Jane and I celebrated our 17th anniversary with Tom and Kathy who were also celebrating their anniversary. We went to Lago in Cleveland’s Tremont district. The food was excellent and the service impecable. The wines were from 1992 and 2005, as those were the anniversary years.
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2005 Seven Stones Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (10/11/2009)
The unanimous WOTN on a table filled with great wines. This is drinking great. Sweet cassis fruit and some cherries as well. Great purity. Complex in spite of its youthfulness. This did not dominate the food but rather matched nicely. No sign of heat. We popped and poured and it was great. Some oak but with the fruit and structure to stand up to it. Well done Aaron and Roy. (96 pts.) -
1992 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (10/11/2009)
Purple in color with some ruby at the rim. No sign of bricking. This was decanted and served. In a great place right now. Complex aromas of tobacco and cassis. Layered nuances on both the nose and palate. Improved all night long. This bottle was in excellent shape. A glass sent back to the kitchen staff at Lago’s was warmly appreciated. Went great with sun dried tomato gnocchi. (94 pts.) -
2005 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley (10/11/2009)
Popped and poured. This took a couple of hours to hit its stride. I would describe this as more masculine in style compared to the Seven Stones which I found interesting as the winemakers are the other way around. This has strong cassis fruit and is a powerful wine. Plenty of smoke and vanilla notes. Quite delicous as well although it was a tougher match with the food. I suspect it would go better with non-vegetarian fare (Tom?). All that said, I would happily drink this any time over the next twenty years. It certainly needs more time before opening. (94 pts.) -
1992 Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (10/11/2009)
This actually took about an hour to open. No signs of oxidation. It was not the most complex wine, but was still in great shape. Showing some butterscotch notes to match with the grapefruit. It is round but still with a backbone. I went back to it at dessert and it had really opened up. (91 pts.) -
2005 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer “Hugel” - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC (10/11/2009)
Tom and Kathy had this open when we arrived. I love the nose on Gewurz. This was great with Lychees and a nice mineral streak. Thick texture. Almost bone dry with just a hint of sweetness. No bitterness on the finish that often mars this grape. Held up well all night long. No signs of being too old. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. (90 pts.) -
2005 Etude Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford (10/11/2009)
Opened a bit later in the evening. This was nice. It showed classic California Cab features including a bit too much oak, plenty of ripe cassis and some heat. Thinner and less velvety than the other wines, it just seem to lack the quality of the other wines. On another night, it would make for a delicious wine. Tom seemed to like it more than I. Still young, but never seemed to change over the evening. (89 pts.)
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