texas wine journal€¦ · wilmeth vineyard (diamante doble) - 90 acres every 0.25 deviation points...

TexaS Wine Journal Category Report | Cabernet Sauvignon - 2014

January 2015 - 1Texas Wine Journal - A subsidiary of the Texas Wine Consortium a registered 501c(3) - www.TexasWineJournal.org

About Journal RatingS

Journal ratings are about building awareness for Texas wines under the objective lens of a panel of profes-

sional judges. Through consensus, as opposed to the voice and opinions of a single judge, we can create a

more comprehensive guide.

Texas Wine Journal ratings are based on tastings by the Journal’s panel; of which a five-judge quorum is

required. All wines are tasted under single blind conditions and organized based on peer group (mean-

ing that the same types of wines are tasted against each other and the producers’ names are not known).

Price is also not a known factor when the panel meets.

Each producer receives notice of their wine’s rating prior to any rating being published. Ratings will be

held in confidence if the producer chooses not to allow its publication. The exception to this rule is if a

wine rates in the top five of its respective category. The rating will also be included as part of the popu-

lation of ratings to be analyzed for trends within the category and year-to-date breakdowns. Only wines

scoring 80 points or higher will be published. Wines that are considered flawed or atypical are re-tasted.

All wines evaluated and rated are done so on a standardized form based on a 20-point scale. The 20-point

score is converted to a 100 point score using the same conversion method that Decanter Magazine uses.

In addition, a consumer rating will be provided in the form of Recommended and Highly Recommended

wines.


Type Of Data We TrackWine Score (20-points and 100-points) •

Category Average •

Single Wine Deviation: A measure of panel consensus for • a single wine

Average Deviation Across Category: The average deviation • between a single wine and the category average - An average calculation across each wine’s individual deviation

Panel Consensus: Represents how well the panel tastes as • a judging body - A deviation calculation of category averages across all judges

Typicity Across Category: A Measure of typicity • (consistency in style) - A deviation calculation across all averaged wine scores

Appellation Tracking: Breakdown of Texas AVAs •

Vineyard Tracking •

Texas vs. The World: A seperate category that places the • top rated Texas wine from a given category in a blind tasting of world wines

Year-to-Date Breakdown•

Cabernet Sauvignon 2014Category Average: 14.95/20 (83 Points) •

Average Deviation Across Category: 0.97 •

Typicity Across Category: 1.43 •

Panel Consensus: 0.54•

Texas Wine Journal - A subsidiary of the Texas Wine Consortium a registered 501c(3) - www.TexasWineJournal.org January 2015 - 3

Cabernet Sauvignon RatingS Breakdown

Score Breakdown

95-100 – Extraordinary. Superior character and style.

90-94 – Excellent. Noteworthy character and highly recommended.

85-89 – Very good. Wine with special qualities and potentially a great value depending on price.

80-84 – Good. Solid wine with above average character.

75-79 – Average. Straightforward with little distinction beyond being soundly made.


Category ReportThe Cabernet Sauvignon category featured 26 wines (17 producers and 11 single vineyards) that came from grapes sourced from across the state; Ten (38%) were appellated Texas, five (19%) from the Texas Hill Country, ten (38%) from the Texas High Plains and one (4%) from the Texas Davis Mountains. The prices of the wines submitted ranged from $13 to $55 and included the following: 3 from the 2008 vintage, 1 from 2009, 3 from 2010, 2 from 2011, 15 from 2012 and 1 was from multiple vintages.

The Top 5 Rated WineS

Pilot Knob Vineyard, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 1. 17.13/20, 91 points -$45

Becker Vineyards, Texas High Plains, Canada Family Vineyard, Cabernet 2. Sauvignon, Reserve, 2012 - 17.08/20, 91 points - $45

Fall Creek Vineyards, Texas Hill Country, ‘Meritus’ 20103. 16.5/20, 89 points - $40

Landon Winery, Texas High Plains, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 20084. 16.67/20, 89 points - $24/Library

Westcave Cellars Winery, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 20125. 6.50/20, 88 points - $50

Producers Featured In The Cabernet Sauvignon Category

Becker Vineyards• Blue Ostrich Winery• Brennan Vineyards • Fall Creek Vineyard• Flat Creek Estate• Kiepersol Estates•

