1994 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon- USA, California, Napa Valley (8/27/2015)
Use to LOVE drinking this goto $20 cab back in the early 90’s…always a fav! This 21yr old is showing quite nicely……healthy dark red berry color…classic Bord nose of leather, currants, cherry, pencil box, anise……on the palate a lighter body, but not delicate……alive sour skin acidity keeps the freshness….berries are sweet and dark, more on the red side, with aged currants and plum……smooth old leather, anise, cigar box, menthol….tannins are a little biting, holding….really quite fresh but a little sour. Nothing profound here…but for a Jack$on back in the day……a very satisfying drink! (91 pts.)
I have a bottle of 1993 sitting around. It’s fascinating: I went to Napa and tasted through their lineup a few years ago. Loved them at the tasting but when I got back home, I found them (particularly the Sangiovese) to be sweet and cloying to me. Not sure why I got the impression they were less ripe when I first tasted. Maybe not the first winery of the day…
I wonder how the older vintages are by comparison.
Noah, I wish I had the answer but I have a similar problem. I go to Myrtle Beach once a year and used to take my favorite “big” wines. They all tasted sweet and over the top. Get back home to CA, try a bottle and they tasted fine to me. I theorized it was the humidity, since that and the grease in food were the two differences. I did find that serving the big CA wines chilled helped some. Started taking old world wines and they tasted better than at home, even had some fruit characteristics.
My theory faded when my East Coast friends came to CA and still thought my “big” wines were sweet and cloying.
I think maybe in between the time I bought the wines and tasted them again, my palate changed quite a bit. I now lean fairly far towards the AFWE side, and my recent favorite cabs have been Mike Smith wines.
