Marin County Wine Group - Aged Cabernets 15 year min.

Mill Valley, Ca.
Tasted Thursday, October 24, 2013 - Friday, October 25, 2013 by dave smigielski with 650 views

Introduction

about 9 people, 12 wines all aged Cali cabs. most were double decanted to remove sediment. enjoyed over 90-120 minutes. no wines decanted longer than 90 minutes before enjoying.

Krug was pop n pour...or atleast it resembled that.

Flight 1 - Screwed or Corked? (1 Note)

  • 1967 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    this was brought on lark, because what else would you bring to an Aged Cali Cab tasting, but a 67 Krug. Strangely enough this had a stelvin style screw cap, but the bottle was not threaded and the bottle also contained a cork. (something interesting) there was some talk as to whether this was a Mondavi wine, as R.M's first vintage was a 68 Fume blanc. Anyway...the wine itself faded quickly upon opening. not cloudy, but extremely bricked and pale. nose was madeirized, but yet approachable. the palate was thin, not a touch of Oak (Redwood barrels back then??) anyway, the fruit was there, this was drinkable and better than expected by all in attendance.

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Flight 2 - the 80's (4 Notes)

After the Krug start, we went with the 80's theme, however the Cos was not ready as it had cork issues. We powered on.

  • 1984 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/24/2013)

    Touch of Vanilla on the nose. I found the palate thin with not much going on. a touch of light fruit, but average at best. Definitely not improving and probably on the down side for this bottle.

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  • 1984 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    First taste from this producer it was the older of the two Formans in this flight. Slightly camphoric nose that carried ever so delecately into the palate. The most meaningful I can say about this wine is that it is still showing hints of its youth, but its on the downslope. A good wine none the less. well made

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  • 1992 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    The younger of the Formans in this flight. Classic California cabernet nose and very youthful. I loved the red cherry popsicle on the back of the palate, but unfortunately for me the finish was not there that I was hoping for. This was the 2nd best wine of the flight for me.

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  • 1986 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    Classic BDX nose, hints of tobacco and pencil lead. a really nice wine and it was the #1 wine of the flight for me. Not as youthful as the 92 Forman, but showed better, in my opinion.

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Flight 3 - 97's and a Cos (4 Notes)

Santa Cruz Mtns showing very well right now for late 90's

  • 1997 Kathryn Kennedy Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    (10/25/2013)

    Very surprised to see something like this at this event. Santa Cruz fruit but very well made. drinking very well right now and without knowing the tariff on this felt it was a well made wine by itself. dark fruits on the palate and nice tannins. It was not the best wine of the flight, however.

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  • 1997 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vine Reserve

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    (10/25/2013)

    another Santa Cruz Mtn Cabernet in this flight and this was very well made. I didn't have copious notes on this one. sorry!

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  • 1997 Peter Michael Les Pavots

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    Wine of the flight and of the night for me. The complexity on the nose alone was such a joy to immerse myself in. First couple whiffs took me back to my grandmothers home in Michigan with fresh baked pie crust. you know a homemade pie possibly for apple pie that is par baked and pulled from the oven! That floury, warm flaky yumminess that your grandmother lets you smell as its cooling. thats what i got from the aromatics on this wine. so fun. it then moved through a greenbean phase into the classic graphite and dark fruits. this was 12% merlot and 9% CF, which is why i felt it had much more compacted depth in the glass than any other wine of the night. Impressive wine.

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  • 1981 Château Cos d'Estournel

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe

    (10/25/2013)

    I had an 82 Cos last Xmas and this wine showed better, but when paired with the youthful 97's it just didn't have a snowballs chance in Hell. I enjoy aged bdx, so this was a lil disappointing to me

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Flight 4 - Whats left folks? (3 Notes)

  • 1994 Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    sorry, but worst label ever. Okay back to the wine. aging nicely, nose is youthful with hints of cranberry. Drinking well now.

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  • 1999 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    (10/25/2013)

    a very well made wine and #2 ranked WOTN for me. I am not a huge fan of the special select in the price range so I was surprised that I really enjoyed this wine. The youngest of the night and was easily identified as such. Well made wine and drinking very will right now.

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  • 1995 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    (10/25/2013)

    a beautiful wine and tasted very nicely given this was 11 of 11 tastings this was #3 WOTN for me. Most everyone was getting a very perfumy aromatics and I also had this almost skunkiness, not the funky, bad wine skunkiness, but the actual skunk smell...which I actually like. the aromatics came back around to the typical graphite, cigarbox notes. I wish i would have had more time, as I would have loved to revisit this an hour later.

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Closing

a nice night, I had met a couple folk prior and met a few new faces. Not a bad wine in the bunch and nothing stood out as the clear WOTN for me.

my top three in order were.
97 Peter Michael
99 Caymus
95 Pichon

Special thank you to Rick and his family who opened their home to wine geeks, on a school night. Sharing Ribeye and risotto was a great idea.

Thanks for reading.

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