Mt Veeder
2015 O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery Mt Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
2015 O’Shaughnessy 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is from the west side of the Napa Valley, Mount Veeder. On the eyes, a dark ruby coloring with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, a woody but sweet briar, with blackberry and black cherry fruits wafting into the nose. On the palate, full body with extremely concentrated fruits, licorice and black cherry exploded in the mouth with a background of sweet tobacco smoke and leather. Additionally, latent flavors of dark chocolate were noticed. The finish had some strong tannins, but without any “edginess” which provided for a long semi-velvety crescendo.
Rated at 95+ points by Wine Advocate and 96 points by International Wine Review. This wine could easily go another 7-10 years, yet more than pleased to be enjoyed now! Looking at various sites, this wine sells today for between $180 to $230/bottle.
This wine will make my annual list of Best Wines Tasted for 2026. O’Shaughnessy Winery has made this list for 15+ years annually for their exquisite wines. Only roughly 2% of 2,000 wines make this annual list published in December.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired this evening with a marinated Shish Kabob and then BBQ’ed. The marinade recipe calls for soy sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, crushed garlic, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The shish kabob in baskets consisted of yellow peppers, orange peppers, pineapple, red onion, mushrooms and topped with sprigs of fresh Rosemary. The meat suggested top sirloin, but we opted for a delicious Nebraska filet mignon cut into bite size portions. The shish kabob was emptied on a platter to be served.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Accompanied by roasted halved and seasoned small white potatoes. Additionally, a halved fresh Wedge salad was served with Blue cheese crumbles, bacon, cherry tomatoes, green onion slices and topped off with Blue cheese dressing.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
An enjoyable and complete meal to be enjoyed with this fine wine. Nothing less than perfect food and wine pairing. The only note is that with this great cut of meat, we may not marinate next time.
The Winery
The winery is located on Howell Mountain; however, they do source some fruit from their other estate located on Mount Veeder. So, they offer both Mt Veeder and Howell Mountain vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally, they produce Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. See a previous post at:
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
2008 O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery, Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon – A Special Wine
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Irish eyes are smiling brightly when you taste this aged to perfection Cabernet Sauvignon from Mount Veeder AVA by O’Shaughnessy Winery.
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine came up in “my to drink list” for 2025. After tasting it last evening this could easily go another five years. Parker also mentioned it will age 25+ years! Rated 98 points by Robert Parker and has been aging in the cellar for 14 years! Searching on the internet average price today appears to be $149/bottle. Today’s current vintage at the winery is their 2021 and is allocated at $160/bottle.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First on the eyes striking combination of inky purple and dark crimson coloring. Viscosity was medium-heavy. Once the cork was popped it took a while for the flavors to “open up” and express their pedigree after so many years of hibernation. Once opened, fresh blackberries and smooth blueberries filled the olfactory senses. On the palate, the dark fruits combined to make a robust compote of pure fruit. Full bodied possessing strong enjoyable tannins without any pointiness. The finish concluded being opulent and richly rewarding.
This wine will make my annual Best Wines Tasted Listing for 2025 (list comes out December for each year).
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
With a break in the weather, the BBQ was fired up for filet mignon steaks this evening. Seasoned with applewood smoke salt and Flatiron BBQ Rub was pounded in the steak on both sides. This rub contains chipotle, ancho, habanero, thyme, toasted onion, smoke ghost peppers, roasted garlic and paprika!
Seared at 1500 degrees and served medium rare. Accompanied by a Russett potato and my favorite salad of iceberg lettuce, fresh bacon pieces, halved cherry tomatoes, green onions and crumbled Point Reyes Blue cheese.
Absolutely a delicious and memorable food and wine pairing this evening!
The Winery
Photo from O’Shaughnessy website
Located on Howell Mountain with acres of vineyards planted on the hillsides. The wine cave is perhaps one of the best in Napa with their infinity loop design. They also have acreage on Mount Veeder and have produced exceptional wines for decades. Currently producing Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and the Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon.
Photo from O’Shaughnessy website
The owners Betty O’Shaughnessy and Paul Woolls have held the highest standard of quality and customer service for years. This was set as the standard hallmark of their entire staff, including Sean Capiaux the winemaker and Alan Pierson, vineyard manager. Initially we all met while being a wine club member for many years.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com