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Open: 11am-5pm
Appt required? No
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012
Directions:
View Sonoma in a larger map or Get Directions
Tasting:
I came across a “Sonoma Cab Lovers” tour that was advertised, and Audelssa happened to be on the list. I’m not sure I would have stumbled upon it otherwise. The Audelssa tasting room is in downtown Glen Ellen. If you’ve been to Benziger, you’ve driven past it. It’s on the first floor of a nondescript building, and if you look close you may notice the sign for the winery. I’d done my research, though, and so I stopped in mid-week as planned.
With the exception of Benziger and a few others, I normally don’t look to eastern Sonoma for Cabernet. The climate favors more Chardonnay / Syrah / Zinfandel, and typically a trip east over Spring Mountain gets you a superior Napa product. Before we got into the Cabs, though, we started the tasting with the 2009 Chardonnay. I thought the wine was fine, but quickly moved on to wine #2, the 2008 Tephra. This was an easy drinking wine that reminded me of Orin Swift’s The Prisoner.
With the prelude out of the way, it was wine for us to dig in to the Cabs. I started with the 2007 Cabernet, a very solid offering and 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. At $40/bottle, this was also very reasonably priced given the quality. Next up was its big brother, the 2007 Reserve Cabernet. This was also good, but at $90, it definitely wasn’t worth an extra $50 compared to the regular Cab. We closed with my favorite wine of the visit, the 2008 Summit Bordeaux-style blend. This added a layer of depth to the Cabernets, and at $52 drank above its price point.
I wasn’t close to being done, though. It was a slow day, and I was having a nice conversation with the gent pouring. We talked about what I thought about the Cabs and the Summit, and then he had a suggestion. He grabbed two additional glasses, and while I hid my eyes he poured me both Cabs and the Summit for a side-by-side-by-side blind tasting.
I started on my left. Solid wine, great structure, smooth with a nice long finish. I’m thinking this is the Reserve Cab. I moved to the middle and got more of the same, but it seemed like it was maybe a small notch below in terms of depth. I think this is the Summit. Finally, on my right, I’m quite confident it’s the regular Cabernet. It was a not quite on the same level as the other two wines.
It turns out I was correct about the regular Cab, but actually swapped the Summit and the Reserve Cab. That solidified for me that the Summit was my clear favorite (and at a $38 savings over the Reserve Cab), and I walked away with a bottle. The overall tasting experience was excellent. I know I benefited from being the only person in the tasting room on a slow day, but the wine was very good and reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was great. Audelssa is near the top of my list for recommendations in and around downtown Sonoma.
I came across a “Sonoma Cab Lovers” tour that was advertised, and Audelssa happened to be on the list. I’m not sure I would have stumbled upon it otherwise. The Audelssa tasting room is in downtown Glen Ellen. If you’ve been to Benziger, you’ve driven past it. It’s on the first floor of a nondescript building, and if you look close you may notice the sign for the winery. I’d done my research, though, and so I stopped in mid-week as planned.With the exception of Benziger and a few others, I normally don’t look to eastern Sonoma for Cabernet. The climate favors more Chardonnay / Syrah / Zinfandel, and typically a trip east over Spring Mountain gets you a superior Napa product. Before we got into the Cabs, though, we started the tasting with the 2009 Chardonnay. I thought the wine was fine, but quickly moved on to wine #2, the 2008 Tephra. This was an easy drinking wine that reminded me of Orin Swift’s The Prisoner.
With the prelude out of the way, it was wine for us to dig in to the Cabs. I started with the 2007 Cabernet, a very solid offering and 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. At $40/bottle, this was also very reasonably priced given the quality. Next up was its big brother, the 2007 Reserve Cabernet. This was also good, but at $90, it definitely wasn’t worth an extra $50 compared to the regular Cab. We closed with my favorite wine of the visit, the 2008 Summit Bordeaux-style blend. This added a layer of depth to the Cabernets, and at $52 drank above its price point.I wasn’t close to being done, though. It was a slow day, and I was having a nice conversation with the gent pouring. We talked about what I thought about the Cabs and the Summit, and then he had a suggestion. He grabbed two additional glasses, and while I hid my eyes he poured me both Cabs and the Summit for a side-by-side-by-side blind tasting.
I started on my left. Solid wine, great structure, smooth with a nice long finish. I’m thinking this is the Reserve Cab. I moved to the middle and got more of the same, but it seemed like it was maybe a small notch below in terms of depth. I think this is the Summit. Finally, on my right, I’m quite confident it’s the regular Cabernet. It was a not quite on the same level as the other two wines.
It turns out I was correct about the regular Cab, but actually swapped the Summit and the Reserve Cab. That solidified for me that the Summit was my clear favorite (and at a $38 savings over the Reserve Cab), and I walked away with a bottle. The overall tasting experience was excellent. I know I benefited from being the only person in the tasting room on a slow day, but the wine was very good and reasonably priced, and the atmosphere was great. Audelssa is near the top of my list for recommendations in and around downtown Sonoma.
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| The blind tasting revealed! |
Recommended wine: The Summit was my favorite, but all of the Cabs were good.
Ratings (out of 5):
 WINE | 4.50 |  TASTING ROOM | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 5.00 |  VALUE | 4.50 |
 OVERALL | 4.56 | ||
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