K&L Napa 'Big Boy' Tasting

K&L San Francisco
Tasted Saturday, October 29, 2011 by alr6767 with 675 views

Introduction

K&L SF hosted a non-blind tasting of some Napa heavy weights from the '08 vintage. It was interesting to taste these monster wines side by side. I made sure to dip in to the bread and delicious K&L branded olive oil - no shill, it was pretty good! With the exception of the Montelena, the wines were decanted and returned to their original bottles 3-4 hours prior to the tasting.

Flight 1 (8 Notes)

  • 1993 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    French oak, green pepper nose. Cherry, tobacco, herbs, some Italian tomatoes. Medium acidity, medium- body. A touch of heat on the finish, leather, very resolved tannin. If tasted blind, might have guessed rioja, save the green pepper on the nose.

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  • 2008 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Blueberry, blackberry compote, green pepper, cassis, confection fruit nose - seems pretty complex now that I type it. First sip gives a glimmer at globs of fruit, suddenly overwhelmed by a tidal wave of tannin that sew this wine shut for now. A very heady wine, not for the faint of heart and also not an early drinker. Huge wine, lots of structure, tough to read at this stage but will probably be excellent in 3-5+ years.

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  • 2008 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    The mountain fruit nose immediately gives this away as Spring Mountain - lighter color as well. Nose also more austere, with a whiff of barnyard, which was frankly refreshing in the given line up. Round palate, masculine, dark red fruit, complex. Stern structure, medium acidity dwarfed by the full, velvety tannins on the med+ finish. Good sense of place.

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  • 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate

    USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

    I don't know what it is about Spottswoode, but I never seem to catch a bottle drinking that well. Closed nose, something I couldn't make out that others seemed to think were flowers. Toasty, closed palate. Med+ acidity, medium mouth feel. I recognized some uplift on the finish which was pleasant, but was overwhelmed by drying tannin. Feel like this will be a late drinker.

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  • 2008 Kapcsándy Family Winery Estate Cuvée State Lane Vineyard

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville

    Consistent with previous notes, but closing up for a slumber compared to tasting last December - at least, this bottle was. Needs 3+ years.

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  • 2008 Dominus Estate

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Soft, feminine nose, especially in this company. Up front fruit, falling off on the mid-palate to an abbreviated finish. Not distinguished at this very early stage. Someone said Dominus was "Margaux in Napa" - to me, more like Palmer or Alter Ego, although I am pretty sure this is a late drinker.

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  • 2008 Buccella Cabernet Sauvignon

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Explosive fruit nose, anise. Gobs of fruit, not confection but still the oak was very present. Round palate, medium- acidity. Big finish, huge wine on the front and the back. Drinking youngest of all the wines today, but also the most accessible. Slight green note to the tannin dampens pleasure at this stage, but food helps a lot.

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  • 2008 Joseph Phelps Insignia

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Complex medoc-esque nose, herbs, graphite. Nice red currant fruit. Great lift on the expressive mid-palate, medium+ acidity. Some tannin on the long mocha chocolate finish, a touch of heat. Most complete wine in the line up at this stage and my WOTD.

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Closing

For me, the Phelps Insignia was the WOTD and a definite "buy more". I feel like the Buccella and the Bryant were fairly close given the great disparity in price, with the Bryant having more stuffing but also being tougher to read. Having tasted many of the other wines, I felt they performed more or less as expected drinking them so young and with such a short decant, with the exception of the Kapcsandy which has closed up quickly compared to a tasting late last year.

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