TN: Blind High-end Cali Cab Tasting

WINE TALK
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BLIND HIGH-END CALI CAB TASTING - Ken’s Place (1/1/2010)

An embarrassment of riches on this New Years day tasting. Theme was “well respected” Cali Cabs from the 2000’s and, oh boy, did the group over-deliver on that theme! With each flight better than the prior we truly got a glimpse of some of the best Cali has to offer in Cabernet. Clearly the forward “Foley” style wines did well in the blind format, but just about all of these wines has the potential to be outstanding if not classic (95+).
FLIGHT ONE
The Rivers Marie and ACV stuck out for me in this flight. With the RM showing better initially but the ACV edging it out for wine of the flight. Both are crazy good values given Napa pricing these days.

  • 2004 Carina Cellars Iconoclast - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    Ruby color. Nose of fresh red berries and light herbs. Palate is smooth with straight forward red fruits, blueberry and chocolate. Some gritty tannins on the finish provide grip. Group’s 4 of 4. (90 pts.)
  • 2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky purple in color. Nose starts tight but picks up to reveal red fruits and currants. Palate is round with rich fruit and crunchy tannin. Terrific balance. Long finish has sweet red fruit, tobacco, herbs and mocha. Group’s 2 of 4. (94 pts.)
  • 2002 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Deep ruby color. Nose of cranberry, herbs, licorice and spice. Round, rich fruited palate has a beautiful classic herb and bell pepper note. Keeps getting better and better in the glass. Full bodied with nice chewy tannins. Long flavorful, fresh finish. Group’s 1 of 1. (95 pts.)
  • 2004 Terlato Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Episode - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
    Deep ruby color. Full nose is candied with sweet red fruit, blueberries, mocha and a cotton candy note. Round and rich in the mouth. Tannins not yet integrated and clip the finish. Should improve – but no doubt that this is Cali Cab given the flavor profile. Groups 3 of 4. (91 pts.)

FLIGHT TWO
With random fighting this “Foley Fest” was meant to be. Very forward and rich wines with a massive YUM factor. Hard to pick a favorite among the first three.

  • 2006 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky black. Explosive nose of creamy black fruit, chocolate, herbs and green pepper. Palate is big, rich and creamy with layers of massive fruit. Very well balanced but unquestionably rich and low acid in style. Long, creamy, delicious finish. Groups 2 of 4. (96 pts.)
  • 2003 Delectus Cuvée Julia - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky black. Full, explosive, layered nose of black fruit, asphalt and herbs. Big, rich and tannic on the palate – just huge. Rich red fruit, mocha, coffee, chocolate. Creamy massive fruit is well matched with big tannin. Crazy long. Delicious. Groups 3 of 4. (97 pts.)
  • 2002 Robert Foley Claret - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
    Dark ruby. Soaring nose of currants, dark chocolate. Full bodied, with chocolaty red fruit, mint, herbs. Long, big-time finish. Groups 2 of 4. (95 pts.)
  • 2005 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky black. Rich, ultra-sweet nose. Full of jammy fruit, blackberry pie. Full bodied with jammy ultra-ripe fruit and toasty oak. Even in this massive, forward fruit flight — this one seemed over the top. Seems to get more tame with air. Picks up some herbs and nuance. I’ve liked this more in the past. A controversial wine - half the group rated this #1 and very highly the other half towards the bottom. Groups 4 of 4. (91 pts.)

FLIGHT THREE

  • 2004 Harlan Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky ruby. Full, smoky nose of milk chocolate and rich dark fruit. Rich and chocolaty palate. Long and rich across the palate. Shows some heat on the finish. Groups 3 of 4. (92 pts.)
  • 1997 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Dark ruby. Nose shows dull and older with cumin and tomato. Palate seems thin. Shocking to see this as over-the-hill. Hopefully just a bad bottle. Groups 4 of 4. NR (flawed)
  • 2005 Robert Foley Claret - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
    Inky purple. Huge nose is young, primary and not yet delineated. Mocha and some heat. Palate is huge with rich, massive fruits, mocha and toasty oak. Big tannins on the finish. Delicious – in a raw and rough around the edges manner. Groups 1 of 4. (94 pts.)
  • 2006 D.R. Stephens Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa Valley Lot 203 - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky purple. Full nose of rich red fruit with a big kick of herbs and green pepper. Round palate is richly fruited with red currants, chocolate and green herbs. Delicious for its fruit and herby complexity. Great balance with smooth tannins. Long. Groups 2 of 4. (95 pts.)

