BLACK CAT 101 - Undisclosed Italian Location in NY, NY (5/17/2015)
Some time ago, few fellows who were curious about EMH black cat asked me to organized them a little tasting. Post our visit to Napa, we felt it was a good time to thank them for their hard work, and to support the vineyard by introducing people to high quality, consistent and reliable cab. One that stands well against the top calibers. We gathered in an undisclosed Italian Location in New York for the introductory course ‘Black Cat 101’. More college courses should be like that. Three representative vintages that are accessible and available were picked to show different stages of a black cat. It was a purrring experience, indeed.
Pre-requisites
In order to start a good ‘course’ one must meet the pre-requisites, bubbles 
-
2002 Pierre Paillard Champagne Brut Millésimé Grand Cru - France, Champagne, Bouzy, Champagne
I first had this one shortly after the release, and we’ve been following the development of this one for a while now
This time, we decided to put it on a solo show for starter. Goldish yellow, remains more on the bright gold side. Dry compare to other champs (which I like a lot) ,oak and fruits, or as one of the tasters said “glory in a bottle!”. Since this is the sixth time I’m having this one, I can’t really a lot more compared to previous notes, but I can certainly reinforce previous ones. Dry side champ, oak and fruits in first touch, more peach and lemon this time. Nice, long bubbles bubbles with long finish. We got few more of those in 2013, and I guess I under estimated how good this one would be because I believe we’re down to one or two bottles left, while this champagne still has years ahead of it to live and be enjoyable.
So, to sum- consistent with previous notes. Probably the most reliable champagne I can think of. But, don’t believe me. Ask Dan ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
(who, sadly, could not make it to this one… but he had a good excuse)
Vote by the bottle- empty bottle. Too bad we’re running low on this one. (94 pts.)
Warm up exercises
To build the expectation and prepare for the full bodied cabs, we needed to start with some wines with close proximity to Calistoga, but also different and complementing to the full body cab tastes. Since Rieslings were out of the question, we decided to go creative. Something new, and something familiar
-
2007 Scholium Project Riquewihr Lost Slough Vineyards - USA, California, Central Valley, Clarksburg
Given some reviews on the Scholium Gewurz in recent vintages, I was somewhat concern. But, when it comes to the ’07–There are very few Gewurztraminers that are on the still wine side, and live to standard, especially domestically. This one was the surprise runner-up of the evening. On the nose, grapefruit, and peach and lychee (to lower extent). Ginger and honey were secondary but well noted on the taste. Great goldish color. Big nose that developed over the about 1 hour we had on the table. The restaurant’s sommelier and the waiter were very excited to see the ’07 (and we shared) as they had it before and it was memorable one for them. The vote of the ‘class participants’ was pretty clear.
They voted with their glasses. And one of them picked the (cute) bottle as a souvenir. 500ml. Beautiful label, and I was told it will become a little flower holder.
Excellent pairing with our mixed appetizers and cheeses to start. Still has few years ahead of it, and it will keep developing. None of the concerns raised on other vintages of this one applies here. (93 pts.)
-
2013 Virage Vineyards Cabernet Franc Rosé - USA, California, Napa Valley
The most solid rosé we can think of, and even one of the tasters who generally deters from rose wine took a refill. I first had this one in 2014, and probably nearly a case by now. Our house rosé, so to speak, and never disappoints on delivery. It was also a good companion both for the appetizers and along side the main dish. Voted by the somm and the waiter as their best 100% Cab Franc this year (somm also since last year). Less than a glass left by the end of the evening.
(I voted this one constantly as 92-93 and I keep holding it. I think it will live longer than anticipated initially )
Core material
Now we get to the important part of the day- Black Cat. If you are looking for this wine, you probably know something about it already
-
2006 EMH Cabernet Sauvignon Black Cat - USA, California, Napa Valley
A great example of maturing black cat, and maturing cab.
First thing we all said “spices!” and blackberry/cherry. Very open spices, even somewhat more ‘rounded’ then last year (rounded, or balance, I should say). The tasters said “wow” on the nose, which kept developing over dinner. On the finish, the fruits give their ‘space’ to the earthy tastes, so to speak.
Food pairing-- Those who had the spicy dishes (or steak) said it complemented their meals best (better than the ’09). Those who took more ‘balanced’ main dishes (pasta, pork chops) tended to prefer the ’09 over the ’06. Both ag on this one are just wow, and developing over the dinner. A solid 93-4 for me, but I sometimes wonder if the points do justice to such multi-layer wine. Summary: Merrill knows how to make cabs that will age better than all of us
Vote of the bottle status- bottle emptied, taken home by one of the tasters as a souvenir.
