Delaney Vineyards 1995 Texas Cabernet Sauvignon Vintner’s Reserve
A little over two years ago we first visited Delaney Vineyards in Grapevine, Texas. At that time who knew that we would end up with one bottle of this wine. At the end of our tasting experience our host offered everyone a taste and told us it was their oldest wine and they still had a very limited stock. With only a few cases left we made the choice to grab a bottle and set it aside. I am very glad tonight that we did. Fast forward to tonight, rummaging around the racks and looking for something that needed to be opened, this gem stuck out. I quickly looked for our old tasting notes from our visit and did a quick search for the 411 on this wine. This wine was made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes grown right there at the vineyard in Grapevine, TX.
As stated on the bottle the brix level when the grapes were picked was between 22 and 22.5. This wine is a blend of 85% Cab Sauvignon and 15% Merlot. This wine was fermented and aged in French Oak for 14 months
I would like to say that my wife and I are not sommeliers, so knowing that, this is our take on this wine.
As we opened the bottle the first thing we noted was the cork. It had aged wonderfully and was not dry at all. The wine soaked end was a deep purple leaving us wanting for what we would find inside the bottle. We poured into some of our favorite “quirky” glasses and found the color to be a deep garnet yet nicely clear. At this point we were pleasantly surprised since this wine has been in the bottle almost 18 years at this point. The nose gave off a light, sultry smokiness from the French oak aging coupled with aromas of dried and dark stone fruits. We detected prunes, currants, and dark plum and cherry notes. At this point we were truly anticipating our first taste since all other signs pointed toward a promising flavor profile. We were not disappointed. The mouth feel was slightly acidic at the front, a little drying, that lead then to a rich leathery middle and a silky, smoky finish. We picked up lots of dried fruit flavors like craisin and currant and prunes with some plum, hints of smoke, and a lightly herbal note in the background of the finish. This wine is still complex but comes off light with balanced smooth tannins.
Overall we rated this bottle a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10 for us. It’s a complex wine and very smooth and surprisingly enjoyable after all this time in the bottle – an oddity for a Texas wine. I would even dare to say it’s comparable to any great California Cab we’ve loved before. Now we can only say we should have bought more than one bottle. At the time of purchase this wine was a steal for $19.95.