FLIGHT FOUR
Notes fading fast after 12 wines!

  • 2004 Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
    Purple. Nose shows primary red fruits with some underlying herb notes. Smooth and suave palate has medium to full bodied fruit. Great integration and length. Bright fruit shows nice delineation across the palate. Group’s 4 of 4. (93 pts.)
  • 2004 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Thorevilos - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Very dark ruby. Nose starts tight. Opens to reveal dried chocolate and currants. Medium to full bodied palate. This is just beautiful with an impeccable balance of big fruit and nuance. High quality fruit is well married with chalky, dusty tannin. Long finish. This should age for years and years. Groups 3 of 4. (96 pts.)
  • 2003 Harlan Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Inky ruby. Shy nose of currants and herbs. Smooth with effortless rich fruit. Suave tannins. Opens and gains weight, length and complexity. Groups 1 of 4. (94 pts.)
  • 2003 Harlan Estate The Maiden - USA, California, Napa Valley
    Purple color. Reticent nose. Medium-to-full bodied fruits. High quality, sweet red fruits. Groups 2 of 4. (91 pts.)

FLIGHT FIVE - 100 POINT BONUS WINES
Thank you, Ken. Very generous!

  • 2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
    Dark purple. Full nose with bright, rich berries. Palate has big-time fruit. Very bright and high toned with loads of pepper and spice. Good balance for the waves of rich fruit. Delicious. (95 pts.)
  • 2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
    Dark ruby to purple. Nose is full of red berries and herbs. Palate has rich, bright fruit (cherry, blueberry, raspberry) and loads of herbs. High toned. Long finish with waves and waves of flavor. (97 pts.)

Thanks to all for their generosity in kicking off the new year!
Posted from CellarTracker

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i am finding it harder & harder to splurge on Cali Cab that is considerably more expensive than Anderson’s CVV.

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Hey Rich!

Great to see you posting here. Quite an embarrassment of riches you guys had there. Not exactly my style (or my league) for a lot of them, but I’m really pleased to see the ACV performed so well. I’m still sitting on a few bottles of the '02, along with some other vintages, so it’s nice to see such a positive note. The RM also sounds right up my alley, but I’ve never tasted one.

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I’m so surprised that Delectus gets so little attention on wine bb. Great notes BTW.

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Definitely my kind of tasting! Wow…some of my favorites. I was particularly impressed with the 2003 Harlan. A great wine for a so-so vintage. Araujo 97…I love that wine…always delivered.

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Thought a good place to add my notes:

New Year’s Day Cali Cabernets of the 2000s Retrospective. Wines were served in flights blind to the participants, who were asked to rate them using a 100 point scale (M refers to my rating, G to group average). I don’t normally score wines, so while are certainly made with reference to this scale, they’re probably more useful as a relative rating among these wines than an absolute measure of quality (e.g., 80 was my lowest rating and is reflective of the fact that I didn’t like this [flawed] wine, rather than the standard “good” that an 80 is meant to represent).

