Over Succoth, we had the chance to taste through the currently released vintages of Four Gates Winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Betchart Vineyard. This wine started off with a blast in 2012 when its first vintage was released, though I really missed the drink-by window in that tasting.

Since then I have had it a few times and it was time to taste the entire line of wines that have been released now over the past 4 years. You can also see that there are another three wines that are yet unreleased and notes for those will have to wait until the wines are released.

This Cabernet is green but also red, black, and blue and the notes evolve as the wine ages, but its core stays true, green and red fruit with black fruit in the background and blue only showing in its youth.

My many thanks to JR for hosting us in their beautiful succah. Also a shout out to Josh Rynderman and his bride to be for being there with us at the tasting, and of course to Benyo for bringing the wines and sharing his knowledge with us as always. The wine notes follow below – the explanation of my “scores” can be found here:

2009 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Betchart Vineyard – Score: 95
The fruit for this lovely old-world Cabernet comes from Betchart Vineyard on Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I have been able to watch this wine progress from pressing to bottling, and it has gone from a rich red fruit wine to a hybrid rich old-world wine with big red fruit along with some lovely black fruit.

The wine has evolved a bit from my last tasting. Still, this is a unique Cabernet that is rich, extracted, balanced, yet oak influenced in a lovely manner, this is not just a big black new-world Cabernet, it has strong old world leaning with a deeply rooted new world style!

The nose on this purple to black colored wine, with blue streaks through it is screaming with cloves, graphite, kirsch cherry, raspberry, blackberry, red fruit, tobacco, mint, and anise. The mouth on the full-bodied brute of a wine is super rich, extracted, layered, and concentrated, with nice black and red forest berry, ribbons of blueberry, plum, currant, eucalyptus, and green bell pepper, all wrapped up in a cedar box filled with spice and still big round and mouth coating tannin that makes for a rich and spicy mouthfeel. The finish is long, lovely, smoke, with rich extraction, intense tar, and spicy with more tannin, chocolate, tobacco, cinnamon, red fruit, black pepper, and a nice hit of vanilla. The chocolate, oak, tar, smoke, herbs, red fruit, and vanilla linger long. The wine is starting to open but still needs time.

With time, the wine opens to a beautifully robed wine, filled with mushroom, hints of barnyard, with nice black fruit, all gone now giving way to secondary notes, rich roasted animal, tar, and lovely earth. The mouth stays the same with fruit still strong, earth and dirt, nice balance. Great saline and lovely black fruit, no blue fruit left, with extraction gone but nice acid and good fruit structure, plush, and really fun. I would start drinking it within the year and then finish it by 2021. BRAVO!!

2010 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Betchart Vineyard – Score: 92
This is the second year of Benyo’s ridge mountain fruit and it continues with another rock-solid wine. It is not the 2009 vintage with its deep and rich fruit, but seriously who cares this rocks! The nose on this wine is redolent with lovely green notes, forest floor, garrigue, crazy bramble, earth, roasted herb, and eucalyptus, all hallmarks of this cab for many years now. The mouth on this medium plus bodied wine attacks with layers of concentrated fruit, followed by red/black fruit, cranberry, dark cherry, blackberry, along with mouth coating tannin, candied dried fruits, and spicy oak. The finish is long and herbal, with spice, cloves, deep-rooted earth, tobacco, chocolate, and dried basil/oregano. Drink from 2018 to 2022.

2011 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Betchart Vineyard – Score: 93
This wine is the blackest of the bunch by far and a very rich wine as well. The nose on this wine is lovely with mineral, spice, graphite, anise, licorice, blackberry, plum, lovely barnyard, and rich green notes. The mouth on this full bodied wine is dark, brooding, black, and extracted, with layer upon layer of rich fruit, rich saline, black olives, blackberry, crushed herb, great foliage, cloves, and intense graphite and mineral. The finish is long and herbal with intense layers of spice, black pepper, and black fruit with dill and intense forest floor. Very nice! Drink from 2018 to 2024.

2012 Four Gates Cabernet Sauvignon, Monte Bello Ridge, Betchart Vineyard – Score: 94
If the 2011 vintage was black and ripe, the 2012 vintage is even more black, and these last two vintages do contradict my statement at the start that these wines are mostly green and red with black fruit underpinnings. The wines are getting bigger and bolder and yet all are perfectly well controlled with crazy acid and green notes and mineral.
The nose is opening now with bright fruit, showing great acid, but also sweet with jammy red fruit, raspberry jam, vegetal notes, but now also showing mushroom, and spice. The mouth on this full bodied wine is inky perfect the perfect balance between the Merlot wines, plush and rich, nicely extracted but controlled, with a bit less dill, with lovely sweet tannin, balanced nicely with searing acid, black plum, sweet herb, mounds of ripe cassis, blackberry, sweet fruit jam, mouth coating and drying tannin, and blackcurrant, with great finesse and control. The finish is long with great balance, sweet chocolate, sweet basil, lovely earth, mineral, graphite, and sweet tobacco. BRAVO!! Drink from 2020 to 2026.