Berger: Don’t write off 2011 Cabernets

Vintage charts have flaws. In some ways, they're totally unreliable, being, as they are, broad generalizations.

Today's message is: Ignore the charts. It's time for people who love cabernet sauvignon to act now and try as many 2011 wines as you can and begin buying them. In my opinion, the vintage for cabernet was far underrated by the so-called wine experts, and the wines are about as good a value today as they ever will be.

For one thing, most vintage chart ratings made annually are done well in advance of when the wines are best to evaluate. With cabernet that's truer than it has ever been; early evaluations are almost always subject to revision — and almost no one revises them.

The key point of my enthusiasm for the 2011s is wrapped up in the phrase I used above, 'people who love cabernet sauvignon.' I'm not referring to those who like dark red wines that have the consistency of 10w-40 oil, but those who love cabernet the way the grape used to be and the way the wine was seen for decades.

The rap on the 2011s was that the vintage along the West Coast was cool to cold (in the view of others) and left us all with green, weedy wines (in the view of others).

In reality, what we saw in 2011 was a vintage similar in style to those in the 1980s — the last time anyone in California saw a year when true cabernet characteristics were widely seen.

In the last two decades, many Americans who long liked dry cabernets that tasted like the grape have been pushed, prodded, and sold a bill of goods that softer, sweeter, oakier, higher-alcohol wines were better — and that varietal characteristics weren't necessary for a Cab to be any good.

And thus any hint of cabernet's real character, such as not over-ripe cherry, tea, olive, or a faint hint of dried herbs was termed 'unripe.' Yet without such elements, cabernet is, to me, toothless and lacks the varietal character we are paying to get.

I do not want all cabs to taste like all Merlots, or all cabernet Francs to taste like all zinfandels. Yet the wide 'success,' such as it is, of an ocean of homogeneous Argentine malbec proves that varietal character seems to have no impact on most consumers.

The 100-point scoring 'system,' moreover, leaves many Americans thinking that diversity is a horrid idea and that to get a very high score, all red wines should taste roughly the same as all 100-point wines. So even $10 red wines are being made in that image.

What's nice about many of the 2011 cabernets (and other 2011 red wines) is that they have two of the elements that have been missing in most vintages: varietal aromas and good acids.

The cool vintage in 2011 left many cabs with better structures and aromas than we have seen for a long time. And the disparagement of the 2011s by many reviewers (Robert Parker listed the quality of the 2011 cabs a 78 on a scale of 100) has caused prices to weaken.

Many wineries know the truth: This was a superb year for people who love the fascination of real cabernet aromas and tastes. But there is a commercial reality here: if the public hears the reviews of the wines and turns its collective back on the wines, many producers find they have a lot of unsold wines.

As a result, many of the wines are being discounted!

Vintage chart miscalculations have gone on for years. The 1974 vintage in California was highly praised, but purists found the leaner 1975s to be better. The 1989 vintage got a lot of rain, which hurt chardonnay, but the red wines weren't negatively affected — though the vintage charts still demeaned the red wines.

The classic example of misreading a vintage came with the 1998 cabs, which were termed 'fair' to 'good,' and the wines themselves to be 'serviceable,' when they came out. Today most winemakers say the vintage was superb.

The 2011s are not yet four years old, and already many people have written off the wines — even before any of them has developed any bottle bouquet. I have tasted many of the 2011s that remain on the shelf, and find dozens to be lower than they were when they came out a year ago and in better shape than they ever were.

Don't buy a flawed message and wait for later vintages. Try the 2011 red wines and see how fascinating many of them are.

Wine of the Week: 2011 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles, Hilltops ($35) — The aroma of this dark red wine shows dark cherry and plum with hints of tobacco and chocolate, and the entry is relatively rich. But in the mid-palate there is a lovely nuance of acidity to keep the wine from being too opulent, and the finish calls for a steak! Impeccably made and just coming into its own – and a great example of the vintage.

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes 'Vintage Experiences,' a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.