1994 Cali Cabs

Cabdrinker was in town and he called upon the chicago residents to have some cabs with him. Shane took the lead on working with Primehouse to tailor everything for us

• 1998 Rudi Pichler Riesling Smaragd Terrassen 93 Points

  Austria, Niederösterreich, Wachau

  nose: lovely and deep nose that is jam packed with mineral tones as well as tones of pears, green apples, acacia flowers, white fruits and a bit of honeysuckle
  
  taste: beautiful medium feel with great medium/high acidity that is still very noticeable. Smooth and classy tones of stones, minerals, bits of white fruits, green apples, pears and a touch of white flowers
  
  overall: this was purchased off the list. Very nice lighter gold color on the wine, this comes off as having a long life ahead of it. If you can find a bottle its well worth trying. A great wine that can still get better

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• 2008 Coleman Nicole Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 86 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  nose: lighter and tart nose of candied red fruits, smoke, raspberries and lighter tones of berries. Nice nose, but lacking some depth and nothing really jumps out too much either
  
  taste: nice and light feel with medium acidity and good tones of red fruits, candy, raspberries, and some smoke tones. It gained a slight bit of weight with air, but it was still lacking a bit on the palate
  
  overall: This was a nice wine and a very good first effort. The nose was very nice, but the palate was lacking. If it gains some weight with age this could be very good, but it doesn't seem to have that next gear

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• 1994 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Fay 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  nose: lovely and well layered nose filled with great tones of menthol, dark red cherries, cassis, cedar, herbs and some bits of currants. Great depth and coming off as fairly mature right now
  
  taste: polished and silky medium/full feel with good supporting tannins and elegant tones of mint, dark red cherries, cassis, cedar and currants with a slight bit of herbs. Well layered on the palate as well
  
  overall: This is a lovely wine. Its mature, but doesn't seem to be in any real danger of going anywhere for a while. Very aromatic that is more on the subtle side rather than in your face. This is a textbook classic cali cab

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• 1994 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  nose: very tight for a while and took about two hours to open up and reveal perfumed tones of cassis, dark red cherries, oak, black currants, and bits of dark berry tones. Great depth, but it was holding back a bit
  
  taste: taught with good tannins and a polished medium/full feel. Didn't fully come out and play until later on as well on the palate. Balanced and round tones of cassis, dark red cherries, oak, black currants and some dark berries and a bit of chocolate
  
  overall: I had decanted this for two hours before taking it to the restaurant and it was still fairly tight when we first tried it. This was pretty young and when it opened up, it was a real nice cab. Very well balanced with a touch of oak, but its not close to too much.

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• 1994 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  nose: perfumed and very youthful monty with the classic monty mint striking you right off the bat along with beautiful tones of red currants, dark red cherries, red fruits, cassis and cedar tones. Great depth, but holding back a bit right now
  
  taste: lovely and polished full body with good tannins and balanced tones of cedar, red currants, mint, dark red fruits, cassis, and some bits of leather and red berries. This is also coming off as holding slightly back and the tannins have a chewy feel to them
  
  overall: this was starting to open up towards the end, but it needed to be decanted longer. This is a great young monty that is starting to drink but really seems like it will be a marathon runner.

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• 1994 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  nose: pure and elegant nose that is polished and very deep with beautiful tones of herbs, vanilla, cassis, dark red fruits, dark red cherries and lots of red currants. A real heady nose with all sorts of layers, but its also holding back a bit right now, there's a tightness to it still
  
  taste: full bodied with gripping tannins and polished tones of berries, dark red fruits, red currants, vanilla and a touch of herbs as well. Extremely well balanced with a real rich and elegant feel. Definitely still young on the palate, but showing a lot of class as well
  
  overall: I had given this a good deal of air to get it to show well. It was decanted for 4 hours and given 8+ more hours of bottle air. This is still a very young wine that is another 10 or so years away from really showing how stunning it can be. Its an amazing wine right now, but a lot of air is needed on this, but there is still room for improvement in it

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• 1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  nose: lush and potent nose filled with tones of leather, dark red cherries, a bit of chocolate, earth tones, bits of mushrooms along with some black currants. Polished with excellent depth, this has a real elegant style to it that makes it attractive
  
  taste: Full bodied with a real richness and warmth to the tones of dark red fruits, black currants, dark red cherries, leather and some earth tones. Good tannins still show themselves and there is great balance to it as well
  
  overall: An awesome cab. Balance is the key to the wine and it brings a more bordeaux style to it but having the nice warm california fruit. Great depth, there was a perfumed quality to it on the nose and a lot of polish

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• 1994 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Cask 23 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

  nose: a bit tight with sweeter tones of dark red cherries, red and black currants, dark red fruits, vanilla, along with some tones of black licorice and oak. It seems to be holding back a bit right now, especially next to the fay
  
  taste: comes off as fairly young with chewy tannins and a full bodied feel that is suave and classy with plush tones of vanilla, dark red cherries, black and red currants, dark red fruits and a touch of oak
  
  overall: This comes off as not fully ready for primetime. Its young and it is drinkable, but doesn't seem close to its peak yet. The feel is real good, and when it opens up some more, this could be a real classy cab

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• 1994 Ridge Monte Bello 93 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  nose: polished and layered nose of cedar, red and black currants, black cherries, dark berries, and leather. Very pungent that is more on the subtle side than the last bottle I had. There is still the perfume quality to it that is real pretty
  
  taste: plush and rounded medium/full feel that plays more to elegance than brute force. Balanced and smooth tones of leather, black and red currants, black cherries and dark berries. The tannins are still showing themselves as well on the bottle
  
  overall: This bottle came off very young and in need of more aging. The baby fat hasn't completely shed on this and this bottle didn't seem to kick into that final gear. A great wine, this does feel like it could be something very special the closer it gets to 20

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• 2002 Alois Kracher Welschriesling TBA #3 Zwischen den Seen 94 Points

  Austria, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee

  nose: delicious and deep nose of apricots, green apples, spiced pears, honey and bits of white florals. The nose also has real good layering already on it wit a polish as well
  
  taste: Very well polished and rounded tones of clove spices, pears, green apples, honey and some white florals. Excellent medium acidity with a lot of depth
  
  overall: a lovely kracher. A lot of polish and depth, this is still young and can get better. Great aromatics right now, it is slightly holding back on the palate

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A great night. Primehouse was above and beyond expectations and the wines showed great for the most part, and even came off as young on the whole. Shane did an amazing job putting everything together and it was a complete blast of a night