The 815 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the flagship wines of Gott Winery. According to wine experts, this is one of the very few wines that make use of hand-sorted, 100% pure Cabernet Sauvignon varietals for making the wine. As a result, the wine has an attractive dark red colour with strong notes of tobacco, earth and cherry in it. This wine has almost 13.9% alcohol content in it; however, when you taste it you will only sense a faint taste of alcohol, much to the delight of wine lovers. The fruits for this wine are grown on different appellations such as Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Paso Robles, Monterey, Mendocino and Lodi. The grapes from all these areas are hand-sorted before they are de-stemmed and fermented in individual lots. They are then aged in 25% new American oak barrels, where they are aged for 18 months. The two brothers, Joel and Duncan Gott, who established this brand, used grapes from some of the premium wine-areas of the USA to make their wines. Gott winery partners with grape growers of various regions to make use of the best grapes. This is why you will find a huge variety and scope in the range of wines created by this label. California’s most famous region—and especially for Cabernet Sauvignon—is the acclaimed Napa Valley. While Cabernet is successful throughout the world, rarely has it achieved such merit as it does from the Napa Valley. At this point the two are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other.

Place a grouse breast in the centre, season with salt and pepper and place a few sage leaves on top. This review is of Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 from Napa, California, USA. It is labeled as 815. Covering the most vine acreage in the state compared to any other red wine variety, Cabernet Sauvignon produces as much wine in California as Merlot and Pinot Noir combined. The state’s diverse terrain and microclimates, as well as the freedom of its winemakers, allow for an incredible range of wine styles from this single grape. The 815 Cabernet Sauvignon reflects what each appellation gives to the wine. Fruit from Napa Valley lends complexity while Lake County adds structured tannins and minerality. The warmer Paso Robles appellation offers fruit-forward notes and riper tannins and fruit from cooler, windy Monterey produces smaller, more concentrated fruit clusters. Santa Barbara fruit adds spice and acidity while fruit from Mendocino gives the wine its dark color and rich, fruit flavors. Rounding out the blend, our Lodi fruit is characterized by rich flavor and soft texture. We source fruit from these varied regions throughout California to create an elegant, balanced wine. It’s also quite leggy with many tiny bubbles suspending on the glass. Kind of similar to what an Oregon Pinot might do. The legs are very slow to fall, signaling a heavier wine.Joel then partnered with Charles Bieler and Roger Scommegna on the upstart wine brand Three Thieves in 2001. Now partnered with Trinchero Family Estates, the two companies produce Bandit and The Show. In May 2009, Joel announced a joint venture with Trinchero Family Estates for the marketing and distribution of Joel Gott Wines. Another wine brand partnership would follow with Charles Bieler to produce Shatter, a French Grenache.

At her next position as winemaker at Quintessa—a Napa Valley winery producing a single, Bordeaux-style red—Sarah was allowed greater involvement in the rapidly growing Joel Gott Wines. In the harvest of 2003, Joel and Sarah had their first daughter, Lucy, and the following year Sarah left Quintessa to focus on their growing family which grew by having two more children. Napa’s closest neighbor, Sonoma County, does an impressive job keeping up with Napa’s fame and glory. Alexander Valley, Sonoma Mountain, Moon Mountain and Knights Valley contribute to the lot of some of California’s top-rated Cabernet Sauvignon. Joel Gott, founder of Joel Gott Wines, is a fourth-generation California vintner, entrepreneur, lover of great food and an athlete. Born into a family of California vintners – his grandfather ran Inglenook Winery in the 60’s, and his father founded Montevina Winery in the 70’s – Joel grew up in the vineyards and learned to drive a tractor before he could legally drive a car.Joel Gott Cabernet is very aromatic with a deep rich nose of earth, tobacco and cherry. Just a slight whiff of alcohol noted. Sarah grew up in Marin County and, later, in Knights Valley, a stretch of farmland and vineyards linking Napa Valley with Alexander Valley in northern Sonoma County. It was in Knights Valley that Sarah first gained an appreciation of wine that led her study in the University of California at Davis’ Viticulture and Enology Department, where she graduated in 1993 with a degree in Fermentation Sciences.

Joel is a fourth-generation California vintner, and wine and food entrepreneur. Born in Napa Valley and raised in the Sierra Foothills where his parents started Montevina Winery, Joel later moved to Carmel and upon graduating high school went to work for Kenwood Winery in Sonoma County. He later got a job with Real Restaurant Group before venturing out on his own. Add a knob of butter and, when it has melted, baste the breasts. Remove from the heat and set aside to rest. Napa scion Joel Gott was born to make wine. His grandfather was winemaker and president of Inglenook in the 1960s and 1970s while his father, Cary Gott, is the founder of Montevina and continues to consult for wineries such as D.R. Stephens. In addition to Joel’s uncanny blending ability, he has privileged access to many of the best and as yet undiscovered fruit sources in the Napa Valley. Joel Gott wines are therefore remarkable values, offering gobs of classic California fruit, good structure and excellent balance. For over a decade, Joel Gott Wines has been building grower relationships, allowing the winemaking team to source high-quality grapes to produce delicious, balanced wines that offer fantastic value and of course, Joel is also the proud proprietor of Gott’s Roadside, Napa Valley’s red hot retro-chic “hamburger joint” on Highway 29, and most recently, in San Francisco as well. If pure Cabernet Sauvignon is your favorite varietal, I think you will like Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon a lot. 2012 was known to be a good year for California Cabernet. For the kale, heat the oil and butter in a pan and gently fry the garlic and the reserved chilli for two minutes.Following graduation, Sarah worked a few internships including one in Australia and one at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa Valley which later became a full-time position. In 1997, while working at Phelps, Sarah married vintner and entrepreneur Joel Gott, who had launched Joel Gott Wines in 1996 with Sarah as an informal winemaking consultant. Sarah remained at Phelps until 2002, eventually becoming winemaker with day-to-day responsibility for all production activities. Overall I found Joel Gott Cabernet Sauvignon to be an enjoyable Cab that would be a nice sipper on its own or paired with a hearty steak. Classic Cabernet comes through clearly. But, there’s also a bit of sweetness from the oak and from sourcing the grapes from multiple locations.