I know that people have shifted away from CA Cabernet to some degree, and
although I don’t feel the need to buy them as much as I did, I still love
them and drink them regularly. That said, back in the good old days, there
was lots of mention around these labels…does no one drink these
anymore?
Heitz
Diamond Creek
Caymus
Silver Oak
Groth
Beaulieu Vineyard
Paradigm
Beringer Private Reserve
Mondavi
I know some of these are pretty expensive, but I really enjoy the Mondavi
Oakville, and for $19, you’d be hard pressed to find a better Napa
Cabernet. Caymus - ok, we know what happened there - ditto Silver Oak, but
does no one drink these? I had a Silver Oak Alex recently that was very
good.
Man, I just remember all these notes here about Minty Heitz, dill laced
Groth, Oaked up Silver Joke, and on and on…
Did we all just finish these wines in our cellars and never buy them
again? Or does it have something to do with the fact that these are mostly
“Old Guard” producers that are no longer “cool”?? (my list might even
include Montelena)
I am not sure our lists of “classic CA cabs” would line up (in fact I am pretty sure they would not), but this is the only style of CA wine in which I have any interest. I adore the ones I have, but the price of CA land is such that I find it harder and harder to get the ones I adore at prices I can stomach. Recently, I have been rediscovering the Mayacamas cabs, which are both old-school and affordable. In some years, Togni is both exceptional and realistically priced. I would welcome suggestions of others in this vein for $50 or so.
Neal, by “Classic” I didn’t t mean to imply quality. Simply the old guard kind of wines that I used to see notes for all the time. I could view forums and see 10 notes on any number of these wines. It just seems the times have changed.
$50 is a good budget. I’d look at Pine Ridge, Chappellet, Frank Family, Seqouia Grove. Good start.
There are so many great Napa cabs to choose from these days. I know wines like those you mention still have following. Groth (one example) has had an awesome resurgence with 2008. Mondavi Napa is probably what you speak of as the Oakville has skyrocketed to the high $40s. I think the Napa is a bit generic these days in an ocean of exciting wines. Great Cabs in the $20 range can still be found. Hardin is a great example. When you get to that $40 budget there are TONS of choices and a quick search on this site will point them out to anyone. Competition is fierce. Good for us.
Perhaps this is generational, but my classic cabs would include (as Neal mentioned) Togni but also Seavey and Montelena. I could drink those all day, but as prices approach $100 I am often out.
I’ve sampled the occasional Mondavi Oakville, BV Tapestry and Beringer Knights Valley in recent years and found some grossly alcoholic – burning. It was disappointing since these were such reliable, good-value wines in the past. Big corporate ownership has done no favors to those wineries. The BV Reserve and Mondavi Reserves have been OK but didn’t have any great character in recent decades, in my experience.
I hear you on pricing. For a very good QPR, check out Seavey’s cab from their younger vines, Caravina. The '10 is out now and is excellent for $55 but older vintages show up at auction regularly and can be had for $35-40. The '04 & '05 are just terrific. Had a few underwhelming bottles of the '06 for some reason, so I’d avoid that vintage.
Lots of love for 1980 - 1995 Cali Cabs from the old guard. Unfortunately they are becoming harder to find each day and consequently the ones in the cellar are protected. Would love to be able to drink this type of wine every day.
Most of the Cal Cabs I buy are from Winebid. Every week I click on the cabs and go by vintage so I don’t have to look past the 97 vintage. I do own a few bottles of wine younger than 97 but not many and have no intention of buying any in the future. Also I think it’s funny that people buy young wines for more money than older ones and they won’t be ready to drink for years.
Forums are full of geeks. And geeks represent a very small percentage of the wine buying public. The masses drink this stuff like water - ask any wine retailer out there - they are sick to death of selling them, but that’s all the people want.
Well-aged Montelena Estate, Diamond Creek, Mondavi Reserve and Dominus (I’m counting that as a Cab) are among my favorite wines. I only wish I was able to drink them more often!
I hate them, despise them cannot possibly recommend them. Leave them alone, they are not worth buying; I can’t understand why prices keep going up, as they are the drekiest of drek. Disgusting wines which should never have been released, let alone stored and put up for sale. I only buy them as a public service to prevent others from having to drink this swill.
Not Napa, but a 1992 Ridge Cab from Jimsomare drunk the other night was absolutely delish. On point, perfumed, resolved tannins and perfectly balanced. Got more in that vein. That was back when they still had the Cab Program.
I have a bunch of mid-eighties Napa/Sonoma cabs but consider them treasures and drink them sparingly. The few 1986’s I’ve opened have been very good.
Hey Fo! I think they’re almost as popular as in the past. After all, they’re all still out there…and selling! My guess: a) the usual buyers have gotten older and may not care to share their Cab-drinking experiences as much; b) Cabs don’t have the cool factor (well, except to Pobega) ; c) the millennials are out looking for something different.
Thanks to the generosity of a good friend, we had the following BV GDLs over the weekend: 58 (a bit sherried, previous bottle was fabulous, this was good), 59 (first time and really excellent), 60 (pretty much DOA), 68 (similar to the 58 with less sherry, very nice) and the 72 (pristine bottle from the winery, showing very well for a not so great vintage). Also had a 61 Louis Martini that was still quite young. All of these were surpassed (for me anyway), by a very rare CA classic, the 88 Williams Selyem Summa Pinot, which was beautifully mature and full of silky cranberry/cherry fruit.
(The Selosse Rose to start and the 90 Yquem to finish made for a fabulous evening with Flannery New Yorks and dayboat scallops the size of silver dollars)
; c) the millennials are out looking for something different.