Tobias Cabernet Sauvignon Formation Mendocino 2020

FIFTEEN DOLLAR, 92 POINT cabernet sauvignon? Made by the Forman family’s own, Toby Forman? You know, the son of the ICONIC Ric Forman?! Si, ja, yes, oui oui, great googly-moogly YES!!! BRING IT. 

You can make a pretty solid argument that Ric Forman is one of the titans at the top of the Napa Valley winemaking chain. Sterling, Newton, Duckhorn – none of these exist as we know them today without the man. And that doesn’t even take into account his own Forman label or his earlier partnership with David Abreu. He’s kind of a big deal, basically, and has been for quite some time. That, THAT, is what Toby grew up with, and learned all that he could, working side-by-side with dad for years, and taking on more and more responsibility with the family holdings scattered across Sonoma, Mendocino, and Napa. A life-long apprenticeship, you might say…and that’s a pretty solid deal if your dream includes working in the wine industry! But this TOBIAS cabernet from Mendo might even be a bigger deal – at least at our cray-cray price!

The BEST of the best fruit from their family’s estates in Mendocino and it’s a screaming-good buy at our goosebumpy price today. We bought every bottle we could scrape up because that is really the ONLY sane choice when you can offer out a $15 CABERNET made by anyone who learned under Ric Forman (much less his son!). 92 points is the cherry on top – but this deal is downright silly! 

$15! My, oh my!!! 80% cabernet sauvignon, 10% malbec, 10% merlot aged for two years in French Oak, 50% new, and 50% second-year barrels, with a TOTAL production of just 200 CASES! Blackberry pie right out of the oven is the name of the game, packed with cool baby powder and white flower incense, some fresh lavender, and "did-I-just-eat-a-handful-of-blueberries?" flavors, with some vanilla bean action kicking in and coffee and mocha on the finish. Hints of bright and boisterous cherries, too, with a nice balance with the acidity and overall toasty yumminess. Pop a bottle the second it hits your doorstep. Tearing into the box savagely is recommended. You’re gonna want more of this – no matter how much you get – so go big and thank me later.  While it lasts…!!