California Mavericks @ Five Sails

First wine event hosted by our group. Focus was on more elegant, lower alcohol, traditional producers. For a group that is biased towards old world style, I think these wines performed well.
Flights had the following themes:
1) White winemaking style
2) First wine vs second wine
3) Vineyards 60ft apart
4) Benchmark Californian blends

The Kalin Cellars as well as Dominus stood out, with the Dunn Howell Mountain and Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill both performing well.

Comparison of StonyHill, which ages their wine in no new oak & avoid malolactic fermentation (with the stated intention of maintaining the original acid structure of the wine and desire to protect the citrus and apple flavours) VS Kalin Cellars, which ages their wine in 50% new oak and induces malolactic fermentation, which they feel vastly increases flavour components. Winner: Kalin.

• 1993 Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvée LD

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  13.2% abv. Yellow-gold. Buttery, marzipan, a bit of funk on the nose. Minerally in the mouth with a touch of sweetness, but overall very balanced. Long. This was excellent. Winemaker supposedly strove to make this a Puligny like wine, and this does strike me as more Burgundian in style.

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• 1994 Stony Hill Chardonnay

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  13.0% abv. Yellow-gold. Ripe pear on the nose. Acidity is still noticeable, but more subtle. A bit short on the finish. Overall a more elegant wine and drinking reasonably well, but not one to seek out.

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According to the winery, the softer lots tended to go into the Napa bottling, but that in the 90s, the taste between the two bottlings was supposed to be very similar.

Did not find this to be the case… the Howell Mountain was superior to the Napa Valley bottling.

• 1996 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

  13.0% abv. Floral nose, some spice, cassis. This seemed much more alive than the same vintage Dunn Napa Valley. Tannic grip still there, as well as the acidity... Drinking nicely now, but will easily last 10+ more yrs.

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• 1996 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  13.0% abv. Drank alongside a Dunn HM, and felt this was a meaningful step down. Nose was earthy, but muted. Soft in the mouth, with noticeable acidity. Much less tannic than HM. Dunn commented that they used 10% from Beckstoffer vineyards, with the rest HM, either estate or neighbors. I was hoping they would taste similar for value reasons, but the HM was much better in my opinion.

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This flight was meant to investigate the concept of terroir in California. Red Rock Terrace and Volcanic Hill are 60ft apart, but with different soil and facing different directions.

The verdict: It exists. Volcanic Hill was denser vs Red Rock Terrace more elegant. Preferred the former.

• 2001 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  13.5% abv. A spicy, perfumy, floral nose. Tart and tannic in the mouth. I read given the ash in the soil and south facing vineyards, these can be dense and powerful, and while this was certainly leaning that way, it was still balanced. Preferred this vs the 01 Red Rock Terrace, which was quite different despite being only 60ft away.

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• 2001 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

  13.5% abv. Wasn't getting much on the nose... Oak and some floral. Slight tartness. Wasn't a very interesting wine tonight. Iron in the soil + steep/north facing vineyard supposed to result in a more elegant wine, which might explain why it was overpowered by the Volcanic Hill drunk alongside.

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Dominus vs Monte Bello. Valley floor vs mountain at 2300+ ft. Higher alcohol vs lower.

Winner: Dominus was by far the more interesting wine.

• 1997 Dominus Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  14.1% abv (87% Cab Sauv, 9% Cab Franc, 4% Merlot). What a nose... funky and pungent. Limited fruit, a touch of band-aid. Long and nicely balanced. Paired up vs a 1997 Ridge Monte Bello, and this blew it away.

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• 1997 Ridge Monte Bello

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  12.9% abv (85% Cab Sauv, 8% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 3% Cab Franc). Nose was on the more muted side: earth, blueberries and slight spice. Little in way of tannins, some acidity present… overall a more elegant wine. Drank alongside a '97 Dominus, and this was, not surprisingly, overpowered. Thought I'd like this more of the two… but didn't.

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