Flight 1
2004 Carina Cellars Iconoclast
Cabernet-Syrah blend (~70% Cab). Dark fruits, graphite notes, with some vanilla and chocolate oak influence. Ripe, bold wine. Fine tannins. Some heat. Syrah not particularly evident. M92/G92.3

2004 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark, ripe fruits and vanilla notes. Ripe and forward. A bit muted on the palate with some restrained green notes showing through. M93/G93.9

2002 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
More classic styling and less overt ripeness. Red fruits. Very fine tannins. Some heat comes through on the finish. M91/G92.6

2004 Terlato Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Episode
Some dark and blue fruit notes. Good weight. Firm structure. Ripe. Modern styling. M93/G91.9

Flight 2

2006 Hourglass Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark, sexy, ripe wine. Loads of chocolate with some floral undertones. Fine tannins. Some heat but not overdone. M95/G94.5

2003 Delectus Cuvée Julia
Some coffee grounds and mint notes. Sharp, fine, gripping tannins. Rich red fruits. Young. Big wine. M93/G93.5

2002 Robert Foley Claret
Cool, blue fruits and chocolate. Weighty. A bit clipped on the finish. Firm tannins. M95/G93.9

2005 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard
Really ripe, to the point of portyness. Dark. Some VA on the finish. Dark fruits. M89/G92.9

Flight 3

2004 Harlan Estate
Chocolate and dark fruit notes. Porty and sweet. Fine tannins. Some VA and lots of alcohol. Over the top. Better integration with time. M87/G90.8

1997 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
VA. Dull flavors and tannins. Strange superposition of youthful fruit and older notes. Seems cooked. M80/G87.6

2005 Robert Foley Claret
Dark with sweet red fruit undertones. Relatively coarse tannins. Lots of alcohol evident. M92/G93.6

2006 D.R. Stephens Cabernet Sauvignon Premiere Napa Valley Lot 203
Red fruit shows nice restraint but lacks some in body. Fine tannins. Some heat. M91/G92.0

Flight 4 - All provided by the host for the final flight but still served blind to the tasters (where the host didn’t know the order).

2004 Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium
Muted nose - some red fruit hints. Rich, pure palate. High pitched minty, fine tannins. Hot. Weighty palate. M92/G92.8

2004 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Thorevilos
Chocolate and dark, sweet fruits. Big wine. Fine, minty tannins. Weighty, full-bodied wine. Came together better with time. M92/G92.9

2003 Harlan Estate
Chocolate covered cherry and red/black fruit notes. Some heat, but not overdone. Pure flavors. Fine tannins. Weighty. M94/G94.4

2003 Harlan Estate The Maiden
Some pine notes. Restrained red fruits. Raw, coarse tannins. Alcohol in check. M93/G93.3

A couple of additions from the host - we were told the wines but they were blinded so it was unclear which was which. I think most tasters were able to pick out the CdP from the New World wine.

2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
Anise and spice. Really big, with lots of heat showing. Floral, sweet fruit. Some tar notes. Full-bodied, flashy wine. Masked structure. Needs to settle down.

2007 Clos Saint Jean Châteauneuf-du-Pape Deus-Ex Machina
Really big wine. Leather, anise, floral - lots happening on the nose. Rocket fuel palate - huge body and lots of heat. Great aromatics, but needs time to settle down. Fun wine - very different take on CdP.

Great time - lots of generosity shown by the host and other tasters.

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Hi Jamie!

Long time. Yeah - unfortunately work travel and fatherhood have kept me from posting much as well as seriously limiting my wine dinners / tastings.

That ACV is a classy wine and will only get better. I think the RM with some age would be your kind of wine too.

Hopefully we can get together soon. One of my 2010 wine resolutions is to dive into Burgundy. Could always use some help and guidance in that hopeless endeavor!

Rich

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Thanks for the notes!

I’ve had great success with the 2002 vintage in California. I don’t know if I was too late for the hype train, but it seems like people don’t really talk about that vintage very much – which is how I like it.

The Egelhoff and Conn Valley efforts from that year in particular stand out in my mind. Also Diamond Creek. Good times.

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Rich,

wow, Burgundy, huh? I’m sure we’ll be able to round up some willing participants to help you out with that. I, however, am in Germany for the year and am only going to be back in Chicago briefly a couple of times. Possibly long enough to get a tasting together, but possibly not. We’ll have to see. But in any case, I’ll definitely look forward to sharing a glass with you sometime in the nearish future.

Best,
Jamie