Uncorked DK does mature Napa Bdx blends

Peter Solberg
Tasted Friday, November 27, 2009 by gorm with 1,454 views

Introduction

November 27th 2009 Uncorked DK gathered for a tasting of mature (and semi-mature) Napa Cabs. Within the last years we have tasted quite a lot of cult wines from Napa, but were excited about this opportunity to taste some more mature specimens.

Henrik, who organized the tasting, also made sure that we would taste some rarities. Peter Solberg kindly hosted the tasting and his wife provided us with lovely dishes. All wines were served double-blind as always.

On with the notes... (the (UXX,X) rating is the group average rating, the other rating is my own)

Flight 1 - Flight 1 - Champagne (1 Note)

Flight 2 - Flight 2 - 1990 (2 Notes)

What a way to begin. The first vintage of Harlan - very fitting...

  • 1990 Harlan Estate 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Very dark red. Very delicious and massive nose with herbs galore, pine needle, cherries and sweet pibe tobacco. Sweet, round and soft in the mouth with some bitter notes of licorice and pepper and still tannins left. Very long aftertaste. Nicely polished fruit that comes across as very pure. What a treat to taste. (U95,4)

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  • 1990 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    Very dark red. The somewhat shy nose reveals dark berries, shoe polish and licorice. In the mouth it appears a bit closed with quite a lot of acid and some green notes and a somewhat metallic touch across midpalate. With additional air it fleshes out and becomes much more welcoming, but never quite sheds the metallic touch. (U93,4)

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Flight 3 - Flight 3 - 1992 (2 Notes)

  • 1992 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District

    Very dark. Dense a sweet nose with hints of chewing gum and quite a lot of sweet oak expressing itself as caramel fudge. Also a lot of very mature cherries, rubber and coffee. Very intense and with a good aftertaste. Becomes fresher and more complex with more air. A great HSS even though not quite as good as the 91 I had last summer. (U95,2)

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  • 1992 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Dark core with a lighter rim. Delicious and intense nose with a refreshing scent of herbs, fruit, coffee, bicycle rubber and butter milk. Fine tannins remains. Nice, but a bit short. (U92,8)

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Flight 4 - Flight 4 - 1994-1995 (2 Notes)

The Dalle Valle Maya was the first real mindblower of the night...

  • 1994 Dalla Valle Maya 97 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

    Very dark red. Instantly impresses with a very intense and deep nose of dark berries, white pepper, rose pepper, some coffee and cinnamon. Very nice intense dark fruit with energy, drive and length. Appears quite youthful too. (U97,0)

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  • 1995 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard Flawed

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Unfortunately appeared to be slightly corked. You could sense some warm spices, cinnamon and nice fruit, but also damp cardboard, so no judgment on this...

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Flight 5 - Flight 5 - Champagne (1 Note)

  • 1998 Gosset Champagne Célebris 95 Points

    France, Champagne

    Slightly golden yellow with a light rim and a nice mousse. Deliciously mature nose with sherry and passion fruit. Nice acidity and very intense. Also displays roasted wheat and a nice minerality that seems to persist in a long aftertaste. (U95,0)

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Flight 6 - Flight 6 - More 1994 (2 Notes)

  • 1994 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection 94 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Dark red. Dense, sweet and deep nose with plenty of herbs, some licorice and burned caramel - like most Caymus wines a somewhat brooding appearence. Nice big mouthfeel with great lift and nice polished fruit. Long herbal aftertaste. Very nice. (U94,0)

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  • 1994 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

    Very dark red, almost black. Dense and intense nose with sweet black berries, pepper and espresso. Very pure and dense with fine and slightly dusty tannins. I really like its huge, yet fine, structure, like having the tour of Eiffel on the tongue. Quite complex and with a long aftertaste. (U95,4)

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Flight 7 - Flight 7 - 1997 (2 Notes)

  • 1997 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 99 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Very dark all the way to the rim. The nose just radiates from the glass and instantly fills the entire skull with salty licorice and pitch black fruit. In the mouth this is huge, yet soft and easy to drink, immensely concentrated, yet complex and elegant. Wow. And wow again. (U98,7)

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  • 1997 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch 95 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Quite dark to the rim. The nose is intense and delicious and dominated by dark berries. Comes across as a bit shy (or intimidated by the Bryant Family pairing). Nice structure and good intensity and quite youthful. (U95,8)

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Flight 8 - Flight 8 - 1997-2001 (2 Notes)

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than the 97 Bryant...

  • 2001 Abreu Thorevilos 100 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Dark red all the way to the rim. Very intense and dense nose displaying loads of salt, licorice, dried herbs and rose leaves. In the mouth this has unbelieable intensity and sports medicinal like qualities and more licorice. This wine is quite extreme, but it maintains a quite as supreme elegance and enormous persistence. A unique wine. A mindblowing wine. (U98,8)

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  • 1997 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Herb Lamb 96 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    Dark red. Delicous nose with a somewhat rustic earthy and mushroomy feel. Nice intensity and aftertaste. Nice with more of the secondary attributes. Long, but rustic aftertaste. (U97,0)

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Flight 9 - Flight 9 - Extra (1 Note)

This was an extra wine brought in by Peter Solberg. What a treat to have this two times this year.

  • 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Mouline 98 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    Very dark redbrownish core with a light rim and some light sediment. Amazing nose of smoke, meat, blood, bacon, herbs, forrest fruit marmelade and butter milk. In the mouth it appears somewhat tight and youthful with quite a lot of protruding acid. Displays loads of dark berries and coffee. Very complex and intense with great balance. Great aftertaste. The nose is clearly 100p, but all in all this wine appeared a bit tighter and less seducing than last time I had, so I can "only" give it 98++. (U98,2)

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Flight 10 - Flight 10 - Sweet sticky (1 Note)

  • 2004 Sine Qua Non Sémillon Mr. K The Straw Man 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    Dark yellow. Very delicious and exotic, yet pure, nose with coconut, papaya, pineapple, orange marmelade and a hint of petrol. Huge, fat and sweet, yet balance and with a sticky brown sugar aftertaste. (U95,3)

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Closing

This was another memorable tasting. In fact I can still literally taste some of the wines even a month later. These Napa wines seems to be aging very well indeed!

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