Big Ass American Cabs blind with shocking results!

The tasting actually took place 4/30/11 :) 14 winos got together to taste big Cali cabs. 2 tasters were somewhat new to wine, the rest had at least 10 years of experience. About 8 of us were cab lovers, 1 was a Burghead. The whites and dessers were not blind and the Far Niente had a crumbly cork, so it wasnt blinded either because we had no strainer or deanter on hand so the cork gave it away. I was host, so I contributed about half of the wines and decided to throw in the 2008 Educated Guess as a price "ringer." I had never had the 08, but I had drank the 07 several times and I really liked the wine so I figured a few people would like it a lot...boy were we surprised...Most of the wines got two hours of air prior to the three hour long tasting...

• 2007 J. Rochioli Chardonnay Russian River Valley

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

  On the nose buttery oak and the palate follows through with butter and some renier cherries. The fruit would have been great if it wasnt for all that butter. Other people went gaga over this.

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• 2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Albariño Abrente

  USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros

  Pineapple and tropical fruit nose. Some cool stones and more tropical fruit on the palate. Great acid, long finish. Very nice wine.

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• 2009 Araujo Estate Sauvignon Blanc Eisele Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Fantastic nose of grass, sea salt, and lemons. The palate is intense with lemon and apricots as well as great salinity. Medium to full bodied. Long finish. Delicious wine.

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• 2006 Vineyard 29 Cabernet Sauvignon Cru

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #1
  Dark in the glass, buttery oak on the nose with dark berries and spicy black pepper on the palate. Fairly balanced. Good wine overall.

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• 1995 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #2
  Some bricking. Soy, motor oil and horse hyde on the nose. Soy, currants, and orange peel on the palate. Good balance, a good older wine overall.

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• 2004 Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #3
  Cracked black pepper on the nose. Ripe raspberries, cinnamon and a bit of soy on the palate with a bitter edge. Very intense but balanced. Very good wine. The bitter edge makes it short of great.

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• 2006 Peter Michael Les Pavots

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

  Wine #4
  Dark cherries, olives and vanilla on the nose. The palate has chalk, dark berries, cherries, chocolate and a bit of beef. Great balance. A very good to great wine.

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• 2001 Anderson's Conn Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #5
  A bit of bricking. Soy, murshrooms and brush on the nose. The palate is earthy and full of ripe fruits. A hint of bell pepper. Great balance and feel. Very good, great if not for the bell pepper note.

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• 2007 Outpost Cabernet Sauvignon True Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  Not much on the muted nose. Very tight on the palate with some soft raspberries and big dark fruits. Very young wine that feels like it will be great. Nice balance despite tightness.

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• 2008 Roots Run Deep Cabernet Sauvignon Educated Guess Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #7
  Purple in the glass. Caramel, sweet fruits and cinnamon on the nose. The palate is full of ripe cherries, raspberries and sweet cinnamon with great acidity and balance. Long, smooth finish. A shocker, as I could have named any of five wines wotn (Maybach, Araujo, Kapcsandy and Bryant were in the running) I picked this.

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• 1997 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine # 8
  Barnyard, soy and green notes on the nose. Soy, beef and tobacco on the palate. Drying finish. Good, older wine.

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• 2007 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Peterson Family Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #9
  Chocolate, iced tea and lemon notes on the nose. The nose is less ripe that most so far but the palate if ripe, with dark fruit and vanilla flavors. Good balance. Good to great wine.

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• 1996 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #10
  Soy and beef on the nose with some under brush. Bordeaux like. Soft berries in the palate with some bitterness. Fair balance. Fair wine.

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• 2003 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Wine #11
  Soy and raw ground beef on the nose. Soft and restrained on the palate with some raspberries. Fair balance, fair wine.

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• 2006 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #12
  Very cab like nose with chocolate, currants, and ripe berries. The palate follows suit but it had a clipped finish. Fair balance...a fair wine.

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• 2006 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford

  Wine #13
  Beef and currants on the nose. The palate is full of yourng fruit but there is significant astringency. Just young. Unbalanced for now. Fair now, good future.

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• 2006 Alpha Omega Era

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #14
  Powerfull nose with chocolate, vanilla, dark berries and a bit of barnyard. The palate is chuck full of dark berries and chocolate. Full, creamy wine with good balance. Good to great.

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• 2007 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #15
  Nose of orange rind and currants. The palate is bold with ripe raspberries, cherries and some vanilla. Good texture and balance. Good to great wine. Needs time, however.

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• 2007 Maybach Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Materium

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Wine #16
  Beef, chalk, vanilla and raspberries on the nose. The palate is powerful with ripe raspberries and blueberries, chocolate and baking spices. Great texture and balance. Great wine #2 of the night for me.

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• 2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #17
  Mild nose of beef and vanilla with purple fruits. Ripe plums, cranberries and oak on the palate. Nice texture and body. Long finish. Good to great wine.

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• 2007 Jones Family The Sisters

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine # 18
  Dark berries and horse sweat on the nose. The palate shows sweet ripe plums and cherries with some cinnamon. Another one with great texture and mouth feel. Good balance. Great wine.

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• 2005 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Wine #19
  Barnyard, olives and beef on the nose. The palate is full of ripe cherries and currants. Intense but young and not quite exploding in the mouth. The balance is very tense and needs a lot of time. Good, will be great.

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• 2008 Kapcsándy Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Grand Vin) State Lane Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville

  Wine #20
  Chocolate, coffee and ripe plums on the nose. Ripe plums, backberries and coffe on the palate. Rich and smooth. Great balance, great wine. My #3 of the night.

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• 1992 Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Tasted non blind because the cork crumbled in the bottle and it would have been easy to guess. Heavily bricked. Nose of meat and old, tired cherries. The palate is mature with tobacco and some cherries. A good, old cab.

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• 1998 Château d'Yquem

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Honey and apricots on the intense nose. The palate is similarly flavored with long honey and some flowers. Thick and unctuous. A bit simple for an Yquem but all Yquem nonetheless.

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• 2005 Schlink Haus Eiswein

  Germany, Nahe

  Sweet apricot ont he nose. The palate is full of sweet candied fruit dominated by stone fruits. Great acid. Clean wine. I liked it a lot, especially for the price.

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• 2005 Rosenblum Cellars Late Harvest Viognier Ripken Ranch

  USA, California, Central Valley, Lodi

  Massive apricot nose. Sweet and thick on the palate with more apricot, honey and ripe yellow fruits. Could have used more acid. Good for the price.

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All my notes were written prior to reveal. Amongst my top 5 wines any of them could have been #1. I randomly assigned 1-2-3 between them, of course I ranked EG #1 I felt like I had the palate of a walrus ;) The group, however ranked them Maybach #1, Educated Guess #2, Les Pavots #3, and Bryant #4. On this day the EG showed that well. The Burghead had Scarecrow 1, Corra 2, and Araujo 3 which is interesting because I found Scarecrow and Corra to be two of the most dissapointing wines of the evening. Gotta love blind tastings...