Description
Frazier Family Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon
Whenever I see a Napa Cabernet from the 2002 vintage—and, as the years go by, it’s getting rarer and rarer—my eyes light up. When the wines were first released, the 2002s didn’t get quite the same critical response as the opulent ’01s, but most experts were nevertheless optimistic about the long-term prospects of the ’02s: they were widely described as more “European” in structure (i.e. more tensile and less immediately luscious/drinkable when young). And, as often happens, those who thought ’02 could be something have been richly rewarded.
Writing for Decanter magazine, journalist Norm Roby remarked that 2002 “…reminds me of 1991, which also started out as an overlooked, slow-to-evolve vintage that followed an ultra-ripe, flashy year.” Today’s boutique bottling from the Frazier family, sourced from estate vineyards in the Coombsville subzone of Napa Valley, is the kind of ’02 that validates what a lot of people, myself included, think about elite Napa Cabernet—namely, that the biggest, most concentrated (and often highest-scoring) wines aren’t necessarily the ones that will deliver the goods 20 years down the line. A lot of them, frankly, turn to overcooked mush, whereas Frazier’s ’02 is a lithe, savory, elegant beauty in the old-school Bordeaux mold. Cabernet lovers of a slightly older generation had an abundance of wines like this, from vintages in the ’70s and ’80s, to choose from. More recently? Not as many. How lucky we feel to have Frazier close by, and to receive a small tranche of this perfectly stored rarity. Production was only in the hundreds of cases to begin with, so to have any at all to offer today is a blessing. Take up to three bottles and enjoy a trip back in time!
Over the years, founder Bill Frazier has grown his production from about 900 cases per year to about 5,000, but even the latter figure would be considered “boutique” scale by modern Napa standards. And, like a lot of Napa Valley success stories, Bill’s began with success in an entirely different career. After college (where he originally studied soil science), he joined the Air Force, served in Vietnam, and eventually became a commercial airline pilot. He spent 30 years with United Airlines, and, during this time, found a property in the Napa Valley that eventually became his family home. In 1990, he planted his first vineyards on a hillside in Coombsville. At the time, there wasn’t much Cabernet Sauvignon planted in this cooler, southeastern corner of the Napa Valley (Coombsville wasn’t made a discrete AVA until 2006), but as we know now, he made the right call: the region, with its volcanic soils and proximity to the San Pablo Bay, is one of the coolest spots in the Napa Valley, producing a more elegant style of Cabernet (and Merlot, and Cabernet Franc).
Those original estate vineyards in Coombsville (which the Fraziers sold in 2011), provided the raw material for today’s perfumed, powerful ’02, which sent a host of other aged Napa wines packing in one of our recent tastings. Had I tasted it blind, I might easily have guessed Bordeaux rather than Napa, what with all the savory components and still-fresh acidity on the palate. The Frazier wines are crafted using only “free-run” juice (the juice released from harvested grapes when they are crushed under their own weight, before any pressing occurs) and aged 18-24 months in French oak, and of course this one has spent the intervening years in a cool, dark corner of the Frazier cellar. It’s singing right now, but let me put a finer point on that: This isn’t late-stage Mick Jagger belting one out, this is late-stage Ella Fitzgerald, still perfectly on pitch and smooth as silk.
In the glass, the wine displays a dense garnet-red core moving to a brick orange-accented rim. The aromas are like something out of an aged Cabernet Master Class: preserved black plum, dried cherry, redcurrants, damp forest, wet violets, graphite, red tobacco, black mushroom and a touch of cocoa all integrate with subtle oak spice. It is, by today’s Cabernet Sauvignon standards, medium-plus in body, with fine-grained tannins and a very refreshing, palate-cleansing wave of acidity. Decant this wine for sediment about 15 minute before service and take your time enjoying it at 60-65 degrees in large Bordeaux stems—it is perfectly sound and has a lot to reveal as it blossoms in the glass. Although I’m likely to blow through my small stash almost immediately, I do think this wine will continue to deliver over the next five-plus years, so consider “losing” one of your three. What an exciting find! Cheers!
