I have a double deep racking system in my cellar and have gotten lazy on my inventory.
Found this bottle… Oh well this one will be long gone… Surprise! The wine was fantastic!
The wine was incredibly balanced and demonstrated nice nuances of dark fruit and leather-tobacco undertones. Great floral bouquet kept on coming through as the wine evolved. Decanted for about 1 hour. The interesting thing to me was that the alcohol was 13.6%. Hmmmm…
St. Clement had a nice stretch of wines from 90 to 97. Darn solid QPR’s. I also liked their Howell Mtn cab.
Nothing better than sitting on their swing watching the traffic go by on 29 with a glass in your hand.
I like their Merlot and their blends from the 90s as well. More recent versions have been full of spoof.
I have a 6L of this in the cellar. Maybe it’s time to have a party.US open week sounds about right since we will have a big crowd at our house for the week. Thanks for the update.
Dennis Johns was the winemaker in the 90’s (1997 was his last) and he did some very good things. When Saporo bought the winery, it had an ill effect. The 1991 is absolutely killer if you can find it.
And Aaron Pott was the winemaker from 2001-2004.
This was one of the wines we poured at our wedding. Indeed they had a nice run with it 90-97. We got extras so we could revisit them over the years. I think I’ve had a couple over the past three years. Beyond their peak to me, but developing some tertiary stuff that keeps them interesting and enjoyable. I plan on trying another this year for our 15th and saving the last couple in hopes they’re drinkable at 20 & 25.
I have come to really like the 2010 Napa Cab. Been stocking up for a year or more. Then, I noticed some 2003 and later 1983 ones on WineBid.com. Picked them up and, Hello, the 32-year-old-almost was awesome. And by awesome I mean that it still tasted like a decent cab. It was not oxidized, and actually had no noticeable flaws. It was just beginning to orange-up around the edge, but did not show in the nose or mouth. I was stunned that I could buy a 1983 CA cab for $20 and have it be a great drink with steaks.
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1996 St. Clement Cabernet Sauvignon Oroppas - USA, California, Napa Valley (1/3/2006)
A bit funky on the nose at first as we decanted it, but it blew off very quickly. Strong flavor of red fruit and pleasant woodsy earthiness, with a bit of mushroom. Well balanced acid. High alcohol content not overpowering. Fully mature. (93 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
I think I bought this at the winery in 1998. Met the winemaker. Do not remember his name. Bought about 6 bottles of assorted cabs. Enjoyed every one of them. The Howell Mountain was especially good. The winemaker wanted to make a point about decanting so he pulled two bottles out of the same case, violently splash decanted one into a plastic pitcher, had me turn my back, and then poured one glass of the decanted bottled and one from the bottle that was not decanted into two glasses. I tasted them both and it was like two different wines.
This was the first “good” wine I ever bought-recommended by the local liquor store. Forgot the price but it sure seemed like a lot for a bottle of wine. But it was yummy, and jump started me on the wine road.
Boy, that’s a name from the past. I remember their wines from the 80s and the dentist (doctor?) who owned it then. I haven’t seen their label in years. How available are they?
I always liked the St. Clement Cabs and Sauv Blancs. I believe Dennis Johns was the winemaker from 1980 to 1998. I can’t remember the exact year Sapporo bought them but I think it was around 1987? I always enjoyed visiting the tasting room back in the day.
Well, speaking from California:
Total Wine
Costco (sometimes)
Vons
Bevmo (sometimes)
Price varies from $20-$30.
A very good cab. 2010 is very a great deal and WA91. St. Clement advertises that their 2011 Oroppas received a VAG94, but I have not tried it.