Old Napa Wines Dinner

Joseph's Place, Wong Chung Hang, Hong Kong
Tasted Friday, October 30, 2020 by Goldstone with 226 views

Introduction

Fabulously hosted by Joseph, nine of us dug deep into our older Napa wines for a really great evening. Too many people to thank individually for the wines they brought.

Flight 1 - Aperitif & First Causes (2 Notes)

Two lovely old vinious Champagnes (when you could call Napa sparkling wines 'Champagne) which most of us carried over with the first two dishes:

- Kanpachi Carpaccio with Russian Caviar & Yuzu Vinaigrette
- Seared Hokkaido Scallop with Sauteed Onion & Crispy Bacon

  • 1973 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs 88 Points

    USA, California

    Cognac-coloured. No mousse or bubbles remaining. Nose of light Armagnac and toffees. The palate retains a ghost of petillance on the tongue wit the taste of lovely autumnal oven-baked baked apples with toffee-soaked skins. Some length and resonance on the finish. This has aged so gracefully even though it is now in its maiden aunt stage of life. 88+ for pleasure and for its curiosity value.

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  • 1988 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé 87 Points

    France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru

    Still fresh-looking copper colour but no mousse or bubbles remaining. Nose is a lovely slightly fermented hay. Palate is definitely still 'petillante' on the tongue, high acidity, almonds...a bit disjointed but quite heady on the finish. 87-88 but more for its rarity interest. To be fair, this was a bottle that had been exported to the US so may not have had the best storage in its past.

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Flight 2 - Older Napa Whites (3 Notes)

Well...only one of the 3 was truly old (and by far the best) but it shows that we generally drink our Napa Chardonnays way too young if they have been made in the right hands.

Served with:
- Watercress Cappuccino with Sauteed Shrimp
- Crispy Armandi Fillet with Lentil & Cider Vinaigrette
- Hairy Crab & Spinach Risotto

  • 1985 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

    Drank blind. Deep honeyed gold. Nose is deep oak and lots of phenolic ripeness and vanilla. Palate is surprisingly brightly acidic and fresh for what is obviously a very old wine. Exceptionally heady and resonant on a long finish. Near to silence-creating for me. I loved it. 92+

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  • 2008 Ridge Chardonnay Monte Bello 89 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Drank blind. Light green-yellow colour....looks young. Nose is lifted, richer and heavier than the colour would suggest.....touches of a young Meursault 1er Cru except we know we are in California with tonight's wines. Palate is rich but with a super honeyed but lemony harmony. Light but surprisingly resonant on the finish. Beautiful, but go a bit richer and thicker in a slightly monotone way with extended time in the glass. I think this needs more cellaring... certainly judging by the 1985 Ch. Montelena Alexander Valley Chardonnay we drank blind alongside it.

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  • 1997 Marcassin Chardonnay Lorenzo Vineyard 87 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Drank blind. Very deep copper-gold colour. Nose is heavy with oak and yellow meadow flowers. Palate is extremely deeply rich and honeyed and triggers an immediate 'wow' inside the head. But it is extremely oaky and very heady and all a bit too much blunt power for my taste. I can understand if others liked it more than I did. Was blown out of the water, for me, by the 1985 Ch. Montelena Alexander Valley Chardonnay we drank alongside it.

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Flight 3 - Blind Red - Flight 1 (3 Notes)

The 4 blind flights were generally served with:

- Wood-smoked Pigeon Breast, Confit Leg, Creamed Leeks & Red Wine Jus.

  • 1972 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of old Napa reds. Deep and brightly jeweled ruby colour. Nose is immediately nicely lifted fresh but confit black and red cherries but it faded quite fast. Palate is really fresh acidity on entry and very head-expanding on the long and resonant finish but somewhat dilute, taut and green in the middle. Possibly down to individual bottle quality because the 1967 that Patrick brought with it was absolutely stunning.

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  • 1968 Inglenook Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Deep and still semi-opaque dark black/purple colour just lightening a bit at the edges of the glass. Nose is immediately beautiful and so alluring in a 'Napa does Bordeaux' way....pencil lead, some burnt rubber, deep black/red concentrated fruits. Palate is 'wow'...dilute mainly sweet strawberry driven fruit but with a big bang on the swallow. Got richer and more fuit with extended time in the glass. I loved this but others didn't. So it's a 'lovely' from me.

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  • 1978 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 87 Points

    USA, California

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Semi-opaque rather dusty ruby colour moving to transparent at the rim. Nose is deep, plummy and rich. Palate is initially rich, perfectly balanced, good acidic freshness....but it quickly turned green and somewhat unbalanced with distinct acidic tummy burn on the finish. Disappointing after the 1968 Inglenook that preceded it...but I guess it's all down to the individual bottle.

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Flight 4 - Blind Red - Flight 2 (2 Notes)

Santa Cruz beat Napa in this flight

  • 1975 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 86 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. A deep red/purple colour that is still almost totally opaque. Nose is a bit rubbery but there is also some deep, red berry fruit. Palate retains an acidic freshness but the fruit is now a very thin veil. Tart on the finish and turned sour quite quickly. Well past its prime.

