Hersly Wines Hersly Lazare Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Review

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Hersly Lazare Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon: What I think

We don’t have occasion to drink much bold red wine at our house as we rarely eat the heavy foods that go best with it, so when it comes along for us to taste, we tend to indulge. This one was paired with a nice steak, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli. Happily, the wine was everything you want from a beautifully made Napa Cab.

Tasting Notes … Then
“Hersly Wines 2015 Oak Knoll District Cabernet Sauvignon is a bold, rich, single-vineyard wine with notes of dark fruit, chocolate, and a hint of spice and tobacco. Elegant and rich tannins give way to a lingering, structured finish.”

Tasting Notes … "Now"
“Similar to original tasting notes: Dark fruits, chocolate, and hints of spice, with some additional notes of brûléed dark berries. Tannins are holding up well. The wine is drinking beautifully now but will hold up for years to come.”

For me, the hints of spice were more pronounced than “hints” (as they often are in older wines) and the chocolate was fairly subdued. I, not a sommelier or otherwise professionally-trained consumer of wine, find it difficult to distinguish between “dark fruits” and “dark berries” — they were present, but not prominent. I did not find the wine was yet fully-integrated, those tannins were still a significant player in mouthfeel.

In addition to making Cabernet from their own Lazare vineyard, the Hersly family also sells some of their grapes to a few other wineries, also small and family-owned.

Last updated: March 19, 2023