gif[/img]


- wondersofwine - 03-31-2003

Aha! WW's confessing to drinking those sissy whites again!


- ShortWiner - 03-31-2003

Must be the sabbatical going to his head.