Cabernet Tasting - mostly '95s
Saturday, Apr 18, 1998
Results from a Cabernet tasting at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Fifteen wines were poured for a tasting fee of $25.
The wines, in the order tasted:
'95 Duncan Peak - Mendocino. $16.99 Garnet color. Nose of vanilla, plum, black cherry, and shoe polish. Not a big boy, but nevertheless amazing! Lots of fruit, soft tannins, and a light-medium mouthfeel. Crisp and a hair rough on a medium-long finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B
Overall score: B+
'95 Monticello Jefferson Cuvee - Napa Valley. $15.99 Bricky garnet color. Light nose of cedar, caper, shoe polish, smoke, ash, and bleu cheese. Meaty and a touch herbal as well. I know it sounds a little strange, but it seemed to work. flavors of dusty strawberry and raspberry fruit. Medium mouthfeel, soft tannins; really more substance to the mouthfeel than fruit.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: B
Overall score: B
'95 ZD - Napa Valley. $24.99 Dark garnet color. Nose of cassis, shoe polish, a touch of oak. Seems slightly restrained. Mouthfeel appears to be a bit backward now, with a rather tight focus of cherry fruit. It's decent fruit, but the wine is a bit stingy at yielding it up. Medium-long finish.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: B
Overall score: B
'95 Flora Springs Trilogy - Napa Valley. $30.99 Dark garnet color. Nose of shoe polish, ash, spices, and mint. Hints of floral and cigar. Chewy mouthfeel, with a very noticeable Cab Franc quality. Good entry, and a long, if a bit coarse and tannic finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
'95 Rocking Horse - Robinson Vnyd, Napa Valley. $23.99 Very young-looking purple ruby color. Wow! Big, rich, cassis, caper, black cherry, and anise. Very full and sweet smelling fruit jumps from the glass. Lovely, full mouthfeel. Big black cherry, boysenberry fruit. Long, slightly coarse finish.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: A-
Overall score: A-
'95 Robert Craig Affinity - Napa Valley. $29.99 Purple garnet color. Sweet cassis, spices, caper, sweet ash, and a blast of vanilla. Nice fruit, with a surprisingly chewy mouthfeel on a medium body. Incredible balance, and the wine finishes smooth and long.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: A-
Overall score: A-
'95 Shafer - SLD, Napa Valley. $26.99. Purple ruby color. Big nose of shoe polish, cassis, and anise. Very integrated aromas. Mouthfeel seems a bit tart initially, but the fruit starts to sweeten up at mid-palate. Smooth, yet tart finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
'95 Judd's Hill - Napa Valley. $28.99 Purple ruby color. Nose of shoe polish, cassis, and black cherry, along with a slight herbal streak that seems quite acceptable. Sweet fruit and vanilla flavors. Very creamy mouthfeel, with a hint of coarseness at the finish. Amazingly smooth acids and tannins.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: A-
Overall score: B+
'95 Neyers - Napa Valley. $31.99 Purple ruby color. Shoe polish and cassis, with a hint of oak, cigar and herbal qualities. Sweet mouthfeel, chewy and succulent fruit. Despite the trace of acids and heat at finish, this was absolutely delicious!
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: A
Overall score: A-
'95 Peter Michael Les Pavots - Napa Valley. $48.99 Dark ruby, with a bit of purple. Lush nose of sweet cherry, shoe polish, and sawdust. Just lovely! Very nice mouthfeel from entry to finish, however, the wine did seem to have a slight rubber taste at mid-palate. This odd component seemed to be absent on subsequent tastes.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: A-
Overall score: A-
'95 Laurel Glen - Sonoma Mountain. $29.99 Very dark purple ruby color. Deep and rich nose of cassis and shoe polish. Very young and chewy mouthfeel. Stunningly rich and fruity, this wine is very tempting now, but as with most Laurel Glen's, patience will reward even further.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: A
Overall score: A-
'94 Burgess Vintage Selection - Napa Valley. $16.99 Purple ruby color. Nose of shoe polish, cassis, and beet. This is tough to like initially. But, I have to admit, it grew on me. Flavors of black cherry, chocolate, mocha, and vanilla. Very nice mouthfeel, with soft tannins and smooth finish.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: A-
Overall score: B+
'94 Sequoia Grove Reserve - Napa Valley. $27.99 Dark garnet. Nose of cassis, shoe polish and sweet wood. Flavors of black cherry fruit, but the mouthfeel seems a bit watery. Slightly tart and grainy finish. A nice wine, but a bit overpriced for what it delivers.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
'94 Field Stone Staten Family Reserve - Alexander Valley. $19.99. Dark purple garnet color. Nose of shoe polish, minerals, spearmint, and cassis. Very young, yet sweet fruit and anise. Very concentrated mouthfeel. Good balance, but, oh too quick a finish.
Aroma score: B
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
'93 Heitz - Napa Valley. $15.99. Muddy bricky garnet color. Creamy, minty fruit. Hint of herbal and sweet anise and basil. Good mouthfeel and finish, but the slightly bitter fruit seems a bit flat or one-dimensional. All this being said, the wine is interesting - interesting enough to go back for thirds!
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
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Overall impressions: this was a nice group of wines, but I didn't really find anything of special merit. I fully expected to find a few "must-haves" in the flight, but ultimately found nothing that would score higher than an A-. Yet, for me, "A-" is a very respectable score, something that might be comparable to a 89-92.
The Neyers and the Peter Michael were my favorites. But, for the Peter Michael's price, I'd rather have 2 Rocking Horses. I had previously tasted the '95 Rocking Horse in the last Wine Exchange Cab tasting, and found that I liked both the nose and the mouthfeel a little more this time. Since it's doubtful that much has really changed in the wine itself, I'd have to chalk off my perceptions to either bottle variety or my own taste buds. The biggest bargains would seem to be the Rocking Horse and the Burgess. The Burgess has finally hit the mark for the first time in several years.
I suppose for me, the biggest disappointment in the flight was the ZD.
The mouthfeel was fairly lackluster. And, although there is a good chance
the wine will come out of its awkward stage, I'm sure I could find other
ways to spend my $25.
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Here is my relative ranking, by tier and in order of preference, of the wines tasted.
'95 Neyers - Napa Valley. $31.99
'95 Peter Michael - Napa Valley. $48.99
'95 Laurel Glen - Sonoma Mountain. $29.99
'95 Rocking Horse - Robinson Vnyd, Napa Valley. $23.99
'95 Robert Craig Affinity - Napa Valley. $29.99
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'95 Judd's Hill - Napa Valley. $28.99
'95 Flora Springs Trilogy - Napa Valley. $30.99
'95 Shafer - SLD, Napa Valley. $26.99
'94 Burgess Vintage Selection - Napa Valley. $16.99
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'94 Sequoia Grove Reserve - Napa Valley. $27.99
'93 Heitz - Napa Valley. $15.99
'94 Field Stone Staten Family Reserve - Alexander Valley. $19.99
'95 Duncan Peak - Mendocino County. $16.99
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'95 ZD - Napa Valley. $24.99
'95 Monticello Jefferson Cuvee. $15.99
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Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
