Great Wine: Turnbull Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

By Johannes Marlena

Add TURNBULL to the shortlist of Napa Valley wineries who seem to do no wrong. Go north on Highway 29 that runs through the heart of Napa wine country, and when you enter Oakville, it’s on your right side. The tour buses that come through this one-lane road, in most likelihood, skip over providing any canned narration to their busload of visitors about this winery, as its famous surrounding neighbors, such as Robert Mondavi, Opus One and Cakebread, typically steal the spotlight—not to mention Francis Ford Coppola’s Inglenook and the hugely popular Peju is just up the road.

For the money, and the unsurpassing quality you consistently get in return, there are few that compare to Turnbull. Your tongue could go purple trying to find a better Napa Valley Cab for the price than Turnbull’s Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 vintage bottling is a handsome little devil, winning in so many ways. Affable charm, impeccable taste, well dressed and well heeled. It’s Clooney in an Armani tux. Clean lines, silky smooth, masculine and confident. Rich and powerful blackberry and plum, with a dark note of tar and dark roast African coffee beans like five o’clock shadow on a perfectly chiseled face, and ending with a hint of fresh mint. Want to make the ladies swoon? You got it. Want the glam and the dazzling gaze of the spotlight? Right here. So, roll out the red carpet. You’re the star tonight.  –J.M.

 

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January 13, 2016