2003 Peter Murphy Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Codename: Peter Murphy’s Law

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Follow up on leads that have been pouring in, about a certain Double Gold medal winnner in Napa Valley. If reports that Peter Murphy’s 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is as stupendous as we have heard, secure an ample quantity for our Napa Cap-loving Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Peter Murphy Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Art Finklestein

Backgrounder: Our Operatives are crazy for Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Each time we feature one here, its certain to go fast. Often, our Operatives snap up entire allocation before our one-day offer is even over. Today, Agent Red hunts down the illusive winemaker and vineyard legend, Peter Murphy, a busy man that supervises the growing and harvesting of the grapes before he turns the grapes into wine. Agent Red caught up with Peter between bottling and a stint as a wine judge at the California State Fair, a prestegeous wine judging event. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report immediately following to learn more about this wine – and why Peter Murphy is revered as a modern wine god!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – A beautiful ruby red in color with a heart of deep plum, this wine has a very fast surface, concentrated color right to the edges and tightly-spaced and fat legs that move down the glass at varrying speeds

Smell – Lush and aromatic with balanced fruit, floral and earth components. The wine is deeply layered with rich dark aromas of currant, dark cherry, violet, tomato vine, tobacco and mildest cedar

Feel – Incredible mouth-feel, round and slightly warm (but not overly alcoholic, mind you!), velvety and rich, but not heavy, with medium tannins and an all-over-mouth coating effect that I really enjoy

Taste – This wine brings really big but also very balanced flavors! The Cabernet Franc sings out from underneath layered flavors of blackberry, dark ripe stonefruit, currant, with the leather and the mildest whisps of tobacco and vegital

Finish – Cool and coating, then slightly drying with fantastic flavors that linger, tapering off very slowly

Conclusion – This is a fantastic wine from a new Wine Spies favorite winery! This wine outperforms even some of the wonderful 2004 vintage Cabs that we have been raving about recently. Peter Murphy knows how to choose the best fruit from the vineyards that he tends, but then his winemaking prowess shines through as he masterfully ages the component parts of the wine (in separate barrels!) and then blends them together before bottling. This wine is a current release, but the winery could only allocate a small quantity of cases. A warning, my dear Operative, grab a case or two before we run out!

Mission Report:

Seemingly a million different influences affect the life of a wine. Wines start in the vineyards and, almost magically, they end up in our glasses. Along the mystical route so many things can go right or wrong – and these things all determine whether we’ll love a wine or not. Forces at work also determine whether we’ll even get to ever see, smell, or even taste a wine that we desire. If a wine is too good, chances are most folks will miss out, due to frenzied demand for the wine.

Today, The Wine Spies are able to bring you a wine that is headed for such greatness. Today’s wine, a perfectly balanced 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Murphy Vineyards, is not as over-the-top as some Napa Cabs, but it is fantastic!

Where some Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon can have too much intensity of flavor, this wine finds harmonious balance of fruit, flavor and feel. Where big Napa Cab can be almost chewy, clumsy or overly heavy, this wine has poise and grace – without being too dainty.

When we first learned of this wine from a field asset who we’ll call Major Majors, we were interested. After Major Majors passed vetting, we conducted an investigation of Murphy Vineyards. The first thing of note was that Peter Murphy was a man of the vineyards. In our opinion, it is in the vineyards where great wine is really born. Without great care in tending and managing, vineyards can turn out grapes that make sub-par wines. Peter Murphy’s life has been focused on vineyard care first.

On closer inspection of Murphy Vineyards, we learned that Peter had enlisted the masterful winemaking skills of his long-time friend Art Finklestein. You know Art well from a previous mission to Judd’s Hill Winery in May when we sold out of Judd’s Hill wine that we featured.

The pairing of these two wine-crafting legends ensures that all Murphy Vineyards wines are great. Today’s wine is really great, and we hope that you have a chance to enjoy some.

Be sure to sign up for our Daily Dispatch. We are certain to feature great wines from Murphy Vineyards in the future.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the vineyards where the grapes for today’s wine were grown is Classified. This is a common practice in the wine industry, especially when a winemaker is given access to the highest of high-end grapes from wineries that charge $100 or more for a bottle of wine made from the very same grapes.