California Cabs are having a great month, at least in the media.  First Wine Spectator published a November “special collector’s issue” trumpeting Napa’s 50 Best Cabernets. Surprisingly, the Spectator’s list did not hit the stratosphere, with the average price around $70.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal’s Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher (known around the VinoDuo household as ‘the other wine couple’) devoted its Friday Tastings column to California “Cult” Cabs from small, high-end producers. Their “Dow Jones ‘Cult Wine’ Index noted just 10 wines, starting with the $1,595 Screaming Eagle 2002. That’s $1,595 per bottle, not per case.

Never ones to shrink from a challenge, VinoDuo set out to find California Cabs priced in the more reasonable range of $20 - $35. We raided our wine cellar and found four bottles we’d collected on our trips to Livermore Valley and Paso Robles. Gary cooked up a fabulous tenderloin with cippolina garlic potatoes and a green salad. After allowing 30 minutes for the contestants to breathe, we began the tasting.

The Contenders
•    Elliston Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (Livermore Valley)                         $18
•    Chumeia Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Paso Robles)               $13
•    SummerWood Cabernet Sauvignon 2002     (Paso Robles)                   $30
•    Eckert Acres Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2000  (Livermore Valley)   $25


Elliston Cabernet Sauvignon 1998    
Lisa’s mother always taught her to put “Age before beauty,” so we tried the oldest bottle first. This eight-year-old wine was dark ruby red, not inky. Leather with a hint of cherry on the nose, the Elliston boasted full fruit flavors of raspberries and dark cherries. Lisa found the wine too fruity, while Gary proclaimed it “a happy wine—warm, creamy, and delicious.”  www.elliston.com

Eckert Acres Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2000     Gary’s First Choice
The winemaker produces all of two barrels a year of this wine, one of the vineyard’s “founding” offerings. We were fortunate snag this bottle at the winery during our 2002 visit. The Eckert stole Gary’s heart with leather and tobacco on the nose and flavors of ripe cooked cherries, blackberry, and current. “This is a sophisticated wine,” Gary said. “When you think of a California Cab, this is what you think of.” His only cautionary comment—it could have used another year or two of aging.  www.eckertestate.com

SummerWood Cabernet Sauvignon 2002         Lisa’s First Choice
The deep red color and fruit and tobacco on the nose boded well for a delicious wine, and Lisa wasn’t disappointed. The fruit and tobacco carried over to the taste, with a little leather thrown in on the finish. “Full bodied but not overpowering, with firm tannins—a winning Cab,” was her assessment. www.summerwoodwine.com

Chumeia Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
This was a sentimental choice going in to the competition. During our first trip to Paso Robles in July we stumbled on Chumeia’s tasting room on the way out of town.  As the sophisticated wine experts say, “It blew us away.”  We joined the membership club and walked away with 6 bottles, including the 2004 Cab.

Perhaps we should have left the Cab in the cellar for a few more years.  It was immature and a bit thin, the least sophisticated of the group.  That said, it was eminently drinkable and tasty. Leather, spice, and dark cherries on the nose with a luscious fruit flavor and a long finish. We decided it would make a great pizza or pasta wine now; maybe when it grows up it will stand tall with a steak.   www.chumeiavineyards.com

We're not arguing that an $18 bottle of California Cab is no different from a $1600 bottle (not that we've ever tasted Screaming Eagle or any of its high-priced brethren.)  But as champions of small producers from lesser-known regions, we feel strongly about advocating for excellent wine the average person can buy and enjoy without taking out a loan.