-
2009 EMH Cabernet Sauvignon Black Cat - USA, California, Napa Valley
After tasting through many black cats, we do agree this one is a good representation of the vineyard. The nose was very consistent with the previous times I had the ’09 (last year), but it is certainly still developing and even getting better.
The earthy and spice notes get as secondary (compared with the ’06) and it provides a great ‘intro to cab’ on the nose, palate and finishing. It does need decanting but it can be easily enjoyed for several hours.
Tasters opinion: All five votes thumbs up. The ones who picked the less ‘spicy’ food voted this one as their WOTN. Restaurant’s opinion: “can we have one more taste?” (sure you can!) . I would even go as far as saying that with proper decanting, the ’09 delivers certain underlying characteristics that one has in the ’09 SS (not surprising). I think it would last longer than current estimation of CT users (~2020 at the time this note is written). I ranked it before at 94 and I keep holding it. Well done, Merrill.
Vote of the bottle status- bottle emptied, one of the people who voted it as their WOTN took the bottle.
-
2012 EMH Cabernet Sauvignon Black Cat - USA, California, Napa Valley
When I opened it for decanting (few hours before the dinner), the first thing I said to myself is “Wow, the smell!”. At dinner, one of the tasters in the table picked the glass, smelled it and said “this will be a star”. Having this one as the last in the set reinforces the potential of this ‘baby black cat’. And it is a ‘youngester’. If you like your cabs more ‘mature’ it is not there yet. It already has great nose, but it is more ‘fruit front’ than the ’06 and ’09. Currant and berries on the taste, less of the spices compared with the ’09 and ’06. The cherry notes came in later (maybe after the equivalent of about 4-5 hours decanting)
Summary- this one will be one of the vintages that Black Cat will be most proud of, but it is young and needs time to develop the spices/herbal, and earthy notes that other black cat vintages have.
Vote of the bottle status- We left about a glass in the decanter that went to the ‘house’ for their enjoyment. I think it’s worth letting the additional bottles sleep for a year or two.
Extra Credit
No course is completed without some extra credit work, and few desserts.
-
1997 Dolce Winery Late Harvest - USA, California, Napa Valley
It is a matter of personal preference. If one likes their dessert wines more ‘heavy’, then the ’97 is your choice. It comes ‘packed’ with a smoky/’oaky’ aroma, more of the toast and caramel, and dark, dark amber color. (I believe one taster took a picture, so we’d ask them). The finish of the ’97 is longer than the ’06 but I think not as balanced as the ’06. The honey taste is also very notable, but I would say the caramel is more upfront. The peach fruits were not as strong compared to the earthy tastes of the wine.
IMHO, it is somewhat less balanced than the ’06 at this time. 89-90 (90 pts.) -
2006 Dolce Winery Late Harvest - USA, California, Napa Valley
First thing first- it is clearly brighter color (compared with the ’97), but what a beautiful amber/gold. Balanced on the nose, and the right ratio of honey/caramel notes that does not overpower your nose and palate. I would say it’s about the right amount of sweetness for my (very infrequent) tasting of dessert wines, and a wonderful companion to the desserts set we picked (especially worked well with the olive oil cake). Peach and apricot on the nose and palate, honey on the palate, shorter finish than the ’97 but it is far more complete/balance. Better selection for finishing of the cab lines tasting. Your opinion/preference may vary. (92 pts.)
Closing remarks:
Something about food pairing-- Those who had the spicy dishes (or steak) said the '06 complemented their meals best (better than the ’09). Those who took more ‘balanced’ main dishes (pasta, pork chops) tended to prefer the ’09 over the ’06. Both agreed that both wines were showing their best “wow”, and developing over the dinner. Menu was built for six to seven and we ended up just five, so next time, we’d probably reduce one bottle from the appetizers. Back to the cats: It was basically a tie between the '06 and the '09 (two official '06, two official '09, and one undecided but clearly '06 or '09. The restaurant somm and the waiter voted one for each, so we were left in a tie). Great experience for all, and special thank you to our friends who enable us to open few black cats side by side for pure enjoyment, and to have good times. Thank you Merrill for the hard work, vintage by vintage ![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}
Posted from CellarTracker
