Whitehall Lane 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

The other night I opened a bottle of 2005 Whitehall Lane Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  I enjoyed it so much that I decided to share my thoughts on it.

This dark garnet wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  It has a little barnyard and wet dirt on the nose, along with some ripe cherry, blackberry and vanilla.  The medium-full bodied palate has black cherry, blackberry and plum and a delightful kick of spice on the long finish.  The tannins are very smooth.

Although this wine can sit for a few more years, it’s drinking beautifully now.  The fruit is still very fresh, but not overpowering the nice earthiness that comes through.

A very interesting thing about this wine is the bottle closure used.  Instead of using a traditional cork, this bottle is closed with the glass stopper, Vino-Seal.  It was first introduced to the European market in 2003 and has been used by 300 wineries worldwide. 

More and more alternative closures to cork are out on the market, mainly due to the potential risk of “cork taint”, or a bottle of wine being “corked”.  This is caused by the presence of the chemical 2,4,6-trichloroanisole or TCA for short.  Various studies have shown that between 4 and 8 percent of all bottles of wine are tainted with TCA.  Using alternative methods for closure will obviously help put an end to this problem.  I’ll explore the many alternatives to cork in a future blog.

Some sources say that the first wine to use the revolutionary Vino-Seam was the 2003 Whitehall Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  You’ll no longer be able to find the ’05 on shelves of your favorite wine store, but if you discover one on a restaurant’s wine list don’t be afraid to order it!