97 Napa-retrospective

Restaurant Bottles, Sas van Gent
Tasted Saturday, September 26, 2015 by jkoenen with 779 views

Introduction

This 10-person group of Napa-holics brought together a wonderful line-up, including the occasional ringer.
All wines served blind to the group. I was organising, so notes are brief and did not taste blinded.

Flight 1 - Getting started (6 Notes)

Flight 2 - Main course (19 Notes)

  • 1997 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Slightly reticent nose, but the palate is very ripe and full of luxury. Macerated fruit, floral nuances, rosehip, modest use of oak. Seems quite young, might benefit from a few more years of cellartime.

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  • 1997 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

    Classically tailored wine, lots of layers and complexity. Black cherries, spice, prunes, cedar and leather. Extremely classy and elegant, yet full of obscure power and tension. Wonderful notes of chocolate in the endless finish. Wow. ( My #6; group #8; scores 93-97)

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  • 1997 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Lovely, comfortable sense of rusticity in this wine, campfire, leather boots, dung, dried herbs, roasted meat. Besides that the core is still rich and fruity, cherry-like. Quite bordeaux-like. I really liked its slightly rugged character.

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  • 1997 Opus One 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This one benefitted from extensive aeration. Also classically composed. Great forest fruit / forest floor mixture. A wine of great stature and class. Very complete, wonderfull balance. Delicious. (My #9; group #6; scores 92-98)

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  • 1997 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Lots of bandaid in the nose. Very medicinal, not too attractive I might say. Palate and structure seem extremely youthfull, tannic, yet very ripe, tight, unyielding, slightly drying finish. Dump-phase?

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  • 2000 Errazuriz Viñedo Chadwick 89 Points

    Chile, Maipo Valley

    Jammy, sligthly candy-like nose. Sweetish entry in the mouth, very commercial style, easy to like, not much depth of flavors. Red fruit, mixed spice, bacon. Clipped finish. A nice wine, but not very distinct.

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  • 1997 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 87 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Very soupy, leafy, boiling vegetables, slightly reductive on the nose. Green herbs and rosehip on the palate, drying finish. Too old, already?

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  • 1997 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    Very open and generous, although the tannins are still slightly rugged. Very warm and ripe, deep, dark and brooding, I found this very typical 'traditional Napa', yet not very 'typical Togni'. Seductive macerated black fruit in the mouth, sandalwood, cigarbox, damp earth. Complete, complex, very very long. Super delicious. (My #8; group #12; scores 91-95)

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  • 1997 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Sweet and sultry, this has a slightly liquor-like fruit-bomb nose of canned black cherries (amarena), but showes excellent breed, class and persistence on the palate. Fresh forest fruit, lifted acidity (made me think Italy), seemed very young and primary to me. Wonderful wine.

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  • 1997 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 97 Points

    USA, Washington

    Fantastic outdoorsy feel in this wine! Lots of tension, controlled power, fanning out its aromatics that are incredibly pure, focussed and vivid. Sensible use of oak, breathtaking balance between delicacy and power, supporting acidity and top class fruit makes this a real wine. Totally master. (My #2; group #7; scores 92-98)

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  • 1997 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Shy, reticent nose, but a brutish show-off of a palate. Highly concentrated, hot forest fruit, asian spice, chocolate, coffee, blueberry pancakes, maple syrup too. Very warm, quite young, very large, alcoholic heat in the back. A composed, manufactured wine. Good stuff, but not up my alley.

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  • 1997 Ridge Monte Bello 95 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Mouthwatering, well-defined red and black fruit. Gorgeous freshness, this is the best of both (new and old) worlds... Spice-box seasoning (pepper, cloves, cinnamon), beefy/meaty component too. A wine approaching its prime drinking window. Respect! (my #7; group #5; 93-98)

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  • 1997 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Although this wine had some key selling points, IMO it was marred by a lack of balance. Some unripe green elements too. Seemed more Cab Franc than Cab Sauv to me. Lots of salty licorice, also some stemmy bitterness in the back. Still very tannic, maybe a few more years in the cellar will straighten this out. Maybe...
    Had higher hopes for this one, since I LOVED the 94 Anniversary.

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  • 1997 Joseph Phelps Insignia 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Roasted meat, BBQ sauce, red fruit topping. This is clearly a great wine for the future, big structure and concentration, stubborn and backward, enormous length. But at the moment the flavours and aromatics are kinda muddled and awkward. Hard to discribe, but I somehow feel this wine will be significantly better in a few years time.
    Hope to bump into another bottle again..

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  • 1997 Dominus Estate 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This is a smelly cat! Farmyard, game, asphalt, charcoal, clay-ey minerality. Dark berried core, gravy, cigarbox. Very harmonious and distinguished. Very Bdx-like, St. Estephe to be more precise. Terrific. (My #5; group #1; scores 96-99)

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  • 1997 Dalla Valle Maya Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Completely shot. Vegetable soup, cherry-licquor, dried herbs, astringent, reductive, a disjointed mess. Personally, a huge disappointment... :(

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  • 1997 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 97 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This one did very well amongst others which were much more expensive! Perfect balance, entering prime drinking window, blackberries, iodine, licorice, leather, gunpowder. Oh. So. Good. (my #4; group #2; scores 94-99)

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  • 1997 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 98 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Incredible smoothness, creme de cassis, toast, luxurious oak, verging on perfection... Wow. (my #1; group #3; scores 95-98)

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  • 1997 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 97 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    This is a towering wine.... Stupendous concentration, yet unbelievably smooth and rounded. Cherry/cassis fruit, wonderful floral components, spicebox, licorice and ink. The finish is a touch hot, which kept it from scoring WOTN. But I was very impressed...! (My #3; group #4; scores 93-99)

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Closing

A wonderful night of friends, wine and good food. What else do you need?
97 is a glorious vintage on the West Coast, and most of the top-dogs still need time. But, in our opinion, 94 outclasses the 97-vintage.

Personal WOTN: 97 Shafer Hillside Select
Other wines to look out for: Forman Cabernet, Caymus SS, Diamond Creek, Spottswoode Estate.

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