The search for value Cabernet, specifically from Napa, is never-ending. But thankfully it is not hopeless, though we do have to work through a lot of juice to find a precious few gems. A while back (specifically January 2018) we introduced a new find (for us) that answered the prayers of California Cabernet drinkers. It was clean, varietally true, showed the nuances of its Napa Valley heritage, and cost under $20. A late Christmas miracle? Apparently not as here we are with the latest edition of the Branham Estate Resolution Cabernet Napa Valley that hits the mark again.
Winex has been scouring the countryside for remarkable values for nearly four decades. We have to wonder why we haven’t run across the wines of Gary Branham before. The guy has been in the wine business, by his own account, since 1971, and started the first of his two estates by planting Branham Rockpile Vineyard in 1994. In 1997, Branham purchased Obsidian Vineyard in Napa Valley, located near the Napa River near the Silverado Trail and Bale Lane. This 10-acre estate was planted in 1986 and then 60% was replanted in 2005.
Gary has basically existed as a grower for most of the time but has made numerous small lots of a variety of different things under his own labels, Branham and Resolution, all of which seemed to be priced at very reasonable fares given their pedigrees. Apparently, while Gary makes the majority of his livelihood as a grower, he likes to make wines that express their vineyards and that people can afford to drink. What a concept!
We couldn’t have been more elated when we were presented this Cabernet. In the value game, there are far too many one-hit wonders. This version was every bit as good as the last one, and that’s a big compliment. The Branham Estate Resolution Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2017 comes mainly from Gary’s Obsidian Vineyard with a portion from each of two other vineyards he works, one in Calistoga and one in St. Helena. There are bits of Merlot and Petit Verdot in the mix as well. This is all Napa Valley juice that sees 16 months in 100% used French oak to polish and soften the mid-palate and make something tender and delicious for current applications’ A year or two more in the bottle certainly won’t hurt either.
‘The Res’, as the winery refers to it, is full-bodied, rich, and balanced with aromas of dark berries, cassis, mocha and spice on the nose. You get the same profile on the palate with a touch of coffee in the mix as well. For Cab drinkers, this is a fastball down the middle, delivering all you could ask for in terms of size, richness and nuance, as well as actual notes of Napa Valley terroir. If we told you this was a $30-40 Cab, you would have no reason to question it since even that would be a pretty sensational deal for legit Napa Cabernet in today’s world.
Like its predecessor, perhaps the biggest plus for us is that it actually tastes like good Cabernet. Simply put, this is the ‘resolution’ to all of our Napa value Cabernet needs… at least while it is around. Once again it isn’t going to make a gigantic splash in the marketplace because only 700 cases were produced this time around. So grab this needle-in-a-haystack/holy grail/unicorn Cabernet value while you can. Last year’s version sold out in a flash and we suspect those folks will happily be back for the next round. Wines like this don’t come around all that often, and they usually don’t hang around very long.