Today we share the brilliant wines of Ben Smith and Gaye McNutt who for more than 25 years have been making exceptional bottlings from some of the state’s great sites. The wines age brilliantly even at the 20 year mark. Years back Cadence planted an estate vineyard on Red Mountain, the Cara Mia Vineyard, where most of their wines come from.
They did a really nice job in 2022 which was a slightly cooler vintage. I love the 2022 Cadence ‘Bel Canto’ Red Wine (OB, 96) which is impeccably balanced and shows amazing poise and power, with great herbal character from the Cabernet Franc. Learn more about this great winery at cadencewinery.com and here are my reviews of the the beautiful new wines by Cadence.
2023 Cadence ‘Coda’ Red Wine- The really good ‘Coda’ shows off the warmth of the vintage from 2023. Mostly Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this delivers forward and juicy red and dark fruits with sweet pipe tobacco and milk chocolate notes on the palate. Drink 2025-2031- 91
2022 Cadence ‘Camerata’ Red Wine- Hailing from the ‘Cara Mia Vineyard’ the 2022 ‘Camerata’ is a totally different blend than the ’21, with considerably more Merlot than last year’s bottling and no Cabernet Franc. It is marvelously herbal and well-structured stuff with medium-bodied red currants, wild blackberry and boysenberry notes that mingle well with salty soils and suggestions of Chinese black tea. Soft and refined, enjoy this elegant bottling now and over the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2025-2038- 94
2022 Cadence ‘Cara Mia Vineyard’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Exuding class from this slightly cooler vintage, this bottling was entirely sourced from the Cara Mia Vineyard on Red Mountain, as this utilizes Cabernet Sauvignon clonal selections 191 and 8. The flavor density and richness of the wine really shines through, as this also comes off quite nervy. Scorched earth and black currants parade with dark chocolate shavings and pencil lead on the palate. This really needs several hours of air if enjoying now. Enjoy this gorgeous new wine over the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2025-2040- 95
2022 Cadence ‘Bel Canto’ Red Wine- The 2022 ‘Bel Canto’ has even more Cabernet Franc (92%) than the ’21, this ha a small amount of Merlot blended in, with no Petit Verdot in this edition. Coming from their Cara Mia Estate Vineyard, this delivers red florals on the nose with orange bell pepper, black licorice, bay leaf and suggestions of tar on the nose. The palate is soft and seamless with slightly less flavor density than the ’21 but more elegance. This is a seamless, utterly gorgeous bottling that will surely live on for another ten to fifteen years. Be sure to give this several hours in the decanter if enjoying now. Tasted several times over two days with consistent notes. Drink 2025-2040- 96