Sonoma County is renowned for producing excellent wine, and is home to over 250 wineries.  Chief among its red products are its world famous Cabernet Sauvignon’s, which as you might have noticed we tend to review a lot of.  Since Seth is leaving us and Lisa is visiting after her harrowing Law School finals, we decided there was no time like the present to procure and imbibe three Sonoma Cabs side by side and compare what they’re about.

Our first contender is from the oldest continuously family owned winery in Sonoma County, Sebastiani.  Founded in 1904, Sebastiani Vineyards is well regarded in wine circles and in our experience produces extremely high quality wines for a reasonable price. Our particular Sebastiani selection is the baseline 2005 Cabernet, available in most stores for around $15. Our second wine is the St. George Sonoma County Barrel Reserve, which we picked up at our local beer and wine store for just under $10.  Louis M. Martini’s 2006 Cabernet rounds up our field.  Martini claim their Cabernet is their speciality, and we were able to score a bottle for $13.

Starting at the bottom, we felt the Martini was simply not in the same league as the other two.  Across the board, it was down on flavor, down on finish, down on complexity, and just not as enjoyable to drink.  We all agreed that it probably would have been a much better wine if we hadn’t been drinking the other two.  In many cases, it would be a good wine to pair with food, perhaps even better with food, as we think food might draw out more flavor from what seemed like an otherwise slightly boring wine. None of us thought the Martini was bad in any way, but none of us thought we would buy it again.

St. George is easily the most aromatic of the three wines we sampled.  The smell was so strong that two paused and noted its botique immediately. The most noticable thing about it is it’s pronounced fruityness, which in many ways reminds me of the Avalon Cab I reviewed. It is a wine that clearly is a Cab, but at the same time is perhaps more of a reiterpretation of a Cab. We did all note a slight hint of bitterness which we feel may be attached to the chocolate tones in the wine, but overall didn’t completely put us off. Two of us thought the St. George was at least a good value, and certainly one we would purchase again, though one of us wasn’t particularly enamored with it.

Sebastiani was clearly the most complex of the three.  In many ways it serves as a benchmark of what a good cab should be.  Extremely rich wich fruit, oak, vanilla and a hint of peppery spice, the Sebastiani transitions well between all its flavors.  Even with a tremendous amount going on, everything is in balance and nothing detracts.  Overall, the Sebastiani Cab is an extremely good wine – pleasant to drink, complicated and complex without being overly heavy or difficult.

Unlike the Hefeweizen challenge, comparing these wines side by side is not straightforward. In the Hefeweizen challenge, the bottom three were very clear, and very clearly not in the same league as the top three, and the top two were certainly above the third place competitor.  While the Martini isn’t a wine any of us would purchase again, it’s still a quality product.  In fact, absent price, we can’t really make a strong recommendation against it.

This does bring up a difficult point, however: how much should price be a factor? The Martini is $2 less than the Sebastiani, and close to $4 more than the St. George.  Really our biggest knock on the Martini was the price.  We all agreed that we would pay $2 for the Sebastiani, and there were several cheaper Cabs that we would probably pick before spending $13 on the Martini again.  Our ultimate conclusion is that if price were no factor, we would all pick the Sebastiani. Two of us think, however, that when price is considered, the St. George at the least becomes a much more appealing alternative.

On the whole, we liked the Martini the least.  However, two big factors in that analysis include the price and the fact that we were comparing it in the sitting of at least one and depending on your perspective two better wines.  The Sebastiani was our favorite all around, but two of us questioned whether we would want to spend the 50% price premium on a daily drinker.  We all respected the St. George, and two of us thought it was a fair value, though it’s not necessarily the choice either of us would make if we were in the market for a $9 Cab.

Scores:

Sebastiani (previously reviewed) – 94
St. George – 88
Louis. M. Martini – 86