I recently acquired a bottle from Rombauer Vineyards in Napa Valley, specifically their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. Let me start by saying, this is a phenomenal wine, mainly because it is both smooth to the taste, and balanced. Best of all, this is a vegan wine, which does not contain any animal derived fining agents during the winemaking process. Overall, this is a high quality wine. Kudos to the winemaker!

According to Rombauer Vineyards, the fruits were harvested in late 2012, but this wine was only released in August 2014, kept in solitary confinement in new French oak barrels. The wine is a combination of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, and 6% Petit Verdot. Rombauer Vineyards recommends enjoying this wine anywhere from now to 2018.

I typically dread tasting Cabernet Sauvignon mainly because often the wines are either too dry or unbalanced, with a noticeable punch of alcohol. This not the case with the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rombauer Vineyards, despite a 14.5% alcohol content, this wine has a subtle body and is smooth to the taste.

The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rombauer Vineyards is a dark and slightly hazed purplish wine. The wine showed a noticeable and intricate formation of legs around my glass, so yes it does have legs. It has moderate aromas, and noticeable spicy tones. The wine has aromas of blackcurrant, red pepper, blackberries, blueberries, hints of vanilla, subtle aromas of dark leafed tobacco, and very smoky oak tones. Did I say it has spicy tones? This is a balanced and spicy delicious wine! Yum!!!