Cabernet - mostly '98s |
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Notes and impressions from a tasting of some Cabs - Saturday, May 12, 2001, at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Twenty-one wines were poured for a tasting fee of $24. |
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Overall impressions: a good selection of '98s, although a few '97s tried to steal the show. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by several wines here. The Gallo Barrelli Creek was flat out delicious, and obviously priced well. In the newcomer category, the Centa is definitely a wine to seek out, and a bargain as well. I've never heard of Richard Perry, but if this is what they can do with a '98, I'm a believer. Also, the Grgich was the best in years, and I've not seen Clos du Bois look better. Minor letdowns were the Trilogy and the Fife. Both of them nice wines; just not quite as full throttle as in the past. The Parador was probably the most interesting wine in the flight, and certainly worth a try -- unless you're shy about non-traditional blends. |
1999 Casa
Silva Cabernet Sauvignon - Colchagua Valley, Chile. $8.99.
Dark purple ruby color. Slightly swampy cassis and shoe polish aromas,
along with oak and cheese toast. Tasty blueberry, blackberry, cassis
flavors, medium-full body, long slightly oaky finish. 1997 Indigo
Hills Cabernet Sauvignon - North Coast. $8.99. Medium
dark garnet ruby color. Pungent nose of cassis, oak and wood byproducts
(i.e. plywood). Astringent grape skin flavor contributes to the
astringent, tannic mouthfeel. Long finish and oaky aftertaste, with
a lumberyard aroma coming from the empty glass. Did I mention that
it had wood? 1998 Hedges
Cabernet Sauvignon Three Vineyards - Columbia Valley. $17.99.
Medium ruby garnet color. Stemmy and slightly veggie cassis nose,
with toasty oak and a cheddar aroma. Somewhat tart, sour cranberry
cassis fruit, medium-long finish. Certainly not up to the quality
of the '95 Three Vnyds. 1998 Gordon
Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon - Columbia Valley. $16.99. Medium
ruby color. Nose of cassis, tar, anise, and toasty oak. Slightly
chewy mouthfeel, lots of sweet-sour fruit, and a nice long finish. 1999 Parador
- Napa Valley. $31.99. Dark ruby color. Slightly restrained
nose of cassis, toast, and hardwood scents. Sweet chewy mouthfeel,
very smooth and refined across the palate - without being soft,
and the flavors meld together into something nearly Rhone-like.
The fruit does a gradual fade in the latter palate, and through
the very long finish. Interesting wine and very tasty, if arguably
a bit overpriced. Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Tempranillo. 1998 Robert
Craig Affinity - Napa Valley. $36.99. Medium dark ruby
color. Lovely nose of buttery cassis, sweet anise, and toast. Moderate
body (which has been typical for this wine), and slightly light
in the chewy fruit department, but the somewhat grapey flavors seem
very concentrated, and the finish is long and smooth. The Cab-like
nose promises more than the Claret-like mouth delivers -- at least
with this vintage. 1998 Flora
Springs Trilogy - Napa Valley. $38.99. Medium-garnet
ruby color. Slightly restrained nose, with a bit of stem, cassis,
oak, and toast background notes. Medium-full mouthfeel, sweet-sour
fruit, long smooth finish. Nice enough, but doesn't seem to be up
to previous vintages. 1998 Volkhardt
Estate - Home Ranch Vnyd, North Coast. $17.99. Medium dark ruby
color. Classic Bordeaux nose of cassis, oak, must, and a bit of
leather or tobacco, tar, and anise. Off-sweet fruit, chewy mouthfeel
with almost a grape skin crunch, balanced just a bit to the flabby
side, with nice long finish. Interesting stuff, and I liked it more
than the score probably shows. 1998 Centa
Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $22.99. Medium dark ruby color.
Integrated nose of cassis, cheese toast, and oak, with just a hint
of herbs. Big chewy mouthfeel, with off-sweet fruit, anise and slightly
oaky cassis flavors, and a long sweet oak finish. Made by Mike Trujillo
with fruit from Howell Mtn and Morisoli Vnyd. Nice job in a difficult
vintage on this junior Karl Lawrence. 1997 Catena
Alta Cabernet Sauvignon - Zapata Vnyd, Mendoza Argentina. $39.99.
