Wine Review: Francis Coppola Claret 2006

“Our prize offering... a new, ultra premium, Francis Ford Coppola Black Label Claret. This label honors the first California Cabernet blended in a Bordeaux style, done by Gustave Niebaum in 1910. This newly designed label and package are designated “1910 type” after one of the classic California blends of 1910. This is truly timeless quality in a classic blend style, available at a price my friends can afford!”

—Francis Ford Coppola

I might be too young to know much about Francis Ford Coppola and his movies, but I am just in time to enjoy his wine. Over 30 years ago he purchased acreage in Napa Valley from one of the original Inglenook wine producers. With an urging from Robert Mondavi he began to put actual effort into wine making and today is one of the top wine producers with grapes growing in Napa, Sonoma, and all over California. In fact, through some financial struggles it may have been his wine production that essentially bailed him out. There is more history to the story, check out this Square Meal interview for more cool facts about his films and wines.
I have tasted this Diamond Series wine previously, but I was more than happy to refresh my memory! Claret is historically a Bordeaux styled wine that features cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, petite verdot and cab franc. A California claret tends to be light and soft in comparison to Bordeaux's produced in France, and the Coppola Diamond series is awesome! It is soft and smooth with delicious blackberries and a velvety texture that would be pleasing before, during, or after a meal. There is a bit of dryness, but this blend really smooths out the cabernet sauvignon and the result is a delicious red table wine! A bit out of my price range at $14-20 a bottle...not very close to my normal $8 spending goal, but it is worth every penny. The best thing that I have found about Coppola wines is they are reasonably priced and consistent...consistently excellent! I have tasted most of Coppola's wines and really enjoy the Rosso, Malbec, and Zinfandel.

Readers (Drinkers): I haven't tasted many other claret's and would love to hear your opinion about this Coppola wine and other claret's that I should try! Cheers!

Red Blend

79% Cabernet Sauvignon,
9% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot,
3% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc
Alcohol 13.8%
Aged 12–14 months in French oak
Released January, 2008

p.s. thanks to Nate from Gen Bev for hooking us up with this wine!!