Nickel & Nickel Branding Iron Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Front Label
Nickel & Nickel Branding Iron Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Front Label

Winemaker Notes

Branding Iron – or at least "iron" – seems a proper term for this backward, earthy, tightly furled cabernet. This wine sees more skin contact than its cousins do – 29 days as opposed to 19 days for the Sullenger, 18 for Stelling, 14 for Dragonfly and 13 for Vogt – and it's chiefly in the skin where tannin resides. (It also receives a smidgeon more oak.) Ergo, this is one mother of a tannic wine, yet to be a tad more gentle about the issue, the tannins are supple, polished, finely-milled. And in a sense, their permeation, along with spicy oak, is so complete that there's no difference between them and the plum and black cherry fruit the wine embodies and its plush, velvety texture; the medium is the message. Still, briars and brambles come up on the finish, and the wine concludes with a tide of astringency.

Professional Ratings

  • 90
    Here's a bright, ripe and juicy Cabernet that impresses for its wealth of flavor and refined structure. It's bold in black currants, cassis and chocolate, with a rich layering of oak, yet maintains balance and elegance.
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Nickel & Nickel is devoted to 100% varietal, single-vineyard wines, focused on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Its winemaking excellence is highlighted in its selection of the very best vineyard locations and unique soil compositions required to make superior single-vineyard wines. Each Nickel & Nickel wine is a celebration of place and reveals how vineyards only miles apart, but of the same grape varietal, yield wines of unique character and distinction.

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One of the most prestigious wines of the world capable of great power and grace, Napa Valley Cabernet is a leading force in the world of fine, famous, collectible red wine. Today the Napa Valley and Cabernet Sauvignon are so intrinsically linked that it is difficult to discuss one without the other. But it wasn’t until the 1970s that this marriage came to light; sudden international recognition rained upon Napa with the victory of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1976 Judgement of Paris.

Cabernet Sauvignon undoubtedly dominates Napa Valley today, covering half of the land under vine, commanding the highest prices per ton and earning the most critical acclaim. Cabernet Sauvignon’s structure, acidity, capacity to thrive in multiple environs and ability to express nuances of vintage make it perfect for Napa Valley where incredible soil and geographical diversity are found and the climate is perfect for grape growing. Within the Napa Valley lie many smaller sub-AVAs that express specific characteristics based on situation, slope and soil—as a perfect example, Rutherford’s famous dust or Stags Leap District's tart cherry flavors.

DRSBRANDING_2002 Item# 122666