Cabernet Shootout -

Notes and impressions from a Cabernet-themed tasting - Saturday, Sept 23, 2000, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-two wines were poured for a tasting fee of $20. All of the wines were served single blind, with voting tabulated for the top three wines by each participant.

The wines, in the order tasted:

1997 Antinori Tenuta Belvedere Guado al Tasso - Bolgheri, Italy. $59.99. Dark garnet color. Nose of cassis, mocha, oak, lots of shaved chocolate, along with a hint of cedar. Nice semi-sweet cassis fruit, good balance, with light oak and a slightly acid-driven finish. (60% Cab, 30% Mer, 10% Syr.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B+

1997 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $89.99. Dark garnet color. Nose of cassis, with a lightly herbaceous and earthy quality, as well as oak and dark olive. Very chewy mouthfeel, good concentration, with lots of chocolate/cassis flavors, stays tasty through long finish. (91% CS, 8% CF, 1% PV.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Grosset Gaia - Clare Valley. $35.99. Very dark ruby garnet color. Tight and brooding nose of dark olive and oak, with cassis and chocolate aromas along with a hint of cedar. Slightly sweet fruit, big and chewy mouthfeel. Very tasty, if a bit chalky in tannins. (75% CS, 29% CF, 5% Mer.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1995 Ch. Lynch Bages - Pauillac. $65.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Moderately herbaceous nose, with cedar, oak, and camphor. Slightly and tart fruity initially, the mouthfeel seems to sweeten up a bit with time. Somewhat chewy mouthfeel, with moderately long finish. (Vineyard: 73% CS, 15% Mer, 10% CF, 2% PV.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B+

1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages - Sonoma County. $79.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Sweet ripe cassis fruit in the nose, with a fabulous complex toasty and herbaceous quality. Mouth-filling fruit and ripe mouthfeel, with a long toasty and tasty finish. (75% CS, 11% Mer, 8% CF, 3% Malbec, 3% PV.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 De Lille Cellars Chaleur Estate - Washington $48.99. Dark ruby color. Slightly herbaceous nose of oak, hardwoods, ripe cassis, with hints of Port and mocha. Slightly sweet mouthfeel, that seems a bit thin in fruit. Toasty, but slightly thin finish. (66% CS, 24% Mer, 10% CF.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B Overall score: B+

1997 Frazier Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $35.99. Very dark ruby color. Beautiful complex nose of mocha, chocolate, cassis, oak, and toast. Slightly sweet and ripe. Thick and chewy mouthfeel, smooth tannins. Seems very well made, with smooth long finish that has a nice bite at the edge. (unknown %s)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Cape d'Estaing Cabernet Sauvignon - Kangaroo Island. $39.99. Very, very dark purple ruby color. Big nose of cassis, toast, dark olive, cedar, and oak. Huge mouthfeel, off-sweet fruit, with a touch of tartness that is all but obscured by the massive frame. (unknown %s)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1996 Waiheke Vineyards Cabernet/Merlot Te Motu - NZ. $39.99. Medium dark garnet color. A bit stinky and cheesy in the nose, with aromas of oak, cassis and stewed tomatoes. Slightly sweet mouthfeel, but also a bit chalky through latter palate, leading to a somewhat thin finish. (56%CS, 44% Mer.)
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 Clarendon Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Sandown - South Australia. $39.99. Very dark ruby color. Big complex nose of ripe cassis and toast, with additional aromas of chocolate, cassis, and cedar. Beautiful! Huge ripe cassis-filled mouthfeel, with lots of chewy fruit and long smooth finish. (100% CS.)
Aroma score: A Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

1997 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 - South Australia. $65.99. Very dark garnet ruby color. Nose of black cherry, perfume, toast, and chocolate-cassis. The fruit seems very concentrated, with slightly tart edges, and a long toasty finish. The slight hole in the center-palate is the only shortcoming of this fabulous wine. (100% CS.)
Aroma score: A+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1995 Ch. Leoville Barton - St. Julien. $49.99. Dark garnet color. Nose of oak, cheese, dark olive, and cassis. Slightly tart and a bit sour fruit fades to an oaky toastiness at finish. (Vineyard: 72% CS, 20% Mer, 8% CF.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B Overall score: B

1997 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $49.99. Dark garnet ruby color. Sweet ripe nose, with hints of tar and brandy, sweet toast, and a touch of oak. On the palate, there is tasty toast and cassis, leading to a long smooth finish. Rather than a chewy blockbuster, this is a carefully-made complex and elegant wine. Reminded me somewhat of a Peter Michael style of Cab.(94% CS, 3% Mer, 3% CF.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

1995 Ch. Clerc Milon - Pauillac. $47.99. Very dark ruby garnet color. Nose of cassis, milk chocolate, cheese, toast cedar and a hint of herb. Somewhat tart and sour fruit gets saved a bit by the nice toasty and mouth mouthfeel. (Vineyard: 70%, 20% Mer, 10 CF.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

