Re-Tasting Notes: Burdell Cellars 2011 Carnot Cabernet

Back in August, Burdell Cellars finished and bottled its first vintage, the 2011 Carnot Cabernet. First, note the bottle, complete with Kierston's snazzy new label design. Our mascot Gryphy is featured on the front of the label, complete with RAT cap. It's been sitting in bottles like this one in the eponymous cellar for the past several months, and we recently uncorked a few bottles to celebrate Thanksgiving. Here's what we and a handful of other tasters thought.

Carnot Cabernet appears a little darker in color now, more toward the purple side of red wine, though that's a qualitative assessment. Tannins are still light, and several of our other tasters described it as having a fruity quality, just like in our previous tasting. In contrast to the previous tasting, the oak flavor is more pronounced, coming with a touch of anise and even a hint of pepper on the nose and first sip.

The wine seems more acidic and brighter in character than it did a few months ago. It remains easy to drink, with many of our tasters describing it as "smooth". The two biggest compliments we've received about Carnot Cabernet were 1) "it tastes like wine" and 2) "I don't usually like wine, but this is pretty good." For a from-concentrate first effort, we're pretty pleased with the Carnot Cabernet and will continue to taste it and post flavor updates.

As always, Burdell Cellars is happy to arrange a tour or a tasting!