It was truly a wonderful day at my local wine shop, The Fine Wine Source in Livonia, Michigan. Roger Louer was holding court and regaling all the customers about the wines, Napa Valley and being a “Gentleman Farmer,” which are my words and not his.  He had actually flown in to see a game at Lambeau Field and he had met his children and their families, and the family of the wine shop and everyone had a wonderful time in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Then he came to the Detroit area and was wined and dined while he was in town.  I am sure that he had a fine respite from his normal routine at the winery.

At the tasting, the first Cabernet Sauvignon was the Roberts + Rogers Louer Family Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena 2017.  Originally this wine was made from his personal estate for a select group of friends from his thirty-four-acre estate and was introduced in 2009, and it sold out that year and the next couple of years without any fanfare. In 2012, it was released under the Roberts + Rogers designation and I have had the good fortune to have had the 2014, 2015 and the 2016 vintage and some are in the cellar.  The wine is aged for two years in new French Oak.  This wine great, poured right from the bottle, which is how plenty of people will enjoy this wine, without any real additional cellaring.  This was a beautiful Cabernet hitting all of the right sensory buttons of dark fruit, spices and terroir.  In ten to twenty years, I am sure that it will be the perfect mellow Cab, that I enjoy, but in my retirement, we will probably drink it sooner.  I might add, that this is probably one of the most affordable and great values from St. Helena and all of Napa Valley.  

We then tried the Roberts + Rogers Louer Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena 2016.  It was nice listening to him explain, in a kind of Jimmy Stewart demeanor that his winemaker said that he needed a “signature” wine.  The first for this label.  This wine was also aged for two years in new French Oak, but only the best barrels and a very limited production.  This wine was also a beautiful Cabernet, even bigger and bolder and more savory compared to the Louer Family Cabernet.  Price-wise, it is not the bargain that the Louer Family is, but it really was an impressive wine.