TexaS Wine Journal. Category Report Cabernet Sauvignon

Transcription

1 TexaS Wine Journal Category Report Cabernet Sauvignon

2 About Journal RatingS Journal ratings are about building awareness for Texas wines under the objective lens of a panel of professional judges. Through consensus, as opposed to the voice and opinions of a single judge, we can create a more comprehensive guide. Texas Wine Journal ratings are based on tastings by the Journal s panel; of which a five-judge quorum is required. All wines are tasted under single blind conditions and organized based on peer group (meaning that the same types of wines are tasted against each other and the producers names are not known). Price is also not a known factor when the panel meets. Each producer receives notice of their wine s rating prior to any rating being published. Ratings will be held in confidence if the producer chooses not to allow its publication. The exception to this rule is if a wine rates in the top five of its respective category. The rating will also be included as part of the population of ratings to be analyzed for trends within the category and year-to-date breakdowns. Only wines scoring 80 points or higher will be published. Wines that are considered flawed or atypical are re-tasted. All wines evaluated and rated are done so on a standardized form based on a 20-point scale. The 20-point score is converted to a 100 point score using the same conversion method that Decanter Magazine uses. In addition, a consumer rating will be provided in the form of Recommended and Highly Recommended wines. January

3 Type Of Data We Track Wine Score (20-points and 100-points) Category Average Single Wine Deviation: A measure of panel consensus for a single wine Average Deviation Across Category: The average deviation between a single wine and the category average - An average calculation across each wine s individual deviation Panel Consensus: Represents how well the panel tastes as a judging body - A deviation calculation of category averages across all judges Typicity Across Category: A Measure of typicity (consistency in style) - A deviation calculation across all averaged wine scores Appellation Tracking: Breakdown of Texas AVAs Vineyard Tracking Texas vs. The World: A seperate category that places the top rated Texas wine from a given category in a blind tasting of world wines Year-to-Date Breakdown Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Category Average: 14.95/20 (83 Points) Average Deviation Across Category: 0.97 Typicity Across Category: 1.43 Panel Consensus: 0.54 January

4 Score Breakdown Extraordinary. Superior character and style Excellent. Noteworthy character and highly recommended Very good. Wine with special qualities and potentially a great value depending on price Good. Solid wine with above average character Average. Straightforward with little distinction beyond being soundly made. Cabernet Sauvignon RatingS Breakdown January

5 Category Report The Cabernet Sauvignon category featured 26 wines (17 producers and 11 single vineyards) that came from grapes sourced from across the state; Ten (38%) were appellated Texas, five (19%) from the Texas Hill Country, ten (38%) from the Texas High Plains and one (4%) from the Texas Davis Mountains. The prices of the wines submitted ranged from $13 to $55 and included the following: 3 from the 2008 vintage, 1 from 2009, 3 from 2010, 2 from 2011, 15 from 2012 and 1 was from multiple vintages. Producers Featured In The Cabernet Sauvignon Category Becker Vineyards Blue Ostrich Winery Brennan Vineyards Fall Creek Vineyard Flat Creek Estate Kiepersol Estates Landon Winery Llano Estacado Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards Lost Oak Winery Messina Hof Winery Pilot Knob Vineyard Pleasant Hill Winery Sunset Winery Texas Hills Vineyard Westcave Cellars Winery William Chris Vineyards The Top 5 Rated WineS 1. Pilot Knob Vineyard, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, /20, 91 points -$45 2. Becker Vineyards, Texas High Plains, Canada Family Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, /20, 91 points - $45 3. Fall Creek Vineyards, Texas Hill Country, Meritus /20, 89 points - $40 4. Landon Winery, Texas High Plains, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, /20, 89 points - $24/Library 5. Westcave Cellars Winery, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, /20, 88 points - $50 January

6 After each category is tasted and rated the scores across the panel are averaged, which allows us to track the consensus across a wide range of palates and thus produces a final rating that is more objective and comprehensive; even when category and panel deviations are considered. To that point, 8% of the wines rated were defined to be Excellent by Journal definitions (scoring points), 40% were rated Very Good (scoring points), 32% were rated Good wines (scoring points), 16% were Average wines (scoring points) and 4% were Below Average (74 points or less). RatingS Breakdown Vintage Breakdown Extraordinary ) - 0 total Excellent (90-94) - 2 total, 50% THC, 50% THP Very Good (85-89) - 10 total, 60% TX, 20% THC, 20% THP Good (80-84) - 8 total, 25% TX, 13% THC, 63% THP Average (75-79) - 4 total, 50% TX, 25% THC, 25% THP Poor (<75) - 1 total, 100% THP *THC - Texas Hill Country THP - Texas High Plains total (8%) - 50% Very Good, 50% Average total (4%) - 100% Very Good total (20%) - 40% Very Good, 40% Good, 20% Average total (8%) - 50% Very Good, 50% Below Average total (60%) - 13% Excellent, 20% Very Good 47% Good, 20% Average MV - 1 total (4%) - 100% Very Good January

7 Single VineyardS 1. Bingham Family Vineyard acres 2. Canada Family Vineyard - 20 acres 3. Certenberg Vineyard - 29 acres 4. Granite Hill Vineyards - 25 acres 5. Lepard Vineyard - 50 acres 6. Newsom Vineyard acres 7. Pilot Knob Estate Vineyard acres (6 planted) 8. Texas Hills Estate Vineyard - 19 acres 9. Twin T Vineyard - 13 acres 10. Westcave Estate Vineyard - 8 acres 11. Wilmeth Vineyard (Diamante Doble) - 90 acres Every 0.25 deviation points on a 20-point scale is equivalent to roughly 1.0 point on a 100-point scale January

