Goldschmidt Forefathers house spotlight
Nick Goldschmidt is on camera on the official Goldschmidt Vineyards channel, tasting Forefathers Lone Tree Alexander Valley Cabernet 2022, this vineyard and this Cabernet.
2022 Goldschmidt Vineyards Forefathers Lone Tree Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley, USA
Nick Goldschmidt's dry-farmed Lone Tree Cabernet, James Suckling 93, a 2022 you can open at thirty dollars.
The 2022 Forefathers is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from a 5.5-acre east-facing knoll east of Geyserville: ripe blackberry, dark plum, toasty French oak, and a silky, dense middle, now $30.
Dry-farmed Lone Tree fruit, not a blended Alexander Valley average
Lone Tree is a 5.5-acre knoll east of Geyserville, planted on an east-facing slope so afternoon heat does not cook the berries. Dry farming keeps them tiny. Goldschmidt gets more power and weight here than from a typical Alexander Valley Cabernet site. James Suckling scored the 2022 93 points for spice, robust fruit, and abundant but smooth tannins. This is the bottle that puts Nick's Forefathers idea on a steak night.
The house
Nick and Yolyn Goldschmidt built Forefathers around one idea: the forefather appellation for each variety. For Cabernet in California, that is Alexander Valley.
The wine
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Lone Tree. Dry-farmed tiny berries, gravelly loam, toasty French oak, a silky dense middle. About 14.5% ABV.
The scores
James Suckling 93: cloves, nutmeg, blackberries, ripe plums, earth, baking spice, and cedar. Wilfred Wong 93.
The drinker
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Prime rib, New York strip, or herb-crusted lamb.
Dark fruit, spice, and smooth Cabernet weight
James Suckling called it a big, opulent wine with loads of spices, robust fruit, and abundant but smooth tannins. The house sheet adds ripe blackberry, dark plum, a little dark cherry, and toasty French oak on a silky, dense, mouth-coating palate.
A dry-farmed Cabernet year that favored intensity. East-facing exposure bought hang time without dehydration. The 2022 drinks ripe and fresh, with tannin that is chewy without turning harsh.
Ripe blackberry, dark plum, black cherry, cloves, nutmeg, earth, toasty French oak.
Silky yet dense, full, abundant but smooth tannin, dry-farmed concentration.
Baking spice, cedar, a long warming close. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Tiny berries, east light, then toasty French oak
On the Goldschmidt Forefathers page, Lone Tree is a 5.5-acre knoll east of Geyserville, chosen for an east-facing slope and gravelly loam. Dry farming shrinks the berries and raises skin-to-juice. The 2022 is 100 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Toasty French oak is the matching component, not a mask. That is how Alexander Valley Cabernet gets power and weight without turning jammy.
Nick Goldschmidt has worked this vineyard for decades. Open canopy and long hang time finish flavor and tannin without screaming alcohol.
Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. The wine wants protein and a reduction sauce.
Forefathers means the first appellation, not a second label
Nick Goldschmidt started Forefathers in 1998 to bottle the New World's first-choice site for each grape.
Born in New Zealand and trained around the world, Nick was Simi's winemaker before he and Yolyn went out on their own. Forefathers remains the founding idea: one vineyard, one variety, one vintage.
Alexander Valley is their California Cabernet answer. Lone Tree sits on a small knoll east of Geyserville, gravelly loam, east light, more power than a typical valley-floor site.
The 2022 is that house in a bottle you can open: dry-farmed Cabernet, French oak, steak-night tannin, Nick's name on the work.
Put it with the food Cabernet was built for
This wine wants browned edges, savory depth, and a little fat. Prime rib and a peppercorn strip steak are the live pairings.
Two plates. One prime rib with red wine jus. One New York strip with peppercorn sauce. Both can take Lone Tree tannin.
Serve 60 to 64 F. Decant 45 to 60 minutes. Larger Bordeaux stems.
Prime Rib with Red Wine Jus
Classic Cabernet logic: richness for the tannins, jus for the dark fruit, roasted depth for the oak.
Why it works: Beef fat softens the dry-farmed frame. The jus pulls blackberry, plum, and cedar through the middle.
View Recipe for prime rib with red wine jus (opens in a new tab)
New York Strip with Peppercorn Sauce
Pepper and sear pull out the wine's spice. The sauce makes black fruit feel plush and steakhouse-ready.
Why it works: Pepper echoes clove and nutmeg. Fat meets abundant but smooth tannin.
View Recipe for New York strip steaks with peppercorn sauce (opens in a new tab)Put this Lone Tree Cabernet in the cart
Dry-farmed Alexander Valley Cabernet. James Suckling 93. Thirty dollars against a $60 typical retail.
Put it in the cart. This is the Goldschmidt bottle for a steak night that wants a named vineyard, not a blended speech.
