Cabs & Merlots -
Results from an mostly Cab tasting - Saturday, February 19, 2000, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Nineteen wines were poured for a tasting fee of $29.
The wines, in the order tasted:
'97 Erich Russell Merlot - Sonoma Co. $20.99. Medium dark ruby
color. Nose of cassis and anise. Sweet fruit, medium-long off-sweet finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'97 Adastra Merlot - Napa Valley. $23.99 Medium dark ruby color.
Nose of fleshy and stemmy fruit, with leafy cedar qualities. Medium, slightly
sour mouthfeel, off-sweet fruit at mid-palate, and medium-long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B
'96 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon - Mendoza, Argentina. $14.99. Medium
dark garnet ruby color. Nose of smoky cassis, oak, anise, and a bit of
funk. On the palate, off-sweet sour fruit and oak flavors, with an oak-driven
finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'97 Havens Bourriquot - Napa Valley. $29.99. Dark ruby
color. Nose of cassis, blueberry, anise, and mint. Semi-sweet mouthfeel,
soft tannins. The fruit's real nice, if a bit restrained or understated.
2/3 CF, 1/3 Merlot.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'97 Delille Cellars Chaleur Estate - Washington. $48.99.
Dark ruby color. Dense, fleshy nose, with wood, cassis, and shoe polish.
Off-sweet chewy dusty mouthfeel, with cassis and oak flavors, and soft
tannins.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'97 Andrake Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - Washington. $31.99. Very
young purple ruby color. Major oak in the nose, with shoe polish, cassis,
and cheese aromas. Dry mouthfeel, soft tannins, coarse off-sweet fruit.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'97 Michel Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon - Dry Creek Valley. $19.99.
Dark ruby color. Reasonably complex nose of shoe polish, cassis, and anise.
Sweet fruit and mouthfeel , very long finish. Nicely made.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'97 Pezzi King Cabernet Sauvignon - Dry Creek Valley. $20.99.
Dark ruby color. Nose of cassis, cheddar, oak, shoe polish. Sweet fruit,
slightly dry mouthfeel with good palate coverage, and medium-long finish
with a bit of bitterness apparent.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'96 Clos du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon Briarcrest - Alexander
Valley. $27.99. Medium garnet ruby color. Nose of cassis, and vanilla.
Slightly sweet soft fruit, with moderate body and palate coverage, and
medium-long fruity finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'97 August Briggs Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma Mtn. $37.99. Dark
violet ruby color. Big nose of cassis, and anise. Also, large mouthfeel
of spicy semi-sweet and chewy fruit. Very fruit-driven across the palate,
with a medium-long slightly sour finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: A-
'96 St. Francis Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sonoma Valley.
(magnum) $99.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Leafy herbaceous nose, with
oak, shoe polish, cheddar, and burnished black cherry. Sweet fruit on
dry and coarse mouthfeel, very long finish. Nice complexity in the nose,
but it seems to have been created in Woodshop II, rather than Winemaking
IV.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
'97 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Saratoga Cuvee - California.
$18.99. Dark garnet ruby color. Nose of cassis, anise, shoe polish.
Effusive with its sweet oak and fruit, but nose lacks something in complexity.
Sweet fruit, good slightly coarse palate coverage, long finish. Somewhat
better than a quaffer, this would be a great value for a five bucks less.
Unfortunately, the California appellation and grocery store price will
keep this wine from getting a nod by many. By the way, it should be pointed
out that this label is in no way affiliated with the original Martin Ray
winery.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B+ Overall score: B
'97 Random Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $24.99. Dark
violet ruby color. Nose of sweet cassis, anise, cheese. Sour and tart
mouthfeel, good palate coverage, long finish. The nose promises more than
the mouth delivers, and the fruit seems a bit underripe.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B
'95 Rutz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $14.99. Medium-dark
ruby garnet color. Ripe burnished cassis nose. Sweet-sour mouthfeel and
fruit, good coverage, good balance, long finish.
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B
'97 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. (magnum) $49.99.
Dark ruby color. Big nose of ripe cassis, anise, and vanilla. Sweet fruit
fruit, excellent balance sweet long finish. Textbook Napa Cab - just a
shade less dense and complex than the Phelps Insignia. At $25/bottle,
$50 magnum - are you kidding? It's a no-brainer - if any's left.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'96 S. Anderson Cabernet Sauvignon Chambers Vnyd - Napa Valley.
$54.99. Medium dark ruby color. Effusive nose of cassis, cheese and
shoe polish. Tart and slightly sour mouthfeel, with sweet-sour finish.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B Overall score: B+
'97 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon 16th Anniversary Release - Howell
Mtn. $79.99. Very dark garnet ruby color. Slightly restrained nose
of cassis, shoe polish, and cheese. Big mouthfeel, soft tannins and oak,
very long smooth finish. Really nice, but falls a bit short of previous
efforts. And at $80 - it's a nope.
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-
'96 Harrison Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $79.99.
Very dark violet ruby color. Very dense nose of cassis, mint, vanilla,
and cedar, with the vaguest hint of beet. Huge chewy steak of a mouthfeel,
semi-sweet fruit, massive coverage on palate, smooth and staggeringly
long finish. Yep, it's in there!
Aroma score: A Taste score: A Overall score: A
'95 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $74.99. Dark
garnet ruby color. Restrained nose of burnished black cherry, anise, spicy
oak. Mouthfeel is dusty and toasty, with cassis flavors and long finish.
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+
___________________
Overall impressions: well, all I can say is that the Harrison has no business being this good and this expensive at the same time. This is really a nice wine, and they apparently know it. For my tastes, given the same price category, it embarrasses the La Jota, and blows the doors off the Silver Oak. The Joseph Phelps has got to be the current $25-30 Cab champion. Beautiful aromas and textures for a [still] reasonable price. The August Briggs Sonoma Mtn bottling is only slightly less beautiful than the Napa bottling, and a very fine wine.
Disappointments: the St. Francis seems very overpriced, especially
for its oaky content. And, the S. Anderson didn't quite have the
stuffing or elegance to capture my attention. Finally, the La Jota
may indeed come around, but it wouldn't be where my money was at the time.
___________________
Here is my relative ranking, by tier and in order of preference, of the wines tasted.
'96 Harrison Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $79.99.
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'97 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. (magnum) $49.99.
'97 August Briggs Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma Mtn. $37.99.
'97 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon 16th Anniversary Release - Howell
Mtn. $79.99.
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'95 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $74.99.
'96 St. Francis Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Sonoma Valley. (magnum)
$99.99.
'97 Havens Bourriquot - Napa Valley. $29.99.
'97 Delille Cellars Chaleur Estate - Washington. $48.99.
'97 Michel Schlumberger Cabernet Sauvignon - Dry Creek Valley. $19.99.
'96 S. Anderson Cabernet Sauvignon Chambers Vnyd - Napa Valley.
$54.99.
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'97 Adastra Merlot - Napa Valley. $23.99
'97 Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon Saratoga Cuvee - California.
$18.99.
'97 Erich Russell Merlot - Sonoma Co. $20.99.
'96 Clos du Bois Cabernet Sauvignon Briarcrest - Alexander Valley.
$27.99.
'97 Pezzi King Cabernet Sauvignon - Dry Creek Valley. $20.99.
'96 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon - Mendoza, Argentina. $14.99.
'97 Andrake Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - Washington. $31.99.
'95 Rutz Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $14.99.
'97 Random Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $24.99.
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