In late July I gave a couple of small, informal wine classes to a group of guests in our Crystal River store during their in-store tasting. I decided to pour three new wines which I was certain nobody in the room had tried before since all three wines had just arrived that week. Two of the three wines were from our ‘BLOCK’ series…limited production wine bottled for us under the Block ### designation, made from extra juice from some of the top wineries in areas like Howell Mountain, Rutherford and others. These wines are from single estates, not blends of many wines of the same areas, or A.V.A.’s.

Pouring wines like these presents a slight challenge, since my taste runs toward European wines. I have always been pleased with the Block wines, especially the very first one we offered, which was a 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Stag’s Leap District of Napa Valley, Block 713.

The wine I chose that evening was the new BLOCK 707 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, also from the Stag’s Leap District. There are certainly not an abundance of vines in the District, are rarely any excess juice, which explains why we have not offered one since 2004. The highest compliment you can give the Block 707 is that it expresses the Stag’s Leap character, ripe black currant and crushed berry aromas and flavors, with well integrated tannins and a long silky finish. I think wine aficionados call it typicity, which is not so typical today! And at $23.99, it is quite a bit less that anything else we offer from the District.

--Shayne Hebert, Wine Supervisor, Central Florida