Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of January 12th, 2009...
ROBERT FOLEY 2003 CLARET
Description: Forgive me; I spend most of my vacations drinking some of the top-end wine I have collected over the years and this most recent two week PAID holiday vacation was no different. I spent a week with a fellow wine lover and reached into the cellar for a few high end bottles so for the next few weeks, you’re going to get what we call “cellar reviews,” meaning that the wines are no longer available as current releases but can be found online and/or at auctions, etc. Suck it.
The Robert Foley Claret is the high end meritage blend of the man who made Pride winery famous as their head wine maker. Foley wines are hard to find new and become rare the moment he releases them to his mailing list (I had to wait three damn years to get on the list in the first place!). Rarely does a Foley wine score below 90 from any major wine reviewer or publication.
The 2006 Le Mistral is 62% Syrah, 35% Grenache and 3% Alicante Bouscher.
How and when I drank it: Sunday December 28th while on vacation at a rented coastal home in Cambria, CA.
How to get it: For the purpose of this column I did a “Google” search for the term “Buy Robert Foley 2003 Claret” and found multiple websites that claimed to have 1 or 2 bottles available ranging from $149 to $399. The absurd discrepancy in price shows what a sought after wine this is for many oenophiles.
How Much: The bottle is $125 new from the winery at release, otherwise see above.
My Thoughts: While on PAID vacation, we drank everything from a 1999 Insignia to a 2001 Colgin to a 1997 Georges Latour and none of them held up to this bottle, which we drank a second of later in the week to be sure we were right about how stunning this wine was…and we were. Decanted for just an hour, this still young red was full, lush, vibrant and smooth. The finish was filled with vanilla and a crème brulee flavor that was just haunting. It was the perfect accompaniment to our giant porterhouse steaks and Caesar salad and held up to both beautifully.
Overall Score: Red Napa wine doesn’t get better than this. For those who waste money on Opus One, I implore you to try this wine and thank me later. 5 vines.
ROBERT FOLEY 2003 CLARET =  |
