Laurel Glen was one of our favorite wineries when we toured the Sonoma and Napa Valleys two years ago (read about that here). My, how time does fly. We walked the mountain vineyards with the winemaker, Randall Watkins, and tasted through the wines. They were all excellent, but the value that really jumped out was the Counterpoint Cabernet Sauvignon (back then it was the 2019 vintage, which you can still buy on their website). We were so impressed with their wines that we joined their wine club, something we generally do not do. It has its advantages, and one of those is we just received the 2021 Counterpoint Cabernet in our shipment. Spoiler alert: it does not disappoint.
Wine: 2021 Laurel Glen Counterpoint Cabernet Sauvignon
Winery Location: Glen Ellen, Sonoma Valley, CA
Tasted By: Neil & Cheri Date: November 2024
Tasting Notes: This is a dark ruby in color, with a fruit driven nose of blackberry and currant. The fruit is really beautiful, as we now expect from this wine. On the palate you also get leather and orange peel, as well a some of that tension that mountain wines possess. It is pretty tannic at the moment, and is a baby, but also approachable. We decanted for an hour and it drank very nicely. In a few years it will hit its peak, but is very hard to resist opening now. Another excellent wine, a river of fruit, and a good value.
Price Point – Around $60
Would We Buy It? – Yes, we did. We’ll likely pick up another half a case at some point during the year as well. The Counterpoint Cabernet Sauginon is, for us at least, a dependable, high quality Sonoma Cab that you can count on. It is a very good value and a go to wine in our cellar.
If you find yourself near Glen Ellen some time you should stop by Laurel Glen and see for yourself what’s going on in their corner of Sonoma Mountain. The wines are excellent, as are the people. If you’re not going to be dropping in, we suggest you try their wines anyway and possibly find some new favorites of your own.
A votre santé!
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