8 TexaS vs. The World The top rated Texas wine from a given category represents Texas in a separate category called Texas vs. The World, where wines of similar varietals, styles or blends are tasted blind and rated. The top rated Texas wine from the Cabernet category scored 91 points in the initial category tasting and scored 87 points in the Texas vs. The World category tasting. The results of the Texas vs. The World category are: Chappellet, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, TWJ 90, ST 90 - $50 Fritz, Dry Creek Valley, Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, TWJ 90 - $40 Penfolds, South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin TWJ 90, WS 89 - $23 Pilot Knob, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, TWJ 87 - $45 Montes Alpha, Colchagua Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, TWJ 85 - $16 January

9 2014 RatingS Breakdown (across all categories) Extraordinary (95-100) Excellent (90-94) Very Good (85-89) Good (80-84) Average (75-79) Below Average (<75) Wines Rated In Wines Rated To Date 102 Producers That Submitted Wines 49 Number of Categories Rated This Year 5 of 9 Average Panel Consensus To Date 0.55 Number of Categories Rated To Date 5 Hours Spent Ratings Wines To Date 45 Average Submissions Per Producer 2 January

10 In ConcluSion The Cabernet category averaged out to 83 points Two wines in the category are defined as Excellent wines by Journal definitions scoring points. Cabernet is the first category to have multiple wines achieve this rating threshold The Journal Highly Recommends 6 wines or 23% and Recommends 14 wines or 54% Older vintages (4+ years) are holding their own; 47% (4 wines) scored above 85 points 11 single vineyards were represented, which is the most seen in all categories tasted to date Four of the top five wines were produced from single vineyard sites Three of the top five wines were from the Texas Hill Country AVA 33% of wines submitted in the 2012 vintage were rated Very Good to Excellent by Journal definitions With a panel consensus score of 0.54, the panel continues to taste with objectivity and considerable consensus from one category tasting to another The Cabernet category showed a decrease in typicity when compared to the Red Blends and Merlot categories. This decrease in typicity suggests that there is more variance across the styles of Texas Cabernets as compared to Texas Red Blends or Merlot January

11 Our CollaboratorS The Texas Wine Consortium (the Consortium) is a nonprofit launched in April 2012 with the mission to inform, educate and promote Texas Wines to the trade, consumer and prospective industry partners. The Consortium aims to be the go-to source for data and information about the industry, a leader in the development of quality standards as well as cellaring the largest library of Texas wines with which to use for educational and awareness purposes; of which the Texas Wine Journal is included. By industry professionals, for industry professionals, the new SOMM Journal serves as an educational tool for on- and off-premise hospitality professionals as well as those looking to further their understanding of wine and spirits. Under the guidance of Meridith May, Publisher and Editorial Director for the nation s most-red beverage industry publication, the The Tasting Panel Magazine, Somm Journal s team of top-shelf contributors includes internationally renowned wine writers, sommeliers and authorities. The SOMM Journal is a bi-monthly publication that has a distribution list of 50,000 beverage professionals throughout the United States and an ever growing international audience. Vinovium Partners was organized in 2012 and permitted in 2013 as a Bonded Wine Cellar / Wine Blender (TTB) and a G permit winery in Texas (TABC). Our business model is a négociant model, where through the power of consolidation we are able to provide one-stop-shop capabilities for a varying degree of end customers. Our goal is to become the premier seller and marketer in Texas of fine wines packaged in recyclable commercial kegs and in recyclable consumer-oriented, aseptic packages. Vinovium Partners inventories and cellars all wines for the Texas Wine Journal. The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is a membership nonprofit using their passion for wine and food to better the health and well-being of our community by hosting public wine and food events, educational opportunities and the finest wine auction in the Southwest funding culinary scholarships, educational grants and other deserving causes. The Foundation provides the Texas Wine Journal a home each month to conduct panel tastings. January

12 Our CollaboratorS Continued Texas Hill Country Wineries is a not-for-profit community organization that preserves and promotes the healthy and value added lifestyle of Texas Wines. THCW contributes to the quality of life in and around the Texas Hill Country s nationally recognized wine trails and events. They represent 32 unique and independent wineries committed tpromoting industry advancement and consumer awareness through event and agricultural programs. The mission of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Inc. is to promote the production and appreciation of premium grapes and fine wines from Texas, and to represent a unified state industry with common marketing, governmental and educational goals. Texas Wine & Trail Magazine is a multifaceted magazine that offers ACCESS TO THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WINE VOICES IN THE STATE. The publication is dedicated to showcasing the amazing diversity of Texas wine culture and growing the success of the Texas wine industry. May

13 A PartnerShip At Work January

14 Support the Journal. Contribute. Submit What You Can With Your Next Submission 2015 Tasting Schedule Submission Deadline February 17 - Viogner and Roussanne...February 13 March 10 - Syrah...March 6 April 21 - White Blends...April 17 May 19 - Dry Rose & Other Mediterranean White Varietal...May 15 June 23 - Blanc Du Bois...June 19 July 21 - Red Blends...July 17 August 18 - Sangiovese...August 14 September 22 - Merlot...September 18 October 20 - Other Mediterranean Red Varietal...October 16 November 17 - Tempranillo...November 13 December 15 - Cabernet Sauvignon...December 11 January

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