TN: 05 Cabs (Harlan, Maybach, Schrader, Shafer, Montelena, Nickel, Mt.Veeder) + Port

Last night my tasting group met to try 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines were tried blind over the course of 2.5 hours. Breads and cheeses were also available. As a group, the wines were too young. For the group, there were divergent opinions. Not surprising as none of us drink these wines on a regular basis.

Our host Dale started us out with a couple of interesting blind whites:
2003 Garifoli Fiorese Verdichio di Castelli Di Jesi
Golden yellow in color with a slight brown hue. The nose has selzer and with some air, honey. Slightly burnt tasting kind of like charred grapefruit peel. Dale said this bottle was not as good as a prior bottle. I wonder if this was lightly cooked or oxidized (cork failure). That said, it was not bad at all, but had a pronounced alcohol on both the nose and the palate. Definitely a bit out of whack. I would also have expected this to be past prime as these normally do not age that well IMO. 50+3+12+15+5=85

2003 Chapoutier Chante Aloutter Hermitage Blanc
What a combination, Heritage Blanc, 2003 and 5 years of age. Golden in color. The wine for me was vacant except for some alcohol. Very bitter on the palate. As Dale said, “these wines having nothing in common with the Indians starting pitching, way too much heat!” I think at this point, this wine needs to be buried in a cellar. Perhaps it comes back in a decade. Hermitage Blanc is perhaps the oddest wine on the planet. Who knows. 50+4+10+10+2=76

The 2005 Napa Cabernet Sauvignons (all wines popped and poured):

2005 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon CCS To Kalon Vyd.
Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has some coffee and alcohol. With air this evolves great with black raspberries, cassis, cedar and roasted meat. Some said eucalyptus, but I missed that. Full bodied. Complex. This just kept getting better all night long. Another hour and it may have been my top wine. The groups #1 wine although only one person had it as their WOTN. 50+4+13+19+9=95

2005 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon
Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cassis, oak and cedar. Full bodied. Plenty of oak and slight tannins. Heat on the finish. It took about an hour and this really came together into a more classic Napa Cab. Cassis, some tobacco. Really lovely and drank well. Possibly the best QPR in the group. 50+4+12+18+8=92

2005 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon
(Not the Estate)Purple in color with some ruby hues. Mostly opaque and bright. The nose has cassis and is slightly tart. Some Iodine and earthiness emerge with air but so does the alcohol. Eventually some glue notes too. On the palate, slightly raspberry notes to go with the cassis. Slightly bitter on the finish. This wine is austere and for me, lacked compared to the other wines. Still nice, but not in the same league. 50+4+12+16+6=88

2005 Harlan
Inky purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright. The nose has cassis, dust, roasted meat, pencil shaving. Someone said, melon and I agreed (in a good way). This wine was exceptionally well balanced. Layered tightly and complex. Medium tannins. Long finish. Started out great and did not budge. Needs five years minimum. Interestingly, it was polarizing. It got three first place votes (including mine) and 5 toward or at the bottom. An amazing wine IMO. Thanks Dick. 50+5+14+18+9=96

2005 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon Copper Streak Vineyard
Inky purple in color, shimmering bright. Stained the glass more than the rest. A nose of iodine, coffee, and cassis. Complex but not the blockbuster that other wines were. Mild tannins. Nice finish. 50+5+12+17+7=91

2005 Maybach Materium
Took some time to open up. Similar to the Schrader, this kept getting better all night long. A nose of cassis, iodine, roasted meat and coffee. Great fruit. Perhaps my favorite tasting wine of the night. Cassis, raspberries, kirsch layered with oak and smoke. Some heat on the finish which went away with air. Another wine that was a bit polarizing among the group though. 50+4+14+19+8=95

2005 Shaffer Cabernet Sauvignon One Point Five Stags Leap
Inky purple in color, ruby at the rim. Lots of alcohol on the nose at first. It took about an hour to come around. Cassis, spice, coffee on the nose. This was straightforward. With air it drank nicely with some heat. Red and black currants. Some heat on the finish. 50+4+13+17+7=91

2005 Ferrai-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma
From the Sonoma County part of Napa (apparently Scott doesn’t like to read to the end of the sentence ). Inky purple in color, some ruby hues, opaque and bright. The nose has iodine, cassis, coffee. Full bodied. This is more elegant than most of these wines. Nice complexity. It started to tail off towards the end in comparison. Still, a lovely wine that was probably the least over the top in oak. 50+4+13+18+7=92

For dessert:
2000 Croft
Decanted 24 hours. Ruby in color with some purple. Raisins on the nose with a bit of cherries. The palate was smooth and easy to drink. Still seemed a bit shut down for my tastes. Was it not ready or over decanted, our groups continues to debate. That said, a nice finish. 50+4+12+17+7=90

Churchill’s Crusted Port
Bottle 2002 and contains 2 vintages. Opened 2.5 hours. Ruby in color. The fruit is bright if not complex. Cherries and smoke. A bit tart on the finish. Interesting wine. Does this improve with age? 50+4+13+17+6=90

Having had this and the 04 with some of the Big Boys, I think Maybach deserves to be called a big boy on its own.

Maybach really is impressive. As is this lineup. Good stuff. Happy to read such nice notes, as always, Loren. Thanks.

Loren was it the 05’ or 06’ Maybach? The thread title says 05 and the thread says 06??
Loved the 05’ so much I bought the 06’ which I wanted to try tomorrow if I can find where I put it rolleyes rolleyes

BTW, my take is that young wines can be polarizing and are less so as they mature.

Thanks for the comments on the Mt. Veeder cab. I always make a point to pick up a few bottles every year. I agree that it’s a great QPR if you give it few years to come around. You can find it for around $28 a bottle pretty easily and it’s tough to beat.

The 05. Thanks. I think I was reading about the 06. I will edit above.

Thanks Loren…I did not get iodine on the Maybach when I had it in April though I love that profile on a wine…sort of blood like!!! The rest of your TN’s on that wine were very similar to mine.

I had a older Croft port (64???) about five years ago and loved it.

A few years back I was able to get the Mt Veeder cab through a friend and at a ridiculous close out price; something like $12-$15 a bottle…incredible QPR though it did not having the stuffing of the other wines you had. Still, an insane QPR.