Dan's Dalla Valle Vertical @ XXXX

Fellow wine lover "Dan in Munich" paid a visit to the San Francisco Bay area and organized a vertical tasting of Dalla Valle''s regular Cabernet Sauvignon. The 1991 through 1997 vintages were represented. All wines came from the participants'' personal cellars, so storage conditions were not an issue, although the 1994 bottle did suffer a flooding incident (and the label was taped on).

• 1991 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Dark reddish-purple in color. Very nice nose of currants and spice. Layers of chocolate, cassis, and vanilla, but the tannins seemed a bit coarse. With air the tannins appeared to become even more aggressive and astringent. While enjoyable with food, it never really possessed the charm that would make me totally warm up to it. Given the characteristics of the vintage, in general, it would not surprise me if this wine is just in need of more time in the cellar. For what it''s worth, one person voted this wine the best in the flight. For me, on that day, I would merely rank it GOOD.

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• 1992 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 95 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Very dark, youthful plumy color. Appears younger than I would have expected from an eight year old California Cabernet. When first sampled, the wine appeared to display a bit of alcohol in the nose, but this quickly blew off. This wonderful wine was totally filled to the brim with ripe, sweet cassis fruit. Hints of herbs kept poking in and out, but this is a wine of pure fruit expression. Tannins were present, but they were much more plush than the 1991. My favorite wine of the night for drinking now. I recently tasted a vertical of the Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet, and there as well the 1992 provided the best enjoyment for current drinking (although with the Beringer, I felt the 1991 version would eventually prevail). Great showing, and I ranked this particular bottle EXCELLENT+.

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• 1993 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Medium purple in color; the lightest wine in the flight - but not by much. Compared to the 1992, this wine appeared a bit lean in fruit. Low in structure, with a soft powdery finish. A hint of a metallic element kept creeping in, which detracted. It was hard to judge this wine after the delicious 1992. My description might sound worse than how I really felt about it, which was that is was GOOD.

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• 1994 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Another dark purple wine. From the very beginning there was questions about the wine. A slight mustiness was present in the aroma that never really blew off. Some fruit did successfully peek out from the funk, but in the end the funk won. This was the wine that was caught in a flood... coincidence? Until I can get to try another sample, JUDGEMENT DEFERRED.

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• 1995 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Opaque purple in color. The nose on this wine simply sang. Very perfumey, with dark berries, violets, and plums. Very meaty on the palate and built for the long haul, with medium tannins that were not overwhelming. My second favorite wine of the flight, and perhaps the best aromas. I wonder if there was a bit (or greater percentage) of Cabernet Franc in this particular vintage. EXCELLENT.

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• 1996 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Dark purple in hue. A bit more earth driven than the previous wines. Ripe black plums, mixed with hints of earth, cola and gravel. Quite complex and layered. Again, the tannins presented themselves, but in a rather user-friendly manner. Finishing in the middle of the pack in this tasting, this wine would do quite nicely by itself with a meal. Pleasant powdery finish. VERY GOOD.

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• 1997 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  Dark and inky. A bit muted on the nose. Nice chocolatey flavors. Plums, blueberry pie, vanilla and violets. Nice finish. Needs a bit of time to resolve tannins, but not unapproachable. I would give this wine more cellar time, but it appears to have a promising future.VERY GOOD.

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It was interesting to observe how well each wine, in general, translated the vintage. Although there were obvious similarities across the board (ripe plumy, cassis fruit), there were individual nuances that made each wine interesting in their own right. If nothing else, it added more empirical evidence that points to 1992 as a great vintage for current consumption, at least for my tastes.