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  • 1976 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 91 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Slightly dusty but clean-jeweled transparent ruby colour. Nose is immediately "oh, this is special"...very light but ethereal, hints of smoke in a pork ribs on a barbecue kind of way. Palate is rounded, fully resolved tannins, medium weight and quite feminine. But....it came with an impressive explosion of resonant power and length on the finish. I upped it a point for the finish.

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Flight 5 - Blind Red - Flight 3 (3 Notes)

A shame that the 1985 Montelena wasn't the same quality of bottle as the 1984.

  • 1984 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Semi-transparent, bright-jeweled ruby colour. Nose is lovely deep, dark red/black berry fruits. Palate is near-perfect 'California does Bordeaux'. This is amazing....absolutely fabulous. So resonant and reverberant on a very long finish. One of those wines that transcends long notes. My WOTN narrowly beating out the Heitz 1967.

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  • 1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Thinning black/red semi-transparent colour. Very muted nose and hard to chase what is there...plum and red cherries. Palate is very thin and sharply tart. Initially seemed just too young because the finish was quite long and resonant but it all soured very quickly. My wine from a 2009 auction where most bottles have disappointed. Too bad because we had lined this up alongside a 1984 bottle which was superlative and I'd hoped for a much closer contest.

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  • 1999 Opus One 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds (most much older). Dusky, semi-transparent beef blood colour lightening at the edges. Nose is very open...mainly high toned piano notes of blackcurrant. Palate is fresh, young blackberry and boysenberry. One-dimensional and disappointing. My bottle and hasn't changed much since I last opened a bottle in 2011. Maybe it still needs time to develop but I'm not convinced.

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Flight 6 - Blind Red - Flight 4 (2 Notes)

Again, Santa Cruz beat Napa on the night

  • 1988 Ridge Monte Bello 92 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Semi-opaque dusky ruby colour but light at the edges. Nose of light, fresh and lifted strawberries...very lifted and 'feminine'. Palate is deep rich and very powerful black, blue and red berries fruits but not at all heavy. The fruit got deeper and more confit with time in the glass. Deft oak. So contemplative...gosh. I liked this a lot. Would perform even better as a single red for a quiet dinner, I think.

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  • 1986 Dominus Estate 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Drank blind in a long line of older Napa reds. Deep largely opaque ruby colour. Nose is surprisingly muted.....needed more decanting? Palate is slightly thin....more Boedeaux then Napa...but good. Quite tannic, which overpowers the fruit. No great length. Definitely thin with extended time in the glass. Surprised when this was revealed as Dominus, which I love and is normally showing its best, for me, in the 1980s. A sub-par bottle, I suspect. 88-89.

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Flight 7 - 'Open Season' (3 Notes)

Several wines open after the dinner 'blind flights'.

  • 2002 Cain Vineyard & Winery Cain Five 86 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Popped and poured after a long line of old Napa wine we had drank blind. Deep red/purple colour....totally opaque. Nose is surprisingly muted...black/red fruit. Palate is sour, tannic and hard to tell if it is too young or past its best years. Good length...the finish was the best part...which maybe suggests it will improve with more age, but I'm not convinced. My first experience of this wine so was 'flying blind'.

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  • 1967 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Popped and poured after a long line of old Napa wine we had drank blind. Bottle number 1445 of 26,500 according to the label. Thin-looking, totally transparent lamb's blood colour. Nose is freshly-applied nail varnish (in a good way like a an old Barolo) and old Italian-style thin but perfumed rosewood fruit. Palate is light, thin but still retaining a distinctive and lovely rose water, fresh celery and cranberry with some dried spice powder. Very light and chiffonesque on the finish but with superb length and reverberance 'inside the head' on the finale. Oh, gosh....this is beautiful in a 'power without weight' way. A really special treat and my runner up for WOTN. All the more impressive because it was the 17th wine of the evening! 94-95.

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  • 1999 Marcassin Pinot Noir Marcassin Vineyard 92 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

    Popped and poured after a long line of old Napa wine we had drank blind. Light strawberry colour. Nose is beautifully light and lifted, precise and fresh...light and gorgeous in a way I haven't previously experienced in a Napa Pinot Noir. Palate is definitely New World Pinot Noir....very sweet but light strawberry-flavoured bubblegum and soft candy. Impressive chiffonesque lightness on a long finish. It was cool how this stood out so well after around 20 wines that had preceded it. 92+

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Flight 8 - Chef Eddy's Dessert Platter (1 Note)

The Dolce was stunning....so subtle.

  • 1989 Dolce Winery Late Harvest 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Popped and poured after a long line of old Napa wine we had drank blind....I think this was the 22nd bottle we had opened on the night. Deep copper gold colour...but still very bright and fresh-looking. Nose is surprisingly understated....soft suede shoe leather and very light honey. Palate is contrasting richness and rounded gold-ness that is absolutely gorgeous as a counterpoint to the nose. Totally unctuous. I have moved the CellarTracker 'drink by' window from 2020 to 2030 because this has years of life ahead of it although I'd be surprised if it improves much more. Just fab....

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Closing

It's amazing how long-lasting older Napa wines are....a product of a different age. Thanks Joseph and to Chef Eddy & team....and whoever took it on to be DJ at the end of the evening :)

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