Landon Winery• Llano Estacado• Los Pinos Ranch Vineyards• Lost Oak Winery• Messina Hof Winery• Pilot Knob Vineyard•

Pleasant Hill Winery• Sunset Winery• Texas Hills Vineyard• Westcave Cellars Winery• William Chris Vineyards•


After each category is tasted and rated the scores across the panel are averaged, which allows us to track the consensus across a wide range of palates and thus produces a final rating that is more objective and comprehensive; even when category and panel deviations are considered. To that point, 8% of the wines rated were defined to be ‘Excellent’ by Jour-nal definitions (scoring 90-95 points), 40% were rated ’Very Good’ (scoring 84-89 points), 32% were rated ‘Good’ wines (scoring 80-84 points), 16% were ‘Average’ wines (scoring 75-79 points) and 4% were ‘Below Average’ (74 points or less).

RatingS Breakdown

Extraordinary 95-100) - 0 total

Excellent (90-94) - 2 total, 50% THC, 50% THP

Very Good (85-89) - 10 total, 60% TX, 20% THC, 20% THP

Good (80-84) - 8 total, 25% TX, 13% THC, 63% THP

Average (75-79) - 4 total, 50% TX, 25% THC, 25% THP

Poor (<75) - 1 total, 100% THP

*THC - Texas Hill Country THP - Texas High Plains

Vintage Breakdown2008 - 2 total (8%) - 50% Very Good, 50% Average

2009 - 1 total (4%) - 100% Very Good

2010 - 5 total (20%) - 40% Very Good, 40% Good, 20% Average

2011 - 2 total (8%) - 50% Very Good, 50% Below Average

2012 - 15 total (60%) - 13% Excellent, 20% Very Good

47% Good, 20% Average

MV - 1 total (4%) - 100% Very Good


Single VineyardS 1. Bingham Family Vineyard - 250 acres

2. Canada Family Vineyard - 20 acres

3. Certenberg Vineyard - 29 acres

4. Granite Hill Vineyards - 25 acres

5. Lepard Vineyard - 50 acres

6. Newsom Vineyard - 140 acres

7. Pilot Knob Estate Vineyard - 112 acres (6 planted)

8. Texas Hills Estate Vineyard - 19 acres

9. Twin T Vineyard - 13 acres

10. Westcave Estate Vineyard - 8 acres

11. Wilmeth Vineyard (Diamante Doble) - 90 acres Every 0.25 deviation points on a 20-point scale is equivalent to roughly 1.0 point on a 100-point scale


TexaS vS. The WorldThe top rated Texas wine from a given category represents Texas in a separate category called Texas vs. The World, where wines of similar varietals, styles or blends are tasted blind and rated. The top rated Texas wine from the Caber-net category scored 91 points in the initial category tasting and scored 87 points in the Texas vs. The World catego-ry tasting. The results of the Texas vs. The World category are:

Chappellet, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 - TWJ 90, ST 90 - $501. Fritz, Dry Creek Valley, Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve, 2011 - TWJ 90 - $402. Penfolds, South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, ‘Bin 9’ 2012 - TWJ 90, WS 89 - $233. Pilot Knob, Texas Hill Country, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 - TWJ 87 - $454. Montes Alpha, Colchagua Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 - TWJ 85 - $165.


2014 RatingS Breakdown (acroSS all categorieS)

Extraordinary (95-100)

Excellent (90-94)

Very Good (85-89)

Good (80-84)

Average (75-79)

Below Average (<75)

Wines Rated In 2014

102Wines Rated To Date

102Producers That Submitted Wines

49

Average Panel Consensus To Date

0.55Number of Categories Rated To Date

5

Number of Categories Rated This Year

5 of 9

Average Submissions Per Producer

2

Hours Spent Ratings Wines To Date

45

In ConcluSion

The Cabernet category averaged out to 83 points •

Two wines in the category are defined as “Excellent” wines by Journal definitions scoring 90-95 points. • Cabernet is the first category to have multiple wines achieve this rating threshold

The Journal Highly Recommends 6 wines or 23% and Recommends 14 wines or 54% •

Older vintages (4+ years) are holding their own; 47% (4 wines) scored above 85 points •

