Antica 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak

12 Sommelier Candidates Review the Same Wine

Our Level IV Sommelier candidates were required to submit tasting notes for several wines, including the fantastic Antica 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Atlas Peak in Napa Valley. Yeah, hard times. We’re setting up a GoFundMe account for their recovery.

Wine Review #1

This cabernet reads like a page from the trail musings of John Muir, a virtual pacific northwest on the nose. The aroma is complex and somewhat intimidating, unfolding with a resinous pine-like character, quickly followed by heady gardenia and notes of well-worn leather. Smooth and full-bodied, it allows overripe cherry and bitter chocolate to play nicely together on the palate, with a slightly camphorous note at the finish.

Wine Review #2

Mother Earth slaughtered a lamb. This wine looks clear, highly concentrated, deep purple, with faint brick on the rim. It has aromas of mushroom, forest floor, chrysanthemum, mixed herbs, flowers, wet mud, and compost. On the palate, it is full-bodied with soft tannins and flavors of black pepper, leather, meat. This is very new world in its style

The AVA Atlas Peak’s terroir consists of volcanic ash, which is porous and does not hold water allowing for good drainage. It is high and cool, with breezes straight from the bay. These areas cabernets are said to have “bright fruit and good natural acidity (Johnson).” Very different from what I tasted, perhaps secondary to its age. My impression of this wine sounds more like a Sangiovese, which is interesting considering this area has a history of growing Sangiovese.

Wine Review #3

Sight

• Clarity: Cloudy
• Color: Garnet
• Rim Variation: None
• Concentration: Medium
• Sediment: None
• Viscosity: Medium

Aroma

• Violet
• Green bean
• Wood

Palate

• Acid: M
• Body: Full
• Tannin: M-

Flavor

• Tobacco
• Blueberry
• Concentrated dark fruit

Style

• Traditional
• Med complexity

Wine Review #4

Sight

• Slightly cloudy
• Super dark red/purple with very little rim variation
• High concentration
• Low sediment
• Medium viscosity

Aroma and flavors

Spearmint, graphite, bell pepper, prunes, chocolate

Palate

• Medium+ acid
• Medium Minus body
• Medium tannin
• Long finish

Style

Modern – Fruit forward, aggressive oak, warm climate, medium complexity, high alcohol

Wine Review #5

Dark ruby color, deep concentration, with a tinge of brick on the rim. Medium viscosity. Earthy old-world style wine with mushroomy graphite on black currants, with a bit of gentle baking spice and caramel. Just enough Brett to give this a nice subtle medicinal funk. Hints of herbs and hay. Nice balanced acidity and body (both M), with medium tannins that are very smooth and seem to sit more inside the mouth/cheeks than on the tongue. A complex wine with a nice long finish and gentle oakiness.

Wine Review #6

Despite its advancing years, the Antica 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon shows no bricking yet, with deep, dense purple shining up out of the glass. Some sediment has begun to appear, though, allowing complexity to develop in the bottle without becoming redundant. This is a big wine with a strong tannic structure that is heavy and coats the glass. Very vegetal, this is clearly a wine that wishes it were from northern Italy or western France: green pepper right out of the garden, very dusty, and forceful minerality, and graphite is the main player of the bouquet with cedar box, licorice, and coffee grounds playing through. The mouth shows more fruit than the nose in tight berry and currant qualities alongside a prune or plum note that woke up my tongue. A moderate or perhaps moderate-plus alcohol level with aggressive oak treatment, this wine is a new world, food-friendly option for a cozy BYO.

Wine Review #7

Smell- Green pepper, black pepper, oak, earthy
Taste- Earthy, old-world style, heavy oak, minerality, blackberry, pine trees (I want to call it Christmas Cab) with a Medium for Acid, Body, and Tannins.

Wine Review #8

clear, purple, slight rim, high concentration, no sediment, medium viscosity
plum, rasp, dust, espresso, graphite
M- acid, M+ body, M tannin, short finish
high alcohol, warm climate, low complexity

Wine Review #9

Sight: Purple/brown color; high concentration with low viscosity

Aroma: blackberry, oak, graphite, vegetal (pepper), vanilla, funky

Palate: High acid, medium body and medium to high tannin. A lot fresher on the palate than the nose with good dose of raspberry and nuttiness

Style: Modern style, high alcohol, moderate climate, medium to high complexity

Wine Review #10

This 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon is purple in color with a ruby rim. The nose is reminiscent of a Syrah with strong scents of game and smoke. You have similar flavors of meat, pepper, and graphite with a hint of mushroom on the pallet. This wine is complex and full-bodied with medium acidity and strong tannins.

Wine Review #11

Sight – purple
Aroma – peppers, smoky/cedar, anise
Palate – acid (medium), body (full), tannin (medium), flavors (fruit, earthy), finish (long)
Style – earthy, climate (moderate), complexity (high)

Wine Review #12

This dark garnet wine has zero sediments and a light brick rim variation. Upon aeration, the wine blooms with a syrah-like nose, being very gamey with a punch of cedar, as well. Mushrooms, berries, and hints of spice shine through beautifully in this smoky wine. High in alcohol and tannin, with medium viscosity, body, and acid, this warm climate Cabernet has flavors that delicately blend so that the drinker experiences notes of earth and meat while the moderately complex taste dances across the palate, leaving trails of dark fruit, pepper, herbs, and oak.

Final Thoughts

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