2006 Rodney Strong Vineyards Alden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Codename: The Return of the Strongman

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Rodney Strong Vineyards and retrieve their Single Vineyard Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Rodney Strong Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2006 Alden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Rick Sayre

Backgrounder: Today’s Cabernet Sauvignon comes to us from one of our favorite Sonoma County wineries, Rodney Strong. Grown in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, today’s wine is a delicious single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Rodney Strong’s highest elevation Cabernet Vineyards, Alden Vineyards. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report, below, for the the complete scoop on today’s wine

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark and inky Burgundy in color with a heart of darkest garnet, The wine maintains deeply concentrated color out to the edges of the glass. On swirling, this wine shows a tight and very fast-moving surface. When it finally settles, it leaves two rounds of legs. the first are evenly-spaced and skinny legs that shoot down the glass. After a few moments, a second set of legs emerges! These are chubby and tightly-packed, and take a long time to run down the glass

Smell – Dark and lush, with dark layers of blackberry, dark blueberry, smoky black cherry, plum, earth, oak and spice. These sit softly atop softer notes of cedar, anise, and floral notes

Feel – Light, soft and wet up front, then grippy and mouth-coating across the mid-palate. After a few moments, more medium-grained tannins show up, drying the cheeks and lips as the mouth experiences a cascade of the flavors of the wine

Taste – Delicious and rich, but balanced and even with great fruit and flavors that lead off with black fruit and dark mixed berries. These are followed by an under-layer of smoky cherry, soft oak, dark chocolate and soft spice

Finish – Begins with big flavors which linger for a long interval before they begin to fade gradually. The wine begins dark and fruity, then tails off with smoky mixed berries, earth and a very subtle hint of licorice

Conclusion – This single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from our old friends at Rodney Strong is a real delight. At today’s price for this wine, I declare it an exceptional value, as well. With a deep and lush aromatics, a really excellent feel and flavors that invite lingering sips, this is a wine that is just a pleasure to drink. I enjoyed it with fresh pasta with a light tomato and basil sauce and it was a delightful compliment. With balanced acidity, this is a great food wine. I also really enjoyed an extended sipping-session of the wine on it’s own. I sampled the wine immediately after opening it – and after a few hours of decanting. Both were exciting and delicious experiences, but if you desire a more tenderexperience, decant the wine for at least 30 minutes before drinking. This 2006 is, in my spy-pinion, ready to drink now – but will be even better after a few more years. For best results, buy enough bottles for both experiences!

Mission Report:

What follows is a retransmission of our initial encounter with Rodney Strong:

The call came in the middle of the night.

“Go for red,” I answered groggily.

“Do you recognize my voice?”

I perked up almost immediately. It was Teech, a great asset and local college professor. Teech is a respected professor of Wine Industry Marketing at the Sonoma State University, and a great friend to the company.

Without saying her name, I replied, “I do. Go.”

“If I can guarantee your anonymity, will you come and guest lecture to my students?”

“I would be honored. Transmit the date and details, and I’ll be there. Depending on my mission on that day, I may have to come in disguise. That’ll help me keep my cover.”

She agreed and we signed off. A few minutes later, my smartphone chimed. Coordinates and full details were revealed to me on the small screen. I confirmed the date.

The weeks passed and I eventually found myself in front of a class of college students. I was there as a ‘wine industry marketing insider’, and I gave a talk on ‘alternative sales channels’. Actually, it was more like an informal dialog, with a short presentation and a longer Q&A session. It was good fun and almost all of the students actually stayed awake.

One student, in particular, had the tougher questions for me. I did my best to answer him, but as the questions became tougher, I realized that he was testing me. Was he trying to punch holes in my cover? I wondered. I kept my cool and decided to subtly press back.

It was obvious, to us both, what was happening here, so I made it a point to encourage other students to ask questions.

The presentation now over, the young man approached me. He reached into his jacket pocket. I tensed, ready to spring. He withdrew his hand – to reveal a business card. the card read, ‘Rodney Strong Vineyard’ and contained his name, [REDACTED], and title, [REDACTED].

I took the card and then accepted his outstretched hand. He said in a whisper, “Agent Red, I’m codename King. I’m your newest asset. I’ll be acting as your mole at Rodney Strong. I’ll reach out when I can secure a fantastic RS wine.”

I don’t know how he knew my true identity – and it didn’t much matter; And so a valuable new asset was developed. And, now you know how I came to procure today’s delicious Syrah for you!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of Rodney Strong Vineyards (look for the the brick-colored, X-shaped building) can be seen in this satellite photo.