1998 Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa. $23.99. Dark ruby color. Herbal and leafy in the nose, with aromas of pine and cedar. Initially acidic and oaky, the wine displays some decent fruit, leading to a long finish, that's unfortunately thin, oaky, and leafy. (100% CS.)
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1995 San Leonardo - Alto Adige, Italy. $42.99. Dark garnet color. Nose that is inky, cheesy, oaky, toasty, and leafy, yet still remains interesting. Leafy and steely mouthfeel, that also comes across a bit thin in fruit. (60% CS, 30% CF, 10% Mer.)
Aroma score: B Taste score: B Overall score: B

1997 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $64.99. Dark ruby color. Nose of sweet toasty cassis, cedar, and toast. The mouth doesn't quite live up to the advance billing, and the fruit seems to be the tiniest bit thin, yet does continue through long finish. (88% CS, 10% Mer, 2% CF.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 Almaviva - Chile. $47.99. Very dark ruby color. Nose of ink, toast, and cassis. Very toasty mouthfeel, with flavors of anise, and olive, leading to a long toasty finish. (Vineyard: 70%, 20% Mer, 10 CF.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1998 Geoff Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon Kuitpo - Adelaide Hills, Australia. $27.99. Very dark ruby-violet color. Nose of ripe black cherry, toast, and anise. Decent mouthfeel, with a tart quality to the fruit and long slightly hot finish. (100% CS.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B Overall score: B

1997 Seña - Chile. $42.99. Very dark ruby color. Herbaceous nose of earth, rose petal, and anise. Tasty, rich, concentrated fruit, with a somewhat steely long finish. (60% CS, 30% CF, 10% Mer.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: B Overall score: B

1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - Washington. $47.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Nose of cassis with a bit of leaf and anise. Nice and toasty mouthfeel; lots of very tasty fruit. (88% CS, 10% Mer, 2% CF.)
Aroma score: B+ Taste score: B+ Overall score: B+

1997 Merryvale Profile - Napa Valley. $64.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Lovely complex nose of toast, cassis, and grilled cheese with a bit of leaf. Lots of tasty black cherry fruit and toast across the palate, with smooth tannins and a long finish. (unknown %s of CS, Mer, CF.)
Aroma score: A- Taste score: A- Overall score: A-

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Overall impressions: well, if nothing else, this was a chance to compare the likes of Caymus, the [in]famous Cinq Cepages, and the Mondavi Reserve, as well as several Chateaux and some Aussies, all in a single-blind tasting. I've done this event each year since it was offered, and although one could arguably say that no comparison between these wines is really "fair," it has always been both instructive and fun.

I imagine the first thing that we all wondered was: which one was the Cinq Cepages? It turned out to be my 5th favorite wine, and was very nice. Probably the next question to cross people's minds was: how will the Caymus do? Well, for me, it finished right behind the Cinq Cepages. I thought both of these wines were very good, although certainly not "bargains" by any means. I was probably most interested in trying the Frazier again. From barrel, this wine just knocked me out. Yet, shortly after release it had seemed very tight and monolithic. However, judging from this tasting, the wine appears to have come through its short closed period and emerged nicely, finishing 4th on my scorecard.

Of my top three favorites, the Clarendon Hills had a beautiful ripeness of fruit, making it my favorite. Considering its price, it was also the bargain of the tasting. Both the Whitehall Lane and the Merryvale were fabulous wines, if somewhat pricier. Surprises? Not really. South Africa and New Zealand still have a ways to go to turn out top notch Cabs. The noses of each the Bordeaux were generally nice. And, although I expected the Bordeaux to suffer a bit in this field of ripeness, I was disappointed to see the '95 vintage drink less well compared to the rest of the wines.

The winners? Well, according to the final votes, the following wines were the top finishers:

'97 Merryvale Profile
'97 Whitehall Lane Reserve
'97 Caymus
'98 Cape D'Estaing
'97 Penfolds Bin 707
'98 Geoff Hardy Kuitpo
'98 Clarendon Hilll Sandown
'97 Quilceda Creek

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Here is my order of preference, listed in order and by tier, of the wines tasted.

1998 Clarendon Hills Cabernet Sauvignon Sandown - South Australia. $39.99.
1997 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $49.99.
1997 Merryvale Profile - Napa Valley. $64.99.
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1997 Frazier Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $35.99.
1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages - Sonoma County. $79.99.
1997 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $64.99.
1997 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 - South Australia. $65.99.
1998 Cape d'Estaing Cabernet Sauvignon - Kangaroo Island. $39.99.
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1997 Almaviva - Chile. $47.99.
1998 Grosset Gaia - Clare Valley. $35.99.
1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - Washington. $47.99.
1997 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $89.99.
1997 De Lille Cellars Chaleur Estate - Washington $48.99.
1997 Seña - Chile. $42.99.
1997 Antinori Tenuta Belvedere Guado al Tasso - Bolgheri, Italy. $59.99.
1995 Ch. Lynch Bages - Pauillac. $65.99.
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1995 Ch. Clerc Milon - Pauillac. $47.99.
1995 Ch. Leoville Barton - St. Julien. $49.99.
1995 San Leonardo - Alto Adige, Italy. $42.99.
1998 Geoff Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon - Adelaide Hills, Australia. $27.99.
1998 Le Riche Cabernet Sauvignon - South Africa. $23.99.
1996 Waiheke Vineyards Cabernet/Merlot Te Motu - NZ. $39.99.

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