Sometimes things don’t quite go as planned. Case in point, our 2002 La Faute. The history of this wine was not meant to be nearly as interesting as it turned out. In fact, this wine was not meant to made at all.
The 2002 Vintage
In blending the 2002 Shiraz/Cabernet, we intentionally held out the premium lots of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon from the vintage to be barreled down for further aging. This would allow us to make our Reserve Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. In bottling the 2002 Reserve Syrah, not all the Syrah was used. I decided to make a second “Premier” bottling of our extremely popular 2002 Shiraz/Cabernet, using the same percentages as the first.
Unfortunately, I neglected to notice that we had topped the Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot during the 8 months between bottlings. And it wasn’t until we were preparing to label the wine some four months later that I checked the percentages on the database. Computers don’t lie, and we now had over 4% Merlot in the blend.
Not having a market for a Shiraz/Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc/Petit Verdot blend, we sat on the wine and it aged. Finally Maggie and I decided we should just fess up to everyone that we had made a mistake. Thus the name, “La Faute,” which translates from French as “The Mistake.”.
The wine has an incredible balance, not only on the nose, but on the palate as well. The aromas are a complex melding of cherry, dark plum, and dried cranberry fruit with an intriguing mix of pipe tobacco spice, light nutmeg and earthy notes. Neither purely Cabernet nor Syrah, it’s a wonderfully interesting marriage.
The palate is complex like the nose with and elegant nature and balanced mouthfeel. Rich yet alive, the influence of the Syrah on the mid-palate with blueberry/cherry fruit is exciting. The Cabernet base carries well into the finish with an earthy berry character and an enticement to enjoy more.
Enjoy this wine with any grilled meat dish and enjoy it while it lasts. Contrary to public requests, I don’t plan to make more “mistakes” like this! .
Printable
wine description and facts (2002 La Fauté Fact Sheet)
Facts
Other products in the category Discontinued Items:
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