I guess I am late to the party but…
We had a white wine lunch about a week ago where I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Bonner for the first time. He was kind enough to invite Rene S and I to the Cab based wines of the world bash at his new house.
Apparently there were a lot of wines. The generosity amongst the participants were unbelievable, Justin in particular went crazy, opening rare gems. Justin catered from ‘Jalapeño’ restaurant that provided an awesome feast. Justin had a beautiful backyard with a center fire place which caused me to be lazy and miss a lot of wines. I have not taken any formal notes hence very brief impressions. I am certain that other will chime in to fill in the blanks.
95 Tinto Pesquera 5L
85 Grace Family – Classic Grace Family cab, a bit austere and out of place. 93 pts
Sine Qua Non Rejuvenators – Seems SQN, not a big fan in his whites. 89 pts
03 Leoville Poyferre – Another great showing of this wine despite amongst the big Cali cabs. Great concentration, sweet fruit, not shutdown, Always consistent excellent. 97 pts
00 Chapoutier L’Oree – Great nose, flat mouthfeel due to lack of acidity 90 pts, need time
05 Aubert Lauren
04 Marcassin Estate Chard – Nice chardonnay, got some ginger and spicy oak 93 pts
05 Araujo Eisele
04 Shafer Hillside Select – Great fruit concentration, fresh sweet blue fruit, yummy but nice background structure 98 pts
03 Cos D’Estournel (I wore that one) – Apparently Justin got drunk early and broke the decanter j/k
98 Cheval Blanc – Justin worried about provenance, great showing, the gentleman who sat next to me mentioned classic Cab Franc nose and I dismissed his opinion, definitely classic Cab Franc nose, showed me that his nose is better than mine and I better be humble 98 pts
00 Chris Ringland Shiraz – Beautiful balance, mint but still an Aussie syrah with sweet fruit which I am not too crazy about 93 pts
87 Montelena Estate – Typical Montelena cab, also typical 80’s fruit driven cal cab, explosive nose, sweet jammy fruit, some may find it a bit volatile and funky. 97 pts
01 Yquem – Cork was a bit dry, the wine seemed a bit more advanced. Orange marmalade, orange rind, cotton candy, perfect balance but more orange than ginger and white pear. 97 pts which makes this bottle the lowest rated 01 Yquem for me.
05 Sine Qua Non Strawman
05 Hundred Acre (Kayli?)- This is their special Cab, very ripe jammy fruit but couldn’t detect the structure. 93 pts
01 Quilceda Creek – Burnt rubber, Kerosene, noticeable alcohol, not my cup of tea 89 pts
04 Delectus Julia Cuvee
97 Fisher Wedding (corked)
97 Diamond Creek Red Rock
97 Insignia
96 Bryant Family – Classic dill, at the perfect maturity, great fruit, silky texture drinking extremely well but no need to wait any longer 99 pts
06 Scarecrow
06 Schrader Beckstoffer T6 as I recall – a lot of everything, even bigger than the HSS? Perfect fruit, great structure 98 pts
05 Harlan Quite fresh, not over done, great wine with awesome structure 98 pts.
01 Paloma cabernet (my surprise of the night…probably Top 10)
Sasssaforte (vintage?)
04 Lewelling Wight
Sine Qua Non Numbers (magnum) Hedonistic high-end CDP nose but very clean, surprisingly complex and not overdone in any ways, perfect 99 pts
77 Fladgate Port
97 Dal Forno Recioto – What can I say? The 88 is one of my all time favorite young wine 100pts every time. This seems even bigger, hedonistic core fruit and perfect balance. However, having even bigger scale than the 88 overwhelmed me. 97 pts
95 Dal Forno Nettare
Great evening, extremely well done Mr. Bonner!