WEF Cup - A Cabernet Shootout
Saturday, June 28, 1997
Results of a Cabernet tasting at the Wine Exchange in Orange, CA. Poured in a single-blind tasting, were 14 Cabs from both old and new world appellations. The Wine Exchange was doing two sessions on this group of wines. We were given the names and vintages of the wines, and were asked to vote on our top 3 favorites. Votes would be tallied, and results announced in the next newsletter.
Given the matchup of Bordeaux vs. California vs. Washington vs. Australia, we knew we were in for some interesting tastes and possibly surprising results. Oh, how true that turned out to be! Tasting notes as follows, with a table comparing my tasting scores ("EA") with a friend who also attended, plus the final vote (as supplied by the Wine Exchange) of the top 6 picks by the participants of both sessions.
1. 1992 Silver Oak Cabernet - Napa. Medium dark-ruby color. Nose of cassis, show polish, sawdust, orange zest, mint, eucalyptus, cedar, oak. Fabulous nose. Taste of cassis, cedar, with slightly soft tannins, ripe fruit, good balance, long finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: A-
Overall score: A-
2. 1990 San Leonardo - Trentino, Italy. Dark-ruby color. Nose of cassis, vanilla, sweet tomato, oak, cigar box, freshly baked bread, touch of leafy green quality and cheddar cheese. Taste of raspberry, strawberry, with good acids. Slightly tart, long finish. The cheddar quality in the nose comes through a bit in the mouth as well. Complexity, what is thy name?
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
3. 1989 Ch. Clerc Milon - Pauillac. Medium dark-ruby color, with aging noted. Nose of must, oak, French stink, cassis, cigar box, sweet sawdust, charred wood. Taste of cassis, anise, smooth maybe soft fruit, excellent balance, perceptable tannins, long finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: A-
4. 1986 Ch. Mouton Rothschild - Pauillac. Very dark ruby with purple cast. Nearly India Ink-like. Nose of cassis, oak, must, sweet sawdust, and pencil wood. A touch tart on the palate, with additional notes of vanilla, shoe polish, mint, and zest. Slightly chewy fruit, but not all that jammy or concentrated. Somewhat tannic mouthfeel, very good balance, and long finish.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: A-
5. 1994 Wynn's Cabernet John Riddoch - Coonawarra, So.Australia. Dark-ruby color. Nose of cassis, blackberry, shoe polish, cedar, and raspberry. Nose is slightly restrained. In the mouth, there is a mass of jammy boysenberry and raspberry fruit, with perceptable tannins, an excellent balance and very long finish.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: A
Overall score: A
6. 1994 Yarra Yering Dry Red #1 - Coldstream, Victoria, Australia. Dark ruby - nearly black color. Nose of singed wood, cassis, sweet black cherry, hint of tomato, shoe polish, and blackberry, with fascinating floral overtones. Heavy, sweet mouthfeel, with ripe, chewy and jammy fruit. Very light tannins, long finish, and excellent balance.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: A
Overall score: A
7. 1986 Ch. Gruaud Larose - St.Julien. Dark ruby-garnet color. A very Bordeaux-like nose, with aromas of cheese, shoe polish. Slightly feral and gamey, yet quite seductive. Dry mouthfeel, with flavors of cassis, raspberry, and strawberry fruit. Odd finish of tartness & tannins & wheat (of all things). Comments: The fruit seems a bit burned, probably contributing to the "dry" mouthfeel.
Aroma score: A-
Taste score: B+
Overall score: A-
8. 1994 Penley Estate Cabernet - Coonawarra, So. Australia. Very dark ruby, with definite purple tinge. Completely intoxicating nose of dark fruits, vanilla, and anise. A Killer! Slightly tart, but delivers a boatload of massive fruit on the palate. Fabulous balance and slightly sweet finish with perceptable tannins.
Aroma score: A+
Taste score: A+
Overall score: A+
9. 1989 Ch. Lynch Bages - Pauillac. Medium-dark ruby-garnet color. Somewhat stinky, gamey, and feral, with side notes of tomato, meat, mothballs and toast. Sweet, soft, ripe fruit; light and a little thin on the palate. A "wheaty," almost toast-like finish with perceptable tannins. Comments: Not one of the more seductive Lynch Bages I've ever had, but somehow this "smells-like-I-been-hangin'-out-in-the-kitchen" Bordeaux was still interesting.
