My monthly blind tasting group did current-release California cabernets this week. There were two criteria: They had to be under ~$50 and under 15% alcohol. Thanks to all the Berserkers who made suggestions for wines to include.
All but one of the wines (Ramey) was from 2014. Six were from Napa, and two from the cooler Santa Cruz Mountains (Ridge and Domaine Eden). Two of the Napas (Smith-Madrone and Mt. Veeder) are from vineyards at higher elevations, where it is generally cooler.
• The wines all tasted like cabernet – a rare thing these days when so much fruit is picked so ripe that you can’t tell if it’s cab or zin or syrah or petite syrah.
• The oak wasn’t conspicuous on any of these.
• There were enough leftovers that I was able to retaste the (refrigerated) leftovers the next day and two days later (and even some three days later). Several improved, a few went downhill a little.
• Because my scores fluctuated over those three days, I’ve put the wines in bands rather than given them hard numbers. We had only six people at the tasting, so the group scores were too tightly clustered to mean much.
• The Smith-Madrone was the outlier, with its less ripe profile. The Mondavi and Groth seemed a bit too polished, a bit more commercial.
• Someone made an interesting observation that all of these producers except Ramey bought vineyards back in the 1970s or earlier.
• The wines were decanted into pouring bottles an hour ahead of the tasting and were consumed over an hour or more. As usual in this group, we had a list of the wines but didn’t know which was which.
- The asterisked wines are the possible buys for me.
Top tier (91-93 points) (not particular order within each group)
*** 2014 Smith Madrone – Spring Mountain, Napa Valley** (estate grown)(13.9%)
Not for the pyrazine faint of heart: Green pepper on the nose and in the mouth on day 1, with higher acid than the others – a profile that stood out in this group. This was clearly from less ripe, higher elevation fruit, but it’s a really nice wine and one I’m considering buying. And it improved on days 2 and 3, taking on flesh and becoming fruitier, though the green strand remained. The finish, which had been fairly tannic on day 2, took on a sweetness at the back after two days.
*** 2014 Mount Veeder Vineyard – Napa Valley** (14.5%)
This seemed to have some American oak on the nose, but it wasn’t overpowering. A bit fruitier than some others. I marked it down a touch on day 1 because I picked up a slight porty note in the fruit, but that went away after a day, and this got better and better, even on day 3. Good grip, but the tannins seem very fine.
*** 2014 Domaine Eden – Santa Cruz Mountains** (14%) My favorite and the group’s second place. Slight reduction, and the nose was tight at first. Great grip, with lots of tannins, but it slowly fleshes out with air. There is oodles of concentration without being overextracted. Slightly higher acid than most, though not as much as the Smith-Madrone.
2014 Clos du Val - Estate Napa Valley (14.1%)
Dark, dense and tannic, but beautifully balanced with excellent dark chocolate hints and dark berry fruit. Classic Napa cab that needs some time to soften up. I felt this faded a little on days 2 and 3, so I’d buy the others before this based on that.
Middle tier (88-90 points)
Both of these were disappointing relative to expectations on day 1 but improved.
2013 Ramey - Napa Valley (14.5%)
A touch of heat showed at first. It was tight and a bit anonymous. On day 2, it started to show more chocolate, still with a little heat. On day 3 it came together much better, again with nice chocolate and dark berries – like the vinuous form of the Lindt blackberry-dark chocolate bar I have in the refrigerator at the moment. I went from 82 at the time of the tasting to 89+ on day 3. I think this needs time to show its best.
2014 Ridge Vineyards Estate (Santa Cruz Mountains) (13.7%)
Nice perfume, though the 100% American oak didn’t really pop out, even though we have some keen noses for American oak in the group. Very dense, ripe and rich, but balanced, with a light acid streak in the palate and finish. Not hot. The tannins seemed to come and go on this; at times seeming course, at times seeming soft. A bit more acid than some, and faint green note showed on day 3. I went from 87 down to 84 then up to 88 on this.
Bottom tier (83-85 points)
2014 Robert Mondavi – Oakville (14.5% on label; 15% per website)
Some heat showed here out of the gate. There’s a good tannic and acid grip, but the wine seemed a bit generic compared to most. On day 2, I wrote: “Grip, balanced, monochromatic, generic.” There was some heat on the finish. I gave it 83 points.
2014 Groth – Oakville (14.5%)
Sweet blackberries on the nose, the only wine to show that profile. Nice ripe fruit, softish tannins. Approachable, sweet. “Yum!” I wrote, but yummy in a slightly obvious way. This would be a crowd-pleaser. Not challenging. Got better in the glass on day 1, but on day 2 it seemed too sweet and facile. I went from 88 to 85 on this.
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One member generously brought a '99 Smith-Madrone, which we drank after the main tasting. That green profile was there, but it was a beautiful wine. Dense, chewy and tannnic. He decanted and served it immediately. Several of us could see the parallel to the '14. The wine really needed air to show its best. One friend hung around for an hour or so and we finished off the balance. It fleshed out and became fruitier, though there’s still a firm backbone of tannins there. Some people would find this underripe, but we loved it.