Opening some cabs tonight and looking for some advice on decant times so these will show best…
2004 Bond Pluribus
2007 Rudius Cabernet
2008 Schrader GIII
2007 Pott Arsenal
1997 Opus One
2007 Corra
I’m thinking 6 hours for most of the young ones and 1 hour for the 97 Opus One… but considering longer on the Pott and Schrader and shorter on the Bond and Rudius
The 3rd annual lobsterfest, with copious amounts of fresh Maine lobster, and even more copious amounts of wine – Napa Cabs and Sparklers. Lunch wines
I had a couple wines to “pre-party” with lunch.
2007 Betz Family Cabernet Sauvignon Père de Famille- USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
deep garnet color, opaque at center. showed smoke, black fruit, and olive on the nose. medium bodied palate does not show incredible concentration, but don’t be fooled – there is plenty of fruit on this. definitely on the darker curranty side, without juicy notes. more smoke and peppery steak also appear on the palate. medium(+) acidity. there is some heat that appears on this – hopefully some bottle aging will help round that out. nice medium tannins that show that this has 10-20 years ahead of it. medium (+) finish is interesting – light, but doesn’t really fade. (93 pts.)
2007 Rivers-Marie Chardonnay B. Thieriot Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
medium gold color with some slight green tinge. medium intensity nose of honeydew melon, asian pear, honeycomb, and toffee ice cream (some toffee evident, but seems diluted). palate shows more of the melon with some tropical fruit and white pepper. medium (+) acidity is most prominent on the midpalate and leading into a well rounded medium length finish that adds citrus peel to the prior notes. I might be low on score – the richness isnt quite there, but the melon flavors are delicious and it has a surprising complexity. (91 pts.)
Starters
A few lighter sparklers and a Rose from Scholium. Two were very drinkable, one was interesting but I did not fins it to my tastes.
2009 Scholium Project Rhododactylos Phillips Farm- USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi
very faint rose color – surprising glass to glass variance. nose smelled off to me – very green but almost a faint chemical note on it. palate is more pleasant, with light strawberry notes. some heat appears late on the midpalate and carries through a med(-) finish. (85 pts.)
2008 Domaine Barmes-Buecher Crémant d’Alsace- France, Alsace, Crémant d’Alsace
nice light sparkler with notes of apple as well as some grapey notes. easy to drink by the gulp. (87 pts.)
N.V. Domaine Fabrice Gasnier Touraine La Cravantine- France, Loire Valley, Touraine
beautiful light salmon color. nose shows a brief hint of green right away which is quickly overwhelmed by strawberry. palate is nice and light – again, an easy to drink wine. flavors include strawberry cheesecake, but also some darker fruit and an interesting spice note. (88 pts.)
Napa Cabs
The big guns of the evening… many of these were too young, yes – but they all lived up to my high expectations and – in a few cases – surpassed them. The Schrader was my WOTN as an absolutely delicious wine.
1997 Opus One- USA, California, Napa Valley
vigorously decanted, but only briefly. still has quite a bit of color, but some bricking evident in the decanter. nose shows some oxidation, as well as some caramel and earthy notes. palate still has some fruit, but it is restrained behind mainly secondary notes of caramel, tobacco, and leather. the attack is beautiful and you get some sweetness. it is a bit thin on the midpalate, with a medium(-) body. med(+) acidity really helps to bring this all together and it closes out with a medium finish that is tasty. overall, a quite nice example of aged Napa cab. (91 pts.)
2007 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon- USA, California, Napa Valley
decanted 6 hours. nose was a little bit muted, with some dark fruit, but not too much showing. the palate is delicious, with black fruit, chocolate, and black pepper showing through. medium (+) acidity and medium tannins that are fine – I think this will have a long life ahead. the medium(+) finish is delicious and remarkably shows no heat – the alcohol is well integrated. I loved the finish on this. an extraordinary wine! (96 pts.)
2004 Bond Pluribus- USA, California, Napa Valley
decanted about 4 hours. nose shows lots of dark berry fruit. there is a hint of bitterness on the attack, before the palate rounds out with flavors of black raspberry, some sweet spice, and creamy oak. lots of tannins on this, i expect it needs another decade to reach its peak and will last beyond that. medium(+) finish. (93 pts.)
2007 Rudius Cabernet Sauvignon- USA, California, Napa Valley
decanted 6 hours. this had a very dark profile. the nose showed black pepper, black olive, and licorice. there is quite a bit of fruit, but it is more curranty and less juicy. this is likely starting to shut down and will go into a long slumber. the medium length finish brings the wine together with well balanced alcohol and medium tannins. in fact, the finish is probably where the most fruit shows. (95 pts.)
2007 Pott Wine Cabernet Sauvignon The Arsenal- USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
decanted 6 hours. impressive nose shows lots of dark fruit. well balanced, medium(+) bodied palate shows blackberry, licorice, and quite a bit of chocolate. very creamy mouthfeel, with powdery tannins. long finish continues the chocolaty notes. my first pott wine, and now very happy i bought! (96 pts.)
2008 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon GIII Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard- USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
decanted 6 hours. very dark color with some purple tinges sneaking in. you can tell just by looking at it that this is going to be a young powerful wine. the nose has a lot of chocolate and black berry fruit, along with an interesting perfum-ish note. full bodied palate has lots of blackberry and gobs of milk chocolate. it reminded me in some ways of a chocolate milkshake. well integrated tannins that are not overpowering the wine. long, long finish. i continue to be impressed by every bottle of schrader i try. (97 pts.)
Dom Perignon mini-Vertical
3 vintages of Dom Perignon were our around midnight wines… The 96 and 02 are very similar in many regards. Interestingly, the 00 tasted older than the other two, a testament to the staying power of the '96.
1996 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon- France, Champagne
mousse is still vibrant on this, with little color variation between this, an 00, and an 02 DP. lots of yeast on this. still quite youthful with green apple, and citrus notes that, combined with the acidity on this make it a wonderfully refreshing and lively champagne. (95 pts.)
2000 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Perignon Andy Warhol Label- France, Champagne
interestingly, this was more developed than the '96 – it seemed older than it should be at this age. mushroom, some green fruit, and not quite as much acidity as the other two. some nutty notes. (90 pts.)
Dessert
Mr. K, meet Mr. K… The Sine Qua Non dessert wines are named ‘Mr.K’ as an homage to the late Alois Kracher… so we tried it alongside the Kracher.
1999 Sine Qua Non Sémillon Mr. K Vin De Paille- USA, California
burnt orange color. very sweet, and not quite enough acidity in this to hold up to the intense sweetness. surprisingly, given the low ABV, this had a little heat on the midpalate – perhaps it was just the intensity of the sweetness. honeyed apricot is most prominent flavor. long, long, long finish… (94 pts.)
2007 Alois Kracher Scheurebe TBA #9 Zwischen den Seen- Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee
amazing acidity – these krachers have sucha delicious formula of intense sweetness but so much acidity that they stay fresh. incredibly youthful. tropical fruit, honey, and an interesting hint of nutmeg. extraordinarily long finish that is surprisingly light. (96 pts.)