ESTG Does '94 - '97 California Cab's

Roy's Place
Tasted Monday, March 27, 2006 by Tubbs with 862 views

Introduction

Yeah, I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a Francophile. However, I'm always looking to expand my knowledge and experience.

Flight 1 (1 Note)

  • 2004 Venge Vineyards Spettro 85 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Interesting wine - I found the combination of Chardonnay, Sauv. Blanc, and Marsanne a bit odd and disjointed. I liked the acid but this wine is in the "not for me" category.

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Flight 2 (2 Notes)

  • 2005 Scholium Project Naucratis Lost Slough Vineyards 90 Points

    USA, California, Central Valley, Clarksburg

    Compared to the palate the nose on this wine was light with hints of nutmeg. The palate was a real kick in the pants with lots of citrus, tropical fruits, nice acid and a long peppery finish. A zippy wine indeed!

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  • 2001 Dehlinger Chardonnay 88 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    Hmm, a light and delicate nose with hints of toasty oak and mushroom. The palate started off light but filled out with a zippy lemon citrus flavor. I thought this had a decent amount of acid and zip, not as peppery as the Scholium though, (not as enjoyable either.)

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Flight 3 (2 Notes)

  • 1998 Kistler Chardonnay Sonoma Coast 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Lovely delicate toast on the nose. I liked this alot & didn't find it as buttery as most Cali. chard's I've had. The palate showed a decent balance of tropical fruits and a long, pleasant finish with a hint of caramel. I found this to be a smooth, elegant wine with pretty decent balance.

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  • 1992 Joseph Drouhin Chassagne-Montrachet 82 Points

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Chassagne-Montrachet

    Umm... Blech... Very little on the nose of this and the palate just blew. Okay, there was a glimpse of tropical fruit amongst the funkiness but the squash notes just turned me off.

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Flight 4 (3 Notes)

  • 1997 Opus One 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Blackberry - HUGE BLACKBERRY, mmm.... (and a hint of oak). The palate had loads of fruit with some earthy notes. The tannins were a bit drying - me lips were stickin' to me teeth.

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  • 1997 Mount Veeder Winery Reserve 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    I didn't get much from this right out of the chute but after a bit in opened up with a nose that reminded me of grenache from the Rhone. I really loved the palate on this puppy - big plush fruit, some toast, a little brown sugar and a hint of antiseptic something. This had tons of moderately smooth tannins with a medium finish.

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  • 1994 Beringer Vineyards Alluvium 89 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

    It took a long time for me to get anything from the nose of this wine. Eventually I got some blackberry, oak and eucalyptus - (probably due to the hint of others at the table.) A few minutes into it, some note of vinyl and tar paper popped up. I thought the palate was smooth with nice silky tannins. The finish was a little clipped and oily for me. I'd have given this better props if it didn't have such a chemical nature.

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Flight 5 (3 Notes)

  • 1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Wow! I thought we were doing Cali' cab's! This has\d a classic Bordeaux nose - pencil, cigar box, wet earth, tobacco. The balance on this was fantastic - a very smooth, nicely integrated wine. The finish was super long.

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  • 1994 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Maybe my sniffer wasn't working to well this night but again, very little on the nose. The palate was smooth with bluberry, plum, blackberry & what I thought was a hint of mint on the finish. Then someone said pine resin - yep, that was closer than mint.

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  • 1995 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Yes! Wow! The nose on this baby was rockin'! - tons of blackberry and a touch of wood. A bit of a candied aspect to the palate, but not offensive, rather pleasant. The fruit here was very linear with tons of tannin and fantastic structure. This was a HUGE, very enjoyable wine!

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Flight 6 (3 Notes)

  • 1995 Dalla Valle Maya 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Look out - more blueberry and blackberry, truckloads of it. Very similar to the regular Dalla Valle. A very refined mouth feel, with lovely tannins, perfectly integrated with the fruit. A very well balalnced wine. Mmm, mmm, mmmm.....

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  • 1997 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Good grief! Does it get any better than this? Fantastic nose - gobs of fruit with a light touch of vanilla and oak. The palate mirrored the nose with, gobs of fruit, some chocolate, a hint of espresso. Another extremely well balanced wine with huge, yet very silky tannins. Great stuff!

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  • 1996 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 97 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Color me purple 'cuz this stuff is just great! Blackberry, chocolate & a little creamed corn, (that's the oak son.) Big, huge, MONSTEROUS! This is a killer wine with tons of fruit, tons of tannin and everything oh... so... purrrfectly integrated. This sucker will last a long, loooong time.

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Flight 7 (3 Notes)

Closing

I tell ya - that ol' Cali. reputation of HUGE FRUIT is no rumor! But where's the shame in that when you can back it up with structure, finesse and balance! These were some damn good wines & I am completely screwed - I haven't the room to add California to my list! DANG YOU ROY & JUSTIN! (Oh, and thank you too.)

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