CLONYC 19- The many AVAs of Napa Valley

WINE TALK
1

If you have ever seen the movie ‘burn after reading’, you know the line from the very end where the FBI Chief is being briefed about some spy activities that no one seems to know much of about the goings on of a few fools and buffoons, acting like spies. says:

The Chief: “What did we learn, Palmer”.
Other guy: “I don’t know, sir”.
The Chief: “I don’t xxxxing know either”.
He then shakes his head and closes his file.

That’s how I feel this morning about the many AVAs of Napa Valley. As you see, we had some wonderful wines, but aligning them with their respective AVA by either style or characteristics would be difficult for most MIT Scientists—who would have to have large cellars themselves, and WITHOUT their beakers and bunsen burners.

What might have initially seemed futile actually turned to an array of wonderful wines with great company and grub, all on a beautiful June evening—and what’s so wrong about that?

That said, last night we put CLONYC 19 into the books. Its theme was Napa AVAs. We planned to sample a bottle of Cabernet from each and every of the official AVAs. We were short a few, but marched onward into cabernet hedonism anyway.


2001 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon –Diamond Mountain District AVA: (Pop & Pour) this changed moment to moment. Started great with good fruit, some nice balance and mouth feel. It did not initially show its age, but in 10 minutes sure changed to an older wine. Structure was persistent and overall a very good bottle indeed. 89

2001 Shafer Hillside Select Stags Leap District AVA – Dark and ominous, this was tight out of the gate (as expected for pop and pour). Within minutes it started shedding its armore and black fruits started emerging. Wow, this is pure and precise with tones of refined black fruits of currant, blackberry and black plum. Some real nice cola notes amidst some tar, cardamom and soy. I kept this in my glass all night. It evolved, but in the super-flight at the end of the night, my new pour seemed a bit tired and fading. Still, all in all a very great Hillside from a classic vintage will always please in my book. 95

2001 EMH Black Cat Cabernet Sauvignon - Calistoga AVA – Steve opened this early. Too early. It came across as a pure, but oldish cabernet with some remnants of beauty. Initially there was some burnt rubber on the nose, but that left quick, it had some correct cab features; some nice red currant, red raspberry, lead pencil shavings, cedar and forest floor. Others who have recently had it did not recognize it all sure agreed pop & pour would have been best. 90

2002 Caymus Special Select - Rutherford AVA – A very flashy generous Cabernet with tons to give. Stylistically appealing to many, maybe not me. It had great mid weight mouthfeel with goby red & black fruits. Balance seemed to lean toward a higher acidity. Great finish. Some great discussions about this, and it being a delicious wine, but most wanting more defining depth and character. I agreed. 92

2002 Bryant - St. Helena AVA – Ready for this? This is one of the most incredible cabernets that I have ever had. It had everything a Napa Cabernet drinker could, should ever want. Depth, elegance, structure, and reverence, all wrapped around some sweet black fruits of macerated currants and black cherries–Bing cherries—maybe maraschino cherries. Stellar and precise, this had lead pencil shavings, soy, worn leather, crème de cassis, kirsch, river stones, and more. Almost mystifying depth and purity that one can make cabernet dreams of. Made me want to find my pillow tout suite. 100

2004 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon - Howell Mountain AVA – always happy to sample these, this was a revelation to many as its approachability. Opened at 9am, this was really balanced and super-structure, all while showing some elegance and class. It maybe suffered by the company it kept tonight. Dark black cassis with some kirsch notes, cola, sassafras and earth. Maybe a bit four square in style and if a bit of show can or should ever be warranted, this would be the time. 92.5

2004 Gemstone – Yountville AVA – Flashy nose, this is fragrant and showy. The palate had some redder fruits of red cherries, plums and pomegranate. A subdued currant note with some soy, tar, leather, and cedar. Some oak, some anise. I am a fan of gemstone, and again, this suffered from the company it kept. 91.5

2005 Fourteen Appellations- mixed AVAs- All over the place. It really never could do as promised, which is to display ALL the AVAs, this marketing genius wine stood a bit slouchy amongst giants. Really seemed a bit out of place and messy. Red and black fruits with some awkward balance. Short finish… 87

2007 Maybach Materium -Oakville AVA – Remember where I said the EMH should have been pop and poured? This should have had the 4 hours air-time. It opened with such a creamy oak profile, Steve almost screamed! Once it sat in the glass, it really opened and unwound by the minute to a very pure, elegant, somewhat showy cabernet. Having had all the Maybachs available, this sits in the number 2 position after the 2006 Maybach Materium. To me the 2007s in general lack structure. It had some black currant, crème de cassis, ultra pure and precise, with a light to mid weight mouth feel. A super long finish, it showed its pedigree well—with air. I might hold mine until 5 years. Tasted during the Super-flight this really came around and beat out the SHS. 93+

2007 Pott Wine CS Kaliholmanok Bel Canto- Spring Mountain District AVA – Quiet, pure, precise and focused, this held its own. Initially stylistically appealing to me, this had some wonderful structure wrapped in elegance, all while being confident and bold. After the Bryant, possible the most exact Cabernet on the table. Lacking the depth of the Bryant, this really was in my wheelhouse to start, it changed quickly to something resembling a Bordeaux, (hence the ‘Initially stylistically appealing to me’ comment) and then back to cali. Very interesting. 91.5

2007 Domaine Georg Rafael Cabernet Sauvignon- Mt Veeder AVA- This was the wild card on the night and it sure shined bright. Black and deep colored, this had a pure cassis nose with some cardamom, cherry cola, coffee, cocoa/mocha, sweet plums and lead pencil, all wrapped around some very structured and aligned tannins with a deft balance. A really admirable wine that managed to stand tall amongst the ‘trees’ of the night. A super QPR ($45ish +/-). A long clean finish. Very nice indeed. 92

Thanks to everyone for participating!
[cheers.gif]

2

Strong score on that Bryant…your first wine to award 100pts to?

