Friday, December 19, 2014

Flora Springs Gamut, NV First Release


Flora Springs is located at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains in the far northwest corner of the Rutherford AVA in the heart of Napa Valley. Natural springs on the property have flowed continuously even in times of drought.
The winery is also very good in making sure people don’t go thirsty. Their Trilogy blend has been delighting wine lovers since 1984 and their single vineyard wines range from $100 to $125 a bottle.
My wine budget is a bit more modest than that, so when I spotted Gamut online for about $20 a bottle, I jumped. Gamut is a proprietary estate-grown Cabernet blend of the 2011 and 2012 vintages.
Non-vintage indicates that the grapes do not come from just one year’s harvest. But in this case, the blending of the two year’s fruit pays off deliciously.The 2011 grapes come from the hillside vineyards while the 2012 come from the valley floor.
The blend is 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% each of Malbec and Petite Verdot. It was aged in a combination of French and American oak.
We sampled this wine on its own, but I would suggest pairing it with a nice steak or a selection of cheeses to soften the tannins. It offers a flourish of juicy raspberry and blueberry. Interest is created by dabs of spice and coffee sewn together with a hint of oak.
Gamut, as far as I can tell, is only available through Invino and possibly some other online retailers. A second bottling combines fruit from the 2011 and 2012 harvests and it has a different label.
This a wine from a great neighborhood, crafted by premier winemaker Paul Steinauer into a blend that is head and shoulders above others in its price range. Buy multiple bottles if you can find it.
Rating: 3.5 of 5  Value: 5 of 5

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