California Cabernet dinner

Five couples for dinner, all of whom pulled mature wines from their home cellars. The theme was "mature California Cabernet and blends", but somehow a Chardonnay showed up, too.

• 1997 Kistler Chardonnay Carneros

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  From a friend's cellar.
  dark yellow. Leesy, honey nose. Citrus, medium body, concentrated. Mature and still very lovely.

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• 2008 Brion Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Dark berry nose, delicious. This is tense and a little hard, but so delicious with the black fruit. Still very young.

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• 2008 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Fragrant of very ripe fruit and mint or sage- compelling. This is rich on the palate, very ripe fruit and spice. Very delicious in a surprising style.

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• 2003 Dominus Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Bright medium red with very thin mahogany rim. This nose is driven by pure red berry fruit. Cranberry to red raspberry. Tangy, athletic. A beautiful youngster. My wine of the night.

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• 2003 Vice Versa Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Very dark red. Nose of blackberries and oak. This is a very big, extracted wine with rough tannin to go along with the black berry and oak palate. This one sticks out like a sore monolithic thumb in tonite's line up.

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• 1998 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Maturing medium+ colour. Cherry, iron, menthol nose. Medium weight, maturing, ripe berries and leather. Very long and smoothly tannic. In a very good spot now. As the night progressed this got a very prominent graphite pencil odour and I liked it less.

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• 1998 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This fits with the 2 other Mondavi Reserves I have drunk in past few weeks - clean, balanced, good concentration, complex, ageless.

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• 1988 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Beautifully mature. Obviously Cabernet Sauvignon but not obviously California. Classic, understated but a joy to drink. My spouse's wine of the night.

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• 1984 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Dark and still vital. Fruit has some spice and a sweetness to it. The bright acid strikes me as citric acid but it's probably not. The last bottle opened at dinner so I was getting fatigued. A very good bottle, well cellared.

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Top California Cabernets can drink beautifully from age 15 to 35 years.