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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Toad Hollow Concinnity Cabernet Sauvignon 2004





Ever have one of those pieces of useless knowledge and every time you see the trigger, you have to share this useless knowledge with who ever is around you? Well, one of my many useless knowledge facts is based on Toad Hollow wine. Did you know Toad Hollow’s founder, Todd, Dr. Toad, Williams is Robin William’s half-brother. Yep, there you have it, just one of my many pieces of useless knowledge.

I heard years ago the name Toad Hollow comes from a nick name Todd had as a kid, Toad. The story I heard was Robin couldn’t say Todd and the name came out more like Toad. I wasn’t able to back this up in my research but sounds good, so that’s what I’m going with for now. Robert Todd Williams died in 2007 from heart complications but his Toad Hollow winery is still going strong.

Aromas are delightful, notes of bark, earth and leather notes wafting out of the glass. Flavors of earth, a touch of herbal and oak swirl around the palate. High tannins and rich bold flavors provide for a well balanced finish. I think this is one of the most well structured wines I’ve had in a while.

The wine is limited (bummer!) as Cabernet Sauvignon production was avoided for years. The winery itself does not grow the varietal and couldn’t find quality grapes to put into their juice but seems like this obstacle has been overcome. The wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvingon, 10% Petit Sirah, 4% Sryah, 4% Cabernet Franc and 7% Field blend.

Robert Todd, Dr. Toad, Williams learned wine through a string of jobs, including the 17 saloons and taverns he worked in before starting his own winery. His goal was to strip away the mystique and snobbery equated with wine and make it interesting and inclusive. Sounds like what I try to do too.

In 1993 Todd partnered with Rodney Strong to start his own winery. The legend of Toad Hollow revolves around Dr. Toad and The Dancing Badger, two friends who decided to retire to the peace and tranquility of the hollow. While viewing the vineyards one day, the two began reminiscing about the good times and good people they had known over the years. They thought a way to repay would be to make great tasting wines in an affordable manner to be shared by all.

I think that about sums up my thoughts on wine. It’s something to be enjoyed with friends and family(not that you can’t enjoy it singularly as well). It’s not just a drink, it’s an experience, something to share and even discuss while enjoying your glass. Given that, it’s not very different from a group watching a football game. Ok, well maybe we don’t swear at the winemakers if the wine didn’t play out the way we hoped but you get the point.

Just in case some of you are wondering what Concinnity means:
1. pleasing stylistic artistic harmony: a balanced, graceful, polished quality, especially in a literary work
2. generally harmonious structure: a harmonious structuring of all the parts of something

My rating - Too good to put down

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