2013 Forman, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, California, USA
Critics reviews
The 2013 has just been bottled. I will not be surprised at all if it merits a higher rating at some point in the future. Even better from bottle than it was from barrel, Ric Forman's 2013 is a super-classic, old-school Napa Cabernet to treasure for the next three decades. Best of all, Forman's Cabernet is probably the single greatest value in Napa Valley Cabernet.
97+/100 points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com – October 2015
Robert M. Parker, Jr. - 30/10/2015
This is another terrific 2013. This one was aged 22 months in barrel, but 60% was new oak, and it was never fined prior to bottling. It should drink well for 15 or more years.
95/100 points - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate – October 2015
About this WINE
Forman Vineyard
Founded in 1978 and still in the hands of original owner, Ric Forman, Forman Vineyard produces classically made Chardonnay and Cabernet dominated Bordeaux blends from the Howell Mountain AVA in Napa Valley.
Bordeaux with a Napa accent is very much the template for Forman, with green harvesting, hand picking and ageing in French oak (75% new) the norm at the estate. The blend for the red varies little each year and is normally around 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, with the balance split equally between Merlot and Petit Verdot. The wines have taken on a richer (although not overblown) profile over the last decade, coinciding with Ric’s son Toby joining the business.
Robert Parker says “Ric Forman is arguably Napa Valley’s first superstar winemaker"
Napa Valley
North Coast's Napa Valley is California's most famous viticultural area (AVA), claiming some of the most expensive agricultural land in the world and producing wines of ‘cult’ status.
Its 16,000 ha of vines lie over a strip (40 miles long-5 miles wide) of diverse soils (clay, gravely, volcanic), with its northernmost end on the side of Mountain Helena and its foot in San Francisco Bay. The valley is framed by two mountains ranges Vaca (to the north) and Mayacamas (to the south), yet the main climatic influence is the cool wind and fog that is sucked in from San Pablo Bay during the afternoon, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.
The area enjoys a variety of unique microclimates, as temperatures can vary dramatically as much as 15 degrees, from the north to the south end of the valley. These differences have led to the creation of several sub-AVAs (14 in total) including:
Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley District, Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain, Los Carneros, Mt. Veeder, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Spring Mountain District, Stags Leap District, Yountville, Wild Horse Valley and Oak Knoll District. The Calistoga AVA is still pending approval.
Both the “Napa Valley” designation and the sub-AVA name must appear on the wine label simultaneously, with the exception of wines from the Carneros AVA, which is shared between the Napa Valley and the Sonoma County.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the undisputed king of Napa grapes, occupying over 45% of the vineyard acreage, followed by (predominantly) Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cab. Franc and to a lesser extent Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto.
Recommended Producers
Frog's Leap, Dominus, David Ramey, Viader, Stag's Leap Cellars, Paras Vineyards, Heitz.
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon lends itself particularly well in blends with Merlot. This is actually the archetypal Bordeaux blend, though in different proportions in the sub-regions and sometimes topped up with Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot.
In the Médoc and Graves the percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend can range from 95% (Mouton-Rothschild) to as low as 40%. It is particularly suited to the dry, warm, free- draining, gravel-rich soils and is responsible for the redolent cassis characteristics as well as the depth of colour, tannic structure and pronounced acidity of Médoc wines. However 100% Cabernet Sauvignon wines can be slightly hollow-tasting in the middle palate and Merlot with its generous, fleshy fruit flavours acts as a perfect foil by filling in this cavity.
In St-Emilion and Pomerol, the blends are Merlot dominated as Cabernet Sauvignon can struggle to ripen there - when it is included, it adds structure and body to the wine. Sassicaia is the most famous Bordeaux blend in Italy and has spawned many imitations, whereby the blend is now firmly established in the New World and particularly in California and Australia.
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Description
A totally dazzling wine, Ric Forman's 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is easily one of the wines of the vintage. Today, the 2013 is dense, powerful and explosive, with fabulous energy and tons of sheer intensity. Graphite, smoke, tobacco and layers of dark-fleshed fruit all open up in the glass. This is the first vintage to incorporate a dollop of Malbec.
The 2013 has just been bottled. I will not be surprised at all if it merits a higher rating at some point in the future. Even better from bottle than it was from barrel, Ric Forman's 2013 is a super-classic, old-school Napa Cabernet to treasure for the next three decades. Best of all, Forman's Cabernet is probably the single greatest value in Napa Valley Cabernet.
97+/100 points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com – October 2015
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