“CULT WINES” - Jason’s House (2/22/2020)
Guys night at Jason’s house. The unanimous red wine of the night was the 1994 Angelus. The 2001 Yquem probably beat it (I was going to say trumped it but that doesn’t have a positive meaning to me right now) and the Aubert followed with a great showing. Jason provided some wonderful sushi, raw tuna, salad, lamb rib, beef tenderloin, and cheesecake to complement the wines. Awesome.
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2002 Lanson Champagne Gold Label Brut - France, Champagne
Drank a good-sized glass over about 45 minutes. This champagne is so lively, crisp and fresh. There is bread dough, lemon, and some apple. Overall, the liveliness and intensity are impressive. (92 pts.) -
2008 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne Brut Rosé Vintage - France, Champagne
This wine is quite red fruited. There is evident pinot noir that offer cherry, raspberry and some orange peel. This wine is rich and earthy. I would love to try this in 5+ years. I wish I’d bought some on release. (92 pts.) -
2013 Varner Chardonnay Spring Ridge Vineyard Amphitheater Block - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
I got a fair amount of oak on this initially, and then it blew off. You are then left with the spice and slight vanilla from the oak, along with lemon oil, tangerine, a touch of butterscotch, and a briny mineral quality that balances is out. I’m not familiar with this producer, but this bottle made me stand up and take notice. (93 pts.) -
2016 Aubert Chardonnay Larry Hyde & Sons - USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Yet another example of why I love Aubert. There is flint, sulfur, married with golden raisin and tropical fruits. the intensity is profound. This is another example where an Aubert had me initially score it 93, then raise to 94, and finally landed at 95. And I wouldn’t argue if you felt it merited a 96. (95 pts.)
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1994 Château Angélus - France, Bordeaux, Libournais, St. Émilion Grand Cru
This was a pop and pour. On the nose, I got iodine, red fruit, plum, a tiny bit of funk, flowers, cassis, some leather and cigar box. The nose is just gangbusters. The palate started out hollow and austere. It managed to open up over an hour of glass time, but it never matched the nose.
This was the consensus red wine of the night, and a real treat.
As this was a “Cult wine” theme, we had discussion about what that meant. For this wine, we felt that it somewhat qualified due to James Bond et al having elevated this property to quasi-cult status. We also were all grateful to get to drink this, even if it didn’t have cult status. (95 pts.)
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2007 Dana Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Lotus Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
1 hour decant. For the 3 Napa wines tonight, this was the most integrated, with nice secondary characteristics. There also was a touch of bitterness that crept in later. I got lots of red to blue fruit, along with vanilla. It seemed slightly savory, with a feminine perfumed quality. I personally felt it was slightly behind the Schrader and the MacDonald. (91 pts.) -
2008 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To-Kalon Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Pop and pour, let sit in the glass for 30 minutes before I tried it. So I wrote “cocktail wine” for the Dana, the Schrader and the MacDonald. This wine was dense, jammy, with some brambly underbrush nuances that tried to keep it balanced. It also has a lot of “stuffing”, the tannin is very present and I think a few more years will serve this wine well. There is also an extracted quality that makes this wine extraordinarily dense.
Blueberries, black currant, this was the classiest of the 3 Napa wines tonight. (92 pts.) -
2014 MacDonald Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Decanted for 8 hours. The dominating flavors are berries and a ton of vanilla. There is red fruit and dusty chocolate. The wine has an extracted, intense profile while still managing to be smooth. The term “slutty” comes to mind. There was no noticeable alcohol, and a whole lot of fruit. The 6 of us had a lengthy discussion about whether these wines will age gracefully, and we did not reach a consensus. Nonetheless, based on this wine, I will not open another MacDonald until it is at least 10 years old, preferably 15 or 20. (92 pts.)
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2001 Château d’Yquem - France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes
Keep in mind that this wine was the 10th of the night for the 6 of us, so I may be spitballing here. The expectation was high for this wine, and it had that Yquem quality in spades. I just don’t know that it surpassed many of the other experiences I’ve had with this producer from less heralded vintages. In fact, a 2009 seemed much more compelling a few years ago. I’m going to chaulk this up to a crazy high expectation and already being underserved. (If you’re keeping track, I’m explaining why I ONLY scored this a 97).
Onto the good stuff. Elegance on top of elegance, nothing out of place. What a glorious nose, it is singing to you. You have all the usual suspects from a Sauternes, orange peel, stone fruits, baking spice, brulee, burnt sugar, caramel. What is so fascinating about the best Sauternes producers (or those that got lucky in a good year) is how it is all seemlessly integrated that you have to work to hunt down a distinct flavor. Seemless… just not the best Sauternes I’ve ever had, which was my expectation. (97 pts.)
I think the most experienced of us were keeping a positive thought for the “cult” Napa wines. To my way of thinking, they performed exactly as I expected, although I was that was better. And it’s totally unfair to compare a 2007 or a 2012 Napa cab to an older Bordeaux. To me, though, there’s no question what I want to drink.