Sunday Brown Bag Tasting: 2001 CA cabs

Mike & Judi's
Tasted Sunday, July 8, 2012 by AllRed with 808 views

Introduction

As is our tradition with the Sunday group, we start with a couple of warm up whites provided by the hosts. Today we tasted poolside, and a cool breeze and some shade made sure that the wines and tasters remained comfortable. The wines for the main flight are chosen by the hosts, no one else knows what is being poured. Nonblind dinner and dessert wines follow and are shown in the order tasted. For today's tasting there were thirteen of us.

Flight 1 - Warm ups. (2 Notes)

Flight 2 - Main event (8 Notes)

Served in one flight, we try to spend no more than twenty to thirty minutes with the wines before turning in our rankings. These wines were double decanted off their sediment and rebottled about four and a half hours prior to the flight being poured. Some guesses included a vertical of Dominus, as there many similarities. I wasn't convinced as the color of these wines was fairly even, and I'd have expected more variation with a vertical. I hedged a bit, guessing 2001/2002 CA cabs, and when pressed said 2001.

  • 2001 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages 90 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County

    Inky crimson core with just a slight bit of age at the edge. Notes of black fruit, blackberry jam, herbs and anise. Fruit moves into the red spectrum as the wine opens in the glass. Nicely integrated on the palate though still has a little bit of tannin showing. Chalky texture with roasted (in a good way) red fruit flavors and a good finish. 90+ pts.

    My #5, Domino's #6.
    Group #6, 64 pts.

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  • 2001 Dominus Estate 89 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Inky garnet color. At first a bit hot, showing some alcohol, but then florals, red currants and lavender. Structured; roasted red currant and cherry flavors. Shuts down in the glass, becoming quite reticent. Medium finish.

    My #7, Domino's #7.
    Group #5, 62 pts.

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  • 2001 Joseph Phelps Insignia 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Dark color. Notes of blackberry jam, blue fruit and herbs followed by red fruit and florals. Very nice balance here, with nice structure supporting lovely red and black fruit flavors on the palate. Long finish.

    My #4, Domino's #2
    Group #2, 40 pts

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  • 2001 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Opaque inky garnet color. Aromas of mint, cassis, florals and red fruit. Again, very well-balanced. Red fruit flavors dominate, with hints of plum, spice and sandalwood too. Long finish. An elegant wine.

    My #2, Domino's #1
    Group#2, 50 pts

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  • 2001 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Opaque crimson color. Notes of eucalyptus, red and black fruits, iron and tobacco. Becomes more perfumed/floral as it sits, also black cherries. Elegant. Balanced, with red and dark fruits intermixed on the palate, along with spice and florals. Tannins are a bit chalky, but not distracting. Love the complexity in the bouquet here. Long, fruit-driven finish.

    My #1, Domino's #3
    Group #1, 36 pts.

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  • 2001 Justin Vineyards & Winery Isosceles 88 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    Deep red color with aromas of cherries and red fruit, but also some vegetal overtones which also show up on the palate. Medium-bodied and a bit thin through the midpalate and finish with red fruit and weedy, vegetal qualities. Red fruit, lavender and chocolate covered cherry notes eventually overcome the vegetal aromas, but they remain a distraction on the palate.

    My #8, Domino's #8
    Group #8, 78 pts

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  • 2001 Spring Mountain Vineyard Elivette 89 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    Reticent. Hints of red fruit and pine resin, but not much else. Nice balance, with flavors of red fruit- currant and cherries, picking up a nice spice quality in the medium+ finish. Did not change much in the glass although the pine resin note eventually appeared on the palate as well. 89+ pts.

    My #6, Domino's #5
    Group #4, 62 pts.
    (the tiebreaker with the Dominus was number of 1st place votes)

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  • 2001 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Opaque crimson color featuring aromas of spearmint, currants and red fruit in the bouquet. Chalky tannins remain balanced by red fruit and Asian spice flavors. Dark fruit and plum notes emerge as it opens further in the glass. Long, balanced finish. 92+ pts.

    My #3, Domino's #4
    Group #7, 76 pts.

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Flight 3 - Nonblind dinner & dessert wines (8 Notes)

Mike and Judi served a delicious dinner featuring Mexican-style roasted pork, corn and potato salad. There were no leftovers to be had- everything was fantastic.

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