B.R. Cohn Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

To celebrate my grades from last semester my girlfriend and I decided to go out for some sushi (which we hadn't had for a month - and if you live in Vancouver you know how long this is to go without). The evening evolved into a stroll to Granville where we popped into West (one of Vancouver's premier restaurants), sat down at their very nice bar and ordered a bottle of wine to share.

I visited Napa and Sonoma about 8 months ago, and the first winery I stepped into was a little homey place called B.R. Cohn. I thought the wine was excellent (as was the olive oil they also make there), but I didn't want to get overambitious and buy tons of wine at the beginning of my trip so I ended up not picking anything up. This was clearly a bad idea as I never ended up getting a bottle from this great little winery. So, when I saw one of their wines on West's wine list, I was intrigued, and a very positive recommendation from the sommelier tipped the scales in favour.

This is a great little wine that goes for only $20 in the US, which is well worth it. It is a more old-world bordeaux style cab with flavours of damp earth, wood, and a little mushroom. There is a nice balance with the fruit, but the fruit is quite subdued and acts more as a canvass than as the full expressive character of the wine. Even with this earthiness, which is the one of the 'old-world' style flavours I love, the acidity was not at all over-bearing and it made a great sipping wine. No food required, although we ordered a fantastic cheese plate (Pecorino goes amazingly well with this wine).

It's probably impossible to find this particular bottle in vancouver at a liquor store, but I do remember seeing the higher end B.R. Cohn Olive Hill or Olive Grove (something like that) Cabernet at Kitsilano Wine Cellars. It won't be cheap, though, as that particular cab goes for $50 in the US.

Very Good+
$20 in the US