2015 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Panek Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (7/24/2017)
Deep dark opaque purple, concentrated fruit and oak on the nose, dense, ripe fruit in the mouth, very chewy, anise along with rich black and blue fruits coat the mouth, acid comes on late and is hidden behind a wall of fruit and tannin. The depth and purity is unmistakeable. This has been open since Friday and it is now Monday evening and I’m drinking the last 2-3 oz from the bottle that has been under cork since Friday night. A wound up beast of a wine that is going to require patience while it unfolds. Again, be patient. I need to go brush my teeth now.
2014 Myriad Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard ‘Elysian’- USA, California, Napa Valley (7/24/2017)
3rd night since pulling the cork. Red currant and dark cherry abound. Purity, purity, purity, what a great mouthfeel to this wine. Rich but not as dense as the RM Panek. Leaning to a dark red berry profile, creamy with a touch of cedar and tar. Exceptional balance with not a hint of the 15.1% alc. Very layered, long and satisfying. Just a tremendous bottle of wine.
Brian, have you had any Mike Smith and TRB wines with considerable bottle age (though of course they’re both still pretty young obviously)? There have. Even threads on ageability of Cali cabs but haven’t seen much focus on these two excellent winemakers. Have recently had a number of great aged Cali cabs: Montelena estsate, Dunn HM, Forman, Ridge MB and Opus One among them, from early 80’s to mid-90’s. Wondering what you think will happen to the more explicitly extracted, higher alcohol and higher octane cabs with age.
Personally I think the drinking window does not stretch beyond 10-15 years due to just that, the elevated alcohol. We know alc does not integrate like fruit and tannin. I may be proven wrong with these wines, only time will tell though. Really well balanced at this stage though.