Aroma score: B+
Taste score: B+
Overall score: B+
10. 1994 Penfold's Bin 707 - So. Australia. Dark has a new name - Penfold's 707. This stuff was like India ink. Nose of fabulous dark fruits, and very similar to #8 above, but with a touch more vanilla. Mouthfeel and flavors were also very similar to the Penley, yet this had slightly more tannins and tartness on the palate. Nice overall balance and finish.
Aroma score: A+
Taste score: A
Overall score: A
11. 1993 Stag's Leap Cabernet, Cask 23 - Napa. Medium dark ruby color. Complex nose of cassis, vanilla, anise, black cherry, shoe polish, meat, and tomato. Big mouthfeel, beautiful balance and very long finish.
Aroma score: A+
Taste score: A
Overall score: A
12. 1994 Leonetti Cabernet, Columbia Valley - Washington. Very dark ruby color. Major floral and cassis aromas - reminiscent of either a Chinon-style Cab or something with a fair Cab Franc content. Big fruit, cigar box, and sweet sawdust flavors. Lovely balance and finish. Very, very interesting.
Aroma score: A+
Taste score: A+
Overall score: A+
13. 1989 Ch.Pinchon Baron - Pauillac. Dark ruby color. Nose of cassis and anise. Soft, sweet fruit, and nearly jammy in texture. Good balance and finish. A very solid wine.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: A
Overall score: A
14. 1990 Dominus - Napa. Dark ruby color. Very French nose of must, cassis, cheese, and cedar. Flavor of slightly charred cassis, with a soft and easy mouthfeel. A bit one-dimensional in the mouthfeel. Good balance and lengthy finish.
Aroma score: A
Taste score: B+
Overall score: A-
___________________
Overall impressions: this was a fabulous tasting of some top flight
and/or difficult-to-find Cabs. Billed as a Cab shootout, the Wine Exchange
did a very nice setup of these wines for this single-blind tasting (we
knew what they were; just not where they were), which produces
some pretty interesting guesswork by most of the participants. When the
final votes were tallied, the '94 Penley got the nod as everyone's favorite,
and deservedly so. In fact, with 4 of the top 6 wines, the Aussies just
kicked butt in this tasting. And, it's not hard to see why. They've put
together exqusite and approachable wines that are just loaded with ripe
fruits and complex scents. Averaging in the $30+ range, they may initially
seem a bit expensive. But, when compared to their California (Washington
as well) bretheren, the price seems quite comparable, or, even a whole
lot better if compared to those US wines in the flight.
Without a doubt, the biggest surprise was the performance of the '86 Mouton.
I don't think anyone thought this wine to be anywhere near
what Parker claimed it to be - a 100!! What a disappointment! On
the other hand, maybe it was the company they kept. Frankly, I felt that
all of the Bordeaux showed poorly in this tasting. Despite the fact that
their Cab-based content should have given them somewhat of an equal footing,
it appeared to me that big, ripe, forward, jammy wines just dusted their
cookies. I'd have rather seen the '94 Bordeaux vintage used in this tasting,
as opposed to the partially aged '86s and '89s, because I think they'd
have shown better in the matchup.
___________________
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Notes: |
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American wines are listed in |
Black |
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French wines are listed in |
Blue |
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Australian wines are listed in |
Red |
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Italian wines are listed in |
Green |
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WINE |
Price |
Vote |
Rank |
aroma/taste |
ov'all |
rank |
aroma/taste |
ov'all |
rank |
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1 |
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Silver Oak - Napa |
est |
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2 |
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San Leonardo - Italy |
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3 |
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Ch. Clerc Milon |
est |
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4 |
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Ch. Mouton Rothschild |
est |
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5 |
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Wynn's, John Riddoch - Australia |
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6 |
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Yarra Yering Dry Red - Australia |
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7 |
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Ch. Gruaud Larose |
est |
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8 |
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Penley Estate - Australia |
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9 |
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Ch. Lynch Bages |
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10 |
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Penfold's Bin 707 - Australia |
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11 |
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Stag's Leap, Cask 23 - Napa |
est |
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12 |
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Leonetti - Washington |
est |
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13 |
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Ch. Pinchon Baron |
est |
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14 |
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Dominus - Napa |
est |
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No original material may be reproduced without written consent
Mail & Comments - Eric Anderson
