2002 Archipel
Price: $40
Region: Sonoma and Napa Valleys 
Haydn gives it: 92 pts 
You can purchase this wine: At archipelwines.com. Unfortunately the ’02 is sold out, but the ’03 is available (stay tuned for that review soon). 

A Bordeaux blend is generally comprised of three main grapes—Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc (generally in that order as well). The three grapes together make up a generally smoky and earthy style of wine. Unless you’re going for more of a new world fruit-forward style of a Bordeaux. Case in point—the Archipel. 

The Archipel is a single label Bordeaux blend. It’s a very quiet wine, due to the fact that 1) only a handful of restaurants and wine merchants carry it, and 2) they wine is poured at Vérité’s tasting room in Chalk Hill so unless you knew where to look, this wine wouldn’t even remotely appear on your radar. However, while it is hard to find, this wine is truly a “hidden gem”.

The 2002 Archipel composition is 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, and 18% Cabernet Franc. The colors is extremely deep (thanks in part to the Cab Franc) and a deep purple, almost violet color can be seen. Just judging the color of the wine, you know you’re going to be in for something fairly intense. 

The nose had a bit of nutmeg and vanilla in combination with black cherries and a little inkling of strawberries. The black cherries carried a small bit of a smoky flavor, as if you they were just put into a smoker (something we all do on a regular basis, right?).

The wine showed no tannins whatsoever. The silky texture gave way to an ample amount of black cherries again with a kick of spice. I was very impressed how the merlot showed in this wine. A friend of wine I was tasting this wine (ok, more like drinking than tasting in this case) noted the abundance of Merlot in the wine. For only about a third of the wine comprised of Merlot, it sure did want the spotlight. The nutmeg migrated to a little cocoa on the tongue but it was half muted due to the spiciness.

The complexity of this wine was enormous. With every sip (and this was even after opening it for at least an hour), new flavors appeared and the spiciness became more apparent. The length was equally enormous, lingering for many minutes at the end with a little more cocoa and smoked cherries.

This wine confirmed my hypothesis that with a good wine, you’ll drink it slowly, whether you are conscious or unconscious about it. It’s in part due to that powerful finish. There is no real need to take another sip right away, you inherently want to wait a few minutes before taking another sip. 

A beautiful Bordeaux Blend.