Some American Cabs at Roger's

A great experience in trying some older wines from both Napa and Washington State. And while I didn't know it, a little history as well, as I believe we tried the 1st vintage of CSM Cold Creek produced, from five year old vines.

• 2007 Damien Laureau Savennières Les Genêts 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Savennières

  3/5/11: Been able to try this over the last couple years. I was blown away by this at a tasting a couple weeks ago. Tonight, it was undoubtedly delicious, but the balance wasn't there to drink more than a glass. Touch of sweetness. Ripe, some chalk, but a very nice Savennieres that I would give a couple more years. 88
  
  2/23/11: Soft, marshmellowy aromatics. Round and soft on the palate, with a full mouthfeel. Delicious. 92

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• 1985 Joseph Phelps Insignia 93 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  What a great treat to be able to try a 25 year old Insignia. This was the wine of the night. It was mature, but could still show a move or two. The aromatics were the highlight, with a beautiful funky nose, with notes of earth, mushrooms, red fruits. The palate was still showing decent fruit, well balanced, and on the elegant end, with the fruits veering toward red. Not over the hill, but the enjoyment of this bottle depends on how you like the wines. It actually reminded me of an '85 BV Latour I had a couple years back. Whether that's due to my limited experience of aged wine or real similarities is tough to tell. I have found my sweet spot to be 10-15 years, so I might be a harsher critic of this, but it was undeniably a great wine, and showed really well.

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• 1978 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 2 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This might have seen better days, but it also showed pretty well for a wine past thirty years. Not a ton of fruit left, but still showing a little elegance. Red fruits. This wine can hold it's head high.

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• 1978 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon Cold Creek Vineyard 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  This was the surprise of the night. I haven't had the best experience with aged wine from Washington, and I was shocked to even find a bottle from the '70's from Washington, especially on the East Coast. Upon further research, I found out that the vineyard was planted in 1973, and this may have very well been the first vineyard designated bottling of this wine. So the history is really cool, and finding it is really cooler, but even better, the wine showed quite well. No way I would have guessed this was a wine from Washington nearly 35 years old. This was still quite fresh, mature but showing some red fruits. It's amazing how well this wine showed when you think that it was part of the frontier of wine making in Washington, and the vineyard still endures and produces great wine. The Insignia was undoubtedly the better wine, but this is the wine that makes me so geeked out about wine in the first place. You can imagine the wine maker bottling this wine, which very well might have been the first single vineyard wine of the state. It's exciting to be able to try it all these years later and say "Good Job, and thanks for the wonderful vino!"

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• 2000 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 88 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was fine, and eleven years later shows that all the talk about 2000 being such a bad vintage was rubbish. This isn't even the flagship wine, and it's showing well at 10+ years, and that doesn't happen in bad vintages. However, there's nothing amazing about this either. It's one chance with all these wonderfully aged wine was to show some exuberant fruit, and that wasn't happening, and it wasn't in great balance either. I'd say drink 'em if you've got 'em.

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