The OC Tasting Group does California Cab

Pinot Provence Restaurant - Costa Mesa
Tasted Saturday, February 26, 2005 by Greg W with 2,359 views

Introduction

Thanks to Bernie Pitz for organizing this event and also his generosity with the wines. Not only did Bernie organize the event and work with the restaurant, he supplied the opening wine (88 Krug) and the closing wine (85 Fonseca) - in addition to the "flight" wines ('94 Shafer HSS, '94 Dominus). The champagne and port was not served blind - we decided to serve everything else blind in flights of three.

Attendees: Bernie Pitz and Therese Pitz, Myron and Doreen, Bill Macatee and Mimi, Youndy Hung, Roy Piper, Darryl Cordero, and Greg Wright

Flight 1 - Champagne with Appetizer (1 Note)

Poured the '88 Krug with first course: pan seard Nantucket scallops. Everyone seemed to really like this as a starter.

  • 1988 Krug Champagne Vintage Brut 96 Points

    France, Champagne

    Haven't had a ton of experience with Champagne, but I really liked this one. Lots of zing - citrus notes - love the balance with the acidity. Great finish. Excellent.

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Flight 2 - Flight 1 (3 Notes)

Served with second course: pan seared duck breast and foie gras. Group consensus was wine 1 ('01 Caymus SS)- mine was actually wine 3 ('01 Paloma merlot). I think I liked the Dominus more than most - no consensus on whether this was an off bottle.

  • 2001 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 91 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Open, slightly subdued nose. Licorice and plums on the palate, fairly fruity - smooth tannins - not a long finish, but a smooth one.

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  • 1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Very funky nose - rubber, cedar, - not pleasant at all. On the palate, very disjointed - fruit is there, hiding underneath, but overshadowed by bitter tannins. Long finish - shows some promise if the fruit can come out, but not showing well tonight. After sitting in the glass for a while, came back at the end of the night to re-taste. Some of the funk has blown off, but the tart, acidic side is still dominating the wine. Maybe a bad bottle.

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  • 2001 Paloma Merlot 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    Great, open nose - brown sugar and chocolate notes present, along with tons of fruit. On the palate, notes of plums and chocolate - a little tight - but nicely concentrated fruit. Long, structured finish - this is nice now and will get better.

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Flight 3 - Flight 2 (3 Notes)

Served with third course: pan-roasted Kobe style pork. Wine 2 of this flight ('01 Pride) was clearly the wine of the flight and the wine of the night. This was a really good overall flight - I thought both the Lewis and the Mondavi showed really well. Tough to compete with the younger, tremdous Pride sandwiched between the two.

  • 1994 Lewis Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Deep nose - a little funkiness, which blew off with time in the glass. On the palate, nice, elegant fruit - mostly dark fruit notes. Very structured wine. Slightly bitter tannins on finish, which was medium/long in length. This wine is all about "dark" fruit - enjoyable now.

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  • 2001 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Claret 97 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Napa / Sonoma

    Incredible nose - lots of fruit, spice and licorice. Very structured and complex - beautiful concentration of fruit, along with perfect balance. Very long on the finish - fills up the nose with more fruit balanced with relatively smooth tannins. This a a tremendous wine - drinking well now, but with stuffing to go much longer and improve.

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  • 1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Great nose - openly fruity - just a little hint of bell pepper (?). On the palate, a serious, structured wine - licorice, chocolate, very deep. Medium length finish. Seems like a young wine, with a good future ahead.

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Flight 4 - Flight 3 (3 Notes)

Served with fourth course: Braised boneless short ribs and roasted filet. Another great flight - wine 3 of the flight ('94 Shafer HSS) was the table unanimous consensus wine - and it was great - but the other two showed really well.

Flight 5 - "Extra" flight of bordeaux (1 Note)

We spent less time with this wine, as it was poured after the three main flights, but I thought this was showing really well.

  • 2001 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

    Coffee grounds on the nose. On the palate, elegant, fruity wine - rich and concentrated. Medium length finish. Really nice now - will improve with time.

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Flight 6 - Port finale (1 Note)

Served with fifth course: assorted cheeses (petit munster, chavignol, humboldt fog and Saint Marcelin) Again, not too much focus on the wine, which was a shame, as it was a tremendous port.

  • 1985 Fonseca Porto Vintage 95 Points

    Portugal, Douro, Porto

    Brief notes, as there was a LOT of discussion about the cab flights going on, but this was a tremendous port. Very powerful - rich, sweet fruit, balanced nicely by the alcohol. Although big, not "heavy" - just a powerful jolt of really rich fruit. Tasted very young. I'm sure Roy will say too young, but drinking great tonight.

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Closing

This was a really fun event. Great wines, and, more importantly, great to meet everyone who attended. Looking back on the wines, other than the Dominus, they all showed about as expected. The Pride is an amazing wine, as is the Shafer. Thanks again Bernie - looking forward to the next tasting!

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