11 single vineyards were represented, which is the most seen in all categories tasted to date •

Four of the top five wines were produced from single vineyard sites •

Three of the top five wines were from the Texas Hill Country AVA •

33% of wines submitted in the 2012 vintage were rated “Very Good” to “Excellent” by Journal definitions •

With a panel consensus score of 0.54, the panel continues to taste with objectivity and considerable • consensus from one category tasting to another

The Cabernet category showed a decrease in typicity when compared to the Red Blends and Merlot categories. • This decrease in typicity suggests that there is more variance across the styles of Texas Cabernets as compared to Texas Red Blends or Merlot



Our CollaboratorS

By industry professionals, for industry professionals, the new SOMM Journal serves as an educational tool for on- and off-premise hospitality professionals as well as those looking to further their understanding of wine and spirits. Under the guidance of Meridith May, Pub-lisher and Editorial Director for the nation”s most-red beverage industry publication, the The Tasting Panel Magazine, Somm Journal’s team of top-shelf contributors includes internation-ally renowned wine writers, sommeliers and authorities. The SOMM Journal is a bi-monthly publication that has a distribution list of 50,000 beverage professionals throughout the Unit-ed States and an ever growing international audience.

The Texas Wine Consortium (the Consortium) is a nonprofit launched in April 2012 with the mission to inform, educate and promote Texas Wines to the trade, consumer and prospec-tive industry partners. The Consortium aims to be the go-to source for data and information about the industry, a leader in the development of quality standards as well as cellaring the largest library of Texas wines with which to use for educational and awareness purposes; of which the Texas Wine Journal is included.

Vinovium Partners was organized in 2012 and permitted in 2013 as a Bonded Wine Cellar / Wine Blender (TTB) and a G permit winery in Texas (TABC). Our business model is a négoci-ant model, where through the power of consolidation we are able to provide one-stop-shop capabilities for a varying degree of end customers. Our goal is to become the premier seller and marketer in Texas of fine wines packaged in recyclable commercial kegs and in recyclable consumer-oriented, aseptic packages. Vinovium Partners inventories and cellars all wines for the Texas Wine Journal.

The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is a membership nonprofit using their passion for wine and food to better the health and well-being of our community by hosting public wine and food events, educational opportunities and the finest wine auction in the Southwest funding culinary scholarships, educational grants and other deserving causes. The Founda-tion provides the Texas Wine Journal a home each month to conduct panel tastings.

May 2014 - 3

Our CollaboratorS ContinuedTexas Hill Country Wineries is a not-for-profit community organiza-tion that preserves and promotes the healthy and value added lifestyle of Texas Wines. THCW contributes to the quality of life in and around the Texas Hill Country’s nationally recognized wine trails and events. They represent 32 unique and independent wineries committed tpromoting industry ad-vancement and consumer awareness through event and agricultural pro-grams.

The mission of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, Inc. is to promote the production and appre-ciation of premium grapes and fine wines from Texas, and to represent a unified state industry with common marketing, governmental and educa-tional goals.

Texas Wine & Trail Magazine is a multi-faceted magazine that offers “ACCESS TO THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WINE VOICES IN THE STATE.” The publica-tion is dedicated to showcasing the amazing diversity of Texas wine cul-ture and growing the success of the Texas wine industry.

A PartnerShip At Work

January 2015 - 12


Support the Journal. Contribute. Submit What You Can With Your Next Submission

February 17 - Viogner and RoussanneMarch 10 - SyrahApril 21 - White BlendsMay 19 - Dry Rose & Other Mediterranean White VarietalJune 23 - Blanc Du Bois July 21 - Red Blends August 18 - Sangiovese September 22 - MerlotOctober 20 - Other Mediterranean Red Varietal November 17 - TempranilloDecember 15 - Cabernet Sauvignon

...................................February 13....................................................................................March 6

.........................................................................April 17.......May 15

.......................................................................June 19................................................................................July 17

...................................................................August 14.............................................................September 18

................October 16......................................................November 13

.....................................December 11

2015 Tasting Schedule Submission Deadline

texas wine journal€¦ · wilmeth vineyard (diamante doble) - 90 acres every 0.25 deviation points...

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