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2000 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Éloge - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/31/2011)
Drank this over two nights. Popped and poured the first night, and this showed a very nice mix of fruit, mostly black and redcurrant but also a hint of plum. A touch of spice from the nicely integrated french oak, maybe a hint of cedar. Maybe a tiny note of green, but really only if you’re looking for it. A smooth and elegant texture, with quite a bit of drying tannin on the back end that had a slightly bitter chocolate flavor (I find this flavor a lot in tannins) and detracted a touch from the finish.
On day, that drying tannin had almost completely disappeared, perhaps just a touch of grip left, but no bitterness at all, and this is much better for it. A wider range of fruit now – still mainly black and redcurrant, but also plum, blackberry, and raspberry (probably from the significant amount of cab franc in the blend). Still very elegant. Totally lacking the density and glycerin that characterizes a lot of modern napa cab. Neither especially sweet nor especially tart, nicely poised and balanced. This could easily be mistaken for Bordeaux, although the cab sav/cab franc blend is unusual there. Long fruit finish, with a touch of tartness to the fruit from the acid. The wine was growing in power as I finished the bottle. My only question is how long to wait before I open the one I have left. (92 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker
Interesting to drink this in light of the recent conversation about the evolution of cabernet in california. 2000 is pretty widely regarded I think as the worst vintage of the last 15-20 years. The label says these grapes were picked at 22.9 brix, and the alcohol is listed as 12.9%. While it didn’t exactly sing with some roast chicken, it also didn’t overpower it either. Based on how primary this was and that it improved on day 2, I think this is still a few years from peak, and could easily go 5-10 years more. I think this could get better if it can add some of that aged bordeaux-like complexity. A very nice value for $40, a price at which it’s still pretty widely available.