Medium-dark garnet ruby color. Slightly caramelized cassis and oak
nose, with a touch of herb and spice. Initially huge chewy mouthfeel
with abundant cassis fruit, but everything seems to fade out rather
quickly at mid-palate, and the medium-long finish comes up a bit
sparse. 1998 Thunder
Mountain Star Ruby - Santa Cruz Mtns. $44.99. Medium
garnet ruby color. Nose of cassis, raspberry, oak and ink, with
some moderate herbaceous qualities, along with a touch of green
bean and asparagus. Initially chewy with a big presence on the palate,
the Cab Franc qualities of the wine seems to thin out a bit at mid
palate, taking on a blue steel-like sternness to the fruit. 1998 Fife
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Spring Mtn, Napa Valley.
$35.99. Medium-dark garnet ruby color. Nose of sweet cassis,
with a bit of stem, ink and oak background notes. Moderately full
body and fruit, very nice balance, smooth across the palate, and
nice long finish. Portrays itself more as a refined Claret, than
a chunk Cab.
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1998 Laurel
Glen Cabernet Sauvignon - Sonoma Mtn. $39.99. Medium-dark ruby
color. Nose of cassis, cocoa, toast, brown sugar, Worcestershire
sauce, and sweet sawdust. Big mouthfeel and somewhat tight, very
extracted and chewy, flavors of ink and cassis, very long slightly
tannic finish, with a toasted grain aftertaste. Wow, nice job! 1998 Richard
Perry Cabernet Sauvignon - Perry Vnyd, Napa Valley. $39.99. Dark
ruby color. Complex nose of cassis, chocolate, toast, caramelized
brown sugar, with some added notes of herbs, balsamic, Worcestershire
and soy sauce. Full mouthfeel, moderately chewy off-sweet fruit,
some oak and tannins apparent in the long sweet-sour finish. 1998 Lewis
Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Napa Valley. $57.99. Dark
garnet ruby color. Nose of lush sweet cassis, oak, and anise. Full
mouthfeel, lots of nicely integrated fruit, oak and tannins, and
a nice long finish. 1997 Rosenblum
Cabernet Sauvignon - Holbrook Mitchell Vnyd, Napa Valley. $21.99.
Medium-dark garnet ruby color. The sweet-sour fruity nose seems
a bit overcome at times with background notes of newsprint, alcohol,
and dill. Moderately full mouthfeel, nice off-sweet toasty fruit,
and long toasty finish. Nice price, for this tasty wine. And, who
knows, maybe the nose comes around with more air. 1997 Gallo
Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon - Barrelli Ck Vnyd, Alexander Valley.
$22.99. Dark ruby garnet color. Slightly burnished cassis, oak,
cheddar, sweet sawdust, and a touch of beet. Tasty, slightly sweet
cassis fruit, anise, orange peel, and a bit of tar, full mouthfeel,
and long finish. Way to go, Gina! 1997 Grgich
Hills Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $37.99. Dark garnet
ruby color. Nose of smoky cassis, cheese toast, oak, and anise.
Full mouthfeel, slightly to the acidic side of balance, but there's
plenty of off-sweet fruit to support it. Long tasty finish. This
is the best Cab I've had from Grgich in a long while. Now, about
that price..... 1997 Renteria
Cabernet Sauvignon - Napa Valley. $59.99. Very dark ruby purple
color. Huge complex nose of cassis, anise, toasty oak, ink, cheddar,
and tar. Massively extracted and very chewy mouthfeel, nicely integrated
fruit, oak, and tannins, smooth and heavy on the palate, with a
massively long jammy finish. Wow, what a killer! 1997 Clos
du Bois Briarcrest Cabernet Sauvignon - Alexander Valley.
$29.99. Medium garnet ruby color. Sweet, refined, and complex
nose of cassis, toast, and burnished hardwoods. Medium-full mouthfeel,
lots of toast and fruit, very nice balance, and long finish. Nice
job here. 1996 Heitz
Cabernet Sauvignon - Bella Oaks Vnyd, Napa Valley. $45.99. Medium
garnet ruby color. Nose of slightly burnished herbed cassis, cheese
toast, anise, and mint. Full mouthfeel, but fruit seems to get bit
brief at mid-palate, and fades smoothly through long finish. |
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