1994 and 1997 California Cabernet Retrospective
Chicago, IL
Tasted Tuesday, April 28, 2009 by psmith with 2,392 views
Introduction
This was a tasting and dinner held at Knightsbridge in Chicago. Wines were organized in flights of five, where each flight was blind and consisted of two pairs of the wine in both the '94 and '97 vintages, as well as a "ringer". The tasting preceded a wonderful steak dinner by Chef Matt.
To keep things interesting, the group was asked to rate the wines on a standard 20 point scale. Reading them a few days later, it's difficult to reconcile my ratings with my shorthand notes, so I'll make no claims regarding consistency other then a general non-monotonic correlation between my likes and dislikes and the ratings.
Flight 1 - Flight One (5 Notes)
Flight 2 - Flight Two (5 Notes)
Flight 3 - Flight Three (5 Notes)
Flight 4 - Flight Four (5 Notes)
Flight 5 - Flight Five (5 Notes)
Flight 6 - Flight Six (5 Notes)
This was the only non-blind flight, and was served after the tasting with dinner.
Closing
Some surprising results overall, but as long as '94 Harlan shows well I feel like all is reasonably correct in the universe (I think it finished 8th). Had the last flight been rated, I'm confident I would have had '93 Maya near the top. Overall the '94's showed similar characteristics to their '97 counterparts in terms of ripeness and flavor profile, but were generally better balanced and structured, without quite the tendency for blowsiness or a hollow midpalate. That said, both vintages clearly produced some stellar wines with plenty of aging potential.
Group top five: (1) '94 Shafer HSS (2) '94 Insignia (3) '97 Insignia (4) '94 Pride Reserve Claret (5) '98 Maiden
Lots of generosity demonstrated by all of the participants - great event!
1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard
USA, California, Napa Valley
From Magnum. Deep red fruit and earthy mint and tobacco type notes. A Bordeaux sensibility but distinctly Californian. Somewhat out of whack at first, with a somewhat hollow middle and hot finish, but rounds out really well fairly quickly. Firm, fine tannins. A lot of time left. Rated 19/20.
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1998 Dominus Estate
USA, California, Napa Valley
More flashy styling than the former ('94) - red and black fruit with coffee undertones. Fine tannins. Generous on the front, but slightly angular and raw. Big wine for a '98. Rated 17/20.
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1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
USA, California, Napa Valley
Roasted coffee notes and red fruit undertones. Sort of a hybrid of classic and modern styling. Ripe fruit. Fine, but resolving tannins, but still quite bright and vibrant. Well balanced. Rated 18/20.
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1997 Dominus Estate
USA, California, Napa Valley
Somewhat bubble gummy, grapey flavors. Ripe fruit, but a more classic structure with ripe tannins. A bit front heavy. Needs lots of time if it's to resolve. Rated 15/20.
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1994 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
USA, California, Napa Valley
More streamlined, California styling. Fine red cherry fruit with eucalyptus highlights. A bit front heavy, and correspondingly hollow in the middle, but that's being picky. Will last, but somewhat lacking in individual character. Resolved tannin with few seams. Rated 17/20.
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