3

Fascinating recap Mr. Pobega. Well done. More of a mountain fruit fan myself, but have certainly enjoyed some valley floor samples in the past.

[welldone.gif]

4

Yes.
Bill, it really had so much going on. Words don’t do it justice.

I am sure others will correct me on it though! [snort.gif] [snort.gif]

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Bryant is Pritchard Hill, which probably deserves its own AVA, but I believe is just considered Napa.

6

Nice notes Mike. The thing that caught my eye is that you mention 2 of the the 2001’s showing as old cabs. While I generally like my cabs within 10 years from the vintage, none of my 2001’s have showed real age yet and some are still pretty tightly wound.

Do you think there may have been storage issues with those bottles or would you think that is just more of those wine’s characters?

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Bruce, I think they were all well stored bottles. It’s a stylistic thing you can blame all on me. [wink.gif]
Although I believe Lance did mention ‘old wine’ with the EMH…

I find that more to understand a note it’s best to know who wrote the note. My bias for many things usually considered commonplace is sometimes glaring. I try to control it, but it doesn’t always work. I still like them younger.
A good example is the Jones Family wines from Monday. Notes here some place.
Cheers!

PS, I have had some killer 01s recently. KL Morisoli comes to mind…

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I think the Baby Killer went a bit overboard with the EMH. I did get a little old wine smell at first, but that blew off pretty quickly. I thought it held up very well. When I took my last sips of the first flight, I thought the Black Cat was actually closing in on the Shafer and it was a near tossup for wine of the flight. When I had it at the end of the night, it was doing very nicely. Definitely a more elegantly-styled cab.

The Bryant was outstanding and certainly ranks up there with memorable cab experience, along with the 2002 Merus and the 1975 Mayacamas off the top of my head.

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Sounds like this crowd would have preferred my 2002 to the 2001 (or the BabyKillers should just fast forward to the 2007 [swoon.gif]), although this is the first time it has been shown in recent memory when it didn’t elicit “oohs and ahhs.” I think Kim Caldwell has killed 3 bottles in 6 months, and was extolling their virtues. Bottle variation? Too much airtime? I have never had one with an “old wine smell,” but that does not mean it couldn’t happen. I feel badly that it did not show well and provide the experience one would hope for.

I plan to be in NYC after harvest (October?) and would be happy to join in a dinner and provide another look at the 2001 or any other Black Cat vintages of interest. If anyone is interested, send me an email so I can consider you in the planning.

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Hi Merrill, I am the ‘baby killer’ (such a harsh term!) Mr E. speaks of.
I for one think it was too much air time, and it’s not the first time I have experienced such with a 7-10 year old wine. I brought the 2001 Diamond Creek Gravelly, and would not ever have thought to decant as Steve did, but such is the life of a wine.

BTW, with regard to the Maybach decant time, Thomas Brown reco’d the P&P, so if it’s any consolation, I now disagree with that too! Keep in mind my Monday morning quarter-backing of any wines treatment will always be easier than a decision of what to do on the morning of.

I would welcome the opportunity to taste your wines when you come east. I have heard many great things from many whose palates I trust. Please mark me as ‘yes please’. Another option, if you like is you could be our guest at a future CLONYC dinner. Up to you. Would love to have you.

Thanks for the insight.
Mike

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That’s a great idea.

I may have messed up. I thought I remembered Merrill suggesting I give some air. It had a quick double-decant at 3:45 and stayed recorked until just before it was served.

12

AHA!!!
Now the truth comes out!
[wink.gif]


Decant decant decant decant. It’s all you Cab guys know! newhere

13

Mike,

Thanks for the great TN’s. I have never had a Bryant cab but will try and taste it some time. So far the SHS is the best cab that I have ever experienced.

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Merrill- there are plenty of people interested and if you’ve got something older, please bring that.

Mike is up front and honest about his preferences in many areas and he likes 'em young. Fair enough. But putting your 2001 into that lineup means it needs a rematch. So if you’d like a second opinion . . .

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I can provide an 05 or 06 EMH for comparison if I’m available.

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That’s generous of you, Dan, truly, but an 05 or 06 Black Cat is not that rare, though the total production for each of those vintages is in the less than 150 case category. You should keep those bottles for yourself. I can certainly provide those from my Library.

Now 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 - those are in very short supply. Greg T. mentioned something “older?” If he means older than the 2001, then the only option is my 2000, of which I have exactly 2 bottles. Two.

In October or November in NYC there will be at least 2 events where I will pour some number of vintages of my Black Cat. Interested folks can email me directly, as some have today, or get in touch with Pobega, as there may be something in the planning stages through CLONYC.

I don’t know which I feel worse about: 2001 Black Cat not blowing everyone away, or my Celtics losing to the Lakers tonight.[oops.gif]

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It was a hard fought game/series – but it was our turn. How about we go for the tie breaker next year?

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In my cellar, anything over $50 is rare. [whistle.gif]

The EMH’s are seated right next to the Schraders. Something about the good neighbor policy. [wink.gif]

19

Great notes Mike, sounds like a fun time. Hopefully I can make the cut for the next one!

Sad news about the 14 Appellations as I have a bottle I bought out of curiosity a while ago. It is made by the winemaker for Reynolds family, whose wines I generally enjoy.

Also, if possible, I’d be up for the Black Cat tasting, haven’t had the pleasure of the wines yet.

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Mike, no problem. I am forming a list.
Sorry about not making the cut. These CLONYCs lock up pretty quickly and pretty much stay locked. Pays to be fast. [drinkers.gif]