California tasting @ Restaurant Savelberg
Netherlands
Tasted Saturday, March 29, 2008 by jkoenen with 772 views
Introduction
My first real California/Napa overview. To provide extra perspective some ringers were thrown in.
All 26 wines tasted blind, one after another. No flights.
Afterwards we had a fantastic multi-course diner, with some beautiful wines too.
Flight 1 - Wines for the tasting (26 Notes)
Flight 2 - Wines at the diner table (5 Notes)
All participants also brought in several goodies to savour during diner.
I only took (brief) impressions on the white wines.
We also had some reds: Pride Mountain Cabernet 2003, Alion 2002, Alion 2003, Kurni 2004 and Domaine de Chevalier 1998.
Of course, a few stickies to top it off: De Malle 1990 and Doisy Védrines 1989 and 2001 (the latter being corked).
Closing
Personal WOTN's: Togni 1997 and Kongsgaard The Judge 2005
Other wines to look out for: Dunn, Shafer Hillside Select and 90's Laurel Glen
1988 Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon 86 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
Antique shop, smoky, luxurious oak, dry currants, very mature. In the mouth very tannic, hard and drying finish. A decent wine, nose better than palate. 15.5/20
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1987 Dominus Estate 84 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Cola/mahogany colour, cloudy. Very poopy, "an ass in a glass". After awhile nuances of rust, beeswax, earth, mushrooms, rancio and lavas occur. On the palate it's very savoury, salty, BBQ-spices, scorched meat, drying finish. Past its prime. 14.5/20
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1988 Château Lafite Rothschild Flawed
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Flawed. Corked?
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1992 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Medium deep, clear red. Meaty and floral nose of cajunspice, roses and orchids. In the mouth this is creamy, mellow. Tiny impression of sweetness. Nuances of peppered blackberries had me thinking Syrah. Oak is a little raw and rough. But ultimately this is an excellent, complex and very lengthy wine. 18/20
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1994 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red Flawed
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very volatile, liquid bleach?, geranium. Some say 'corked'. Atypical, for sure. Very ester-like, chemical. Overripe or even rotting fruit. Unpleasant. No score.
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1994 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 94 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Dark and sinister. Eclectic nuances of black pepper, balsamico, worcestershiresauce, roast beef and firecrackers. Great freshness, complexity and poise. Plenty of first class tannines supports the weighty and black cherry dominated palate. Uplifting and mouthwatering acidity provides a certain Italian feel to this wine. Fantastic stuff. 18.5/20
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1994 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release 90 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Middle deep, watery in the meniscus. Again slightly volatile and licquor-like on the nose. Very broad, dense and impressive, but a tad less complex than the preceding Dunn HM 94. Medium to long, inky, cocoa-tinged finish. 17.5/20
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1994 Château Latour Grand Vin 94 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Bricking in the edges. Wow, compared to the other wines so far, this is so much more classic and traditional... Typical mature Bdx to me. Tobacco leaves, corral, thyme and laurel, small red berry fruit, cigar ash. Very subtle and nuanced. Classy wine, completely mature. Gorgeous. 18.5/20
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1994 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Purple hue in the dense blood red core. Macerated, reduced fruit, roses, smoke, chocolate, eucalypt. Amarone-like. Though I like the structure and complexity of this wine, it is too boisterous and anabolic for my taste. 16.5/20
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1994 Harlan Estate 94 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Dense, sultry, concentrated bouquet, hinting pencil shavings, grafite, tobacco and eucalypt. Its entree is soft and seductive fanning broadly across the mouth with fantastic acidity and play. A very impressive, unctuous, roaring wine, slightly sweet (of course..), and extremely convincing. Chalky and tannic, so still has enough cellar potential 18.5/20
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1995 Château Haut-Brion 96 Points
France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
'Bordeaux red', resolving, almost translucent core. Drop dead gorgeous wine, extremely pure earthy components, mushrooms, pencil shavings, licorice. Very exciting and captivating wine. Unmeasurable complexity, a real sniffer. This is it, this really got me firing on all cilinders. Perfectly ripe and mature. Phenomenal stuff. 19/20
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1997 Seghesio Family Vineyards Omaggio 89 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma
Floral, ladies perfume, rosehip, asian spice like cardamom, iodine and band-aid. Although the bouquet was very interesting, on the palate this was brutal. Alcoholic, drying tannines. Insane concentration. This is what dry Ruby Port would taste like. 17/20, because of the nose.
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1996 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Sonoma Mountain 95 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Mountain
Clearly recognisable as a Napa, though finally there is some elegance and finesse showing. Beautifully pure and clean fruit (cherry, redcurrants, cassis), leather, coffee and cocoa. Soft as silk, melting tannines, chocolate covered cherries in the finish. A true gem that really, really impressed me... 18.5-19/20
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1996 Gaja Langhe Darmagi 90 Points
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Langhe DOC
Volatile, canned cherries, sultanas. Dense and sultry, gingerbread, mocca, slightly greasy. Very tasty and pretty, though not very discriminate in this line-up. 17.5/20
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1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Claret 89 Points
USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma
School paint, sweet cherries, licquor-like and a tad aggressive. Sweet mouthfeel, dense and unctuous. Heavy, chubby, alcoholic. Somewhat over the top, me thinks. Syrah? 17/20
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1997 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 98 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Sturdy, outdoorsy nuances, also iodine, black cherries, ink, mocca and balsamico. Extremely seductive and interesting. The pinnacle of balance and harmony. What an impressive ripeness and complexity. Lecherous, young and graceful. Hard to find the right words. This one sent shivers down my spine! Out of this world wine. 19.5/20
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1997 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch 94 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Intoxicating fragrance which is almost over the top. Almost, but not quite. Very dense, ripe, toploaded, almost ester-like bouquet of blueberry pancakes, vanilla essence, baked bananas and tropical flowers (orchids). Luckily, on the palate this has much more freshness than the nose suggests. It even has some elegance and grace. Very pure, very dense, slightly hot, a magnificent wine. 18.5/20
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1998 Château Mouton Rothschild 90 Points
France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac
Tell-tale classic, reticent Bordeaux nose. Cigars, spice box, strawberries and cassis. Suffers from its position in the line-up, lacking the exuberance of the previous wines. Medium bodied, slightly tannic and bitter finish. 17.5/20
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1998 Ridge Monte Bello 85 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Overbearing, overripe, over-extracted nose. Off-putting. Disjointed palate. Simple and sweet, thick, cumbersome. Dissapointing wine, IMHO. 15/20
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2000 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Again extremely ripe, almost too much. Chocolate, cherry pie, licorice, leather, gingerbread. Slightly one-dimensional, but nice. 17/20
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2001 Del Dotto The David Napa Valley 93 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Tight, classic mouthfeel. Like that. Bitter chocolate, blackberries and cherries. Good focus, majestic wine. Regal stature, vanillapods, dash of coconut, toast and smoke, luxurious oak gives this wine an expensive feel. 18-18.5/20
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2001 Ramey Jericho Canyon Vineyard 85 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Licorice, rum bonbons, cherry licquor, very port-like and alcoholic. Completely out of balance, don't know where this is heading for....
Overextracted and loudmouthed. I'd like my wines to be more 'civilized'. 15/20
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2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 98 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District
Lots of glycerine. Extremely youthful and promising, but already insanely good. Still can feel the tannines, which were so ripe, soft and 'juicy'. They almost seemed to melt into the cheeks. Fragrant expression of floral and fruity notes, which are very tightly wound but already give a wonderful, luxurious mouthfeel. This is bordering perfection, don't have a clue what to write about it. Literally, stunning. 19.5/20
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2002 Darioush Shiraz 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
Very good shiraz, which holds up very well in this tasting. Classic peppered blackberries are combined with Californian lasciviousness and this works very well. Not the most complex wine of the afternoon, but certainly very charming, tasteful and drinkable! 18/20
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2002 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Although the wine was closed for business, I could still sense the classic mould and elegant structure of this wine. Like it very much, and thought that this was very promising. Distant hints of creamy pastry, tobacco, mint, wonderful fruit and sap. Could gain in rating in 3 years time. 18/20
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2002 Ridge Monte Bello 94 Points
USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
Gorgeous young wine. Has a certain traditional feel in its bright and fresh style of fruity aromatics. Although the wine is very creamy and thick, it's certainly showing elegance, complexity and breed. Great. 18.5/20
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