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94 Napa: a 20-year retrospective @ my place
Netherlands
Tasted September 20, 2014 by jkoenen with 763 views
Introduction
20 bottles of wine, brought together by all nine participants. Most of them 94 Napa Cabernets, some ringers to keep us all focussed.
All wines were served blind; one after another, except for the last three wines, which were served in a proper flight.
Bottles were uncovered before serving the next one. Wines were scored before their identity was revealed.
Since I was organizing this meeting, the wines were not blinded to me, and my notes are quite succinct.
Flight 1 (8 notes)
Red
1994 Opus One
94 points
Mouthfeel is both lush and traditional. Barnyard, ferous nuances, dark and moody, chalky tannines, still lots of black fruit, currants. Excellent wine. 94/100 (group scores 94-96)
Red
1994 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
92 points
Browning has started, both in colour and in character. Of course this is a wonderful wine, yet it didn't fire on all cilinders. Caramel, sweet oak nuances, red berried fruit. Quite traditional in style. Complexity? 92/100 (group scores 88-95)
Red
1994 Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Sonoma Mountain
94 points
This one blew everyone away... Gorgeous nose, poop, licorice, bay leaf, macerated fruit. Really deap and layered. Complex, classic and magnificant. One of the best QPR wines of the evening. 94/100 (group scores 94-98)
Red
1994 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve
90 points
Strange bouquet, difficult. Overripe fruit? Decay. Sweet licorice, oak, pruney and sweet towards the end. I would say this is somewhat disjointed, lacking harmony. A little disappointing... 90/100 (group scores 88-95)
Red
1994 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate
89 points
Reductive? Kinda soupy, lots of mint, dried herbs too. Very warm and appears quite modern and polished, extraction. Looking for balance. I assume this is a suboptimal bottle. 89/100 (group scores89-93)
Red
1994 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon
97 points
Awesome wine, huge in complexity, balance and drinkability. The bouquet is an ever changing peacock's tail, unbelievably interesting and cerebral. Very pure and clean on the palate, transparent yet concentrated. Great definition, bursting with menthol, cedar, cassis, graphite, pine kernels. Great to see this perennial favorite of mine perform so well. 97/100 (group scores 96-99)
Red
1994 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release
96 points
One of the surprises of the tasting (for me). The smoky, slightly sweet, well seasoned whiffs of prime grilled beef almost made me drool. Both extremely seductive and very powerful. This is amazing juice. 96/100 (group scores 96-99)
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Red
1994 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
95 points
Extremely young, tannic, dark and gloomy. Mocca, balsamic notes, bramble, black cherry, still tightly wound, still bursting with promise.... Towering wine. 95/100 (group scores 93-98)
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Flight 2 (2 notes)
Red
1994 Turley Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard
97 points
Crisp, fresh and oh so primary. Essence of blueberry pancakes, very bright and attractive fresh fruit nuances. Great tannines, almost resolved. This seems so young, it's unbelievable. The least evolved wine of the tasting. Amazing. 97/100 (group scores 94-98)
Flight 3 (7 notes)
Red
1994 Pahlmeyer Merlot
88 points
Old wine. Rosehip, lavas, autumnal forestfloor, decay. Still palatable, but clearly past its best. 88/100 (group scores 87-90)
Red
1999 Château Pavie
93 points
Soft and luxurious. Lots of tension and brisk joie de vivre on the midpalate. Prunes, red fruit, cinnamon, pinch of leather and barnyard. Not very long, though. Fades out quite quick. Nobody determined this as a ringer... 93/100 (group scores 92-98)
Red
1994 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
91 points
Hot wine, alcohol marks the finish. Very dense, concentrated and serious, lots of graphite, black and red fruit, acidic backbone peeks out. Somehow I felt that the structure of this wine was too loose, alcohol not integrated (yet), searching for balance, slightly tiresome. Good stuff, yes. But not very emotional nor extraordinary to me. Other were more positive. 91/100 (group scores 90-96)
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Red
1994 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection
95 points
Beautifully crafted, modern glass of wine, but I could feel the classic DNA through the concentration and big fruity notes. Gorgeous secondary notes of maturation, licorice, cedar, graphite, minerality. Tasty, yummy seductive, sexy and full of class. 95/100 (group scores 95-97)
Red
1994 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon
95 points
A great bottle of wine indeed... Very complete and luscious. Impressive concentration and definition, bordering on 'too much'. Some alcoholic presence. But if this is your style of Napa Cab, you'll be blown away... 95/100 (group scores 95-99)
Red
1994 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard
98 points
Nose of incredible beauty and complexity... A rock-star of a wine, ultimate, impressive and layered. Wonderful spice and sausage and blood. A real delight. Perfect mix of styles, best of both worlds (modern/classic). Top-drawer. 98/100 (group scores 97-100)
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Red
1994 Abreu Cabernet Sauvignon Madrona Ranch
96 points
Very primary, deep and dark. Loaded with potential and promise. Black fruit, very floral and luxurious like an expensive perfume. Broad-shouldered and masculine, yet well dressed and very sophiticated. One for the cellar. 96+/100 (group scores 94-99)
Flight 4 (3 notes)
Red
1994 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard
94 points
Open and generous, ready to go. Tobacco, black olives, some mint, cassis. Great balance, satin-like structure. Not as dense as other 94s, but very complete and totally charming and complex. Long and resounding finish. Marvelous. 94/100 (group scores 93-98)
Red
1994 Harlan Estate
99 points
Amazing, beguiling, mystical, orgastic bouquet of a seldom seen class... This wine has it all, perfect structure, great aromatics, balance and harmony. A fairytale of a wine. Guess that if I wasn't so busy organizing, it could (or should) have gotten the perfect score. 99/100 (group scores 95-100)
Red
1991 Dominus Estate Napanook Vineyard
97 points
This is way more classic, traditional than most of the other wines on the table tonight. IMHO it had the best nose of the tasting, perfect. Guess I like a good serving of old-world funk in my wine... Loved this wine for its balance and spicyness; oak is very well judged and integrated. Tannines are wonderfully resolved. Alas, it developed quite quickly in the glass, suggesting that it's reaching the end of its plateau.. So, this is the moment to drink it. Don't wait. 97/100 (group scores 95-100)
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Closing
We had a very impressive tasting which had an unbelievable mean level of quality. Most of the wines performed within or above my/our expectations.
The groups' Top 10 wines (mean score):
1. 1994 Harlan Estate (99.1)
2. 1994 Dominus (98.9)
3. 1991 Dominus (98.4)
4. 1994 La Jota Anniversary (98.1)
5. 1994 Dalla Valle (97.8)
6. 1994 Togni (97.7)
7. 1994 Abreu Madrona (96.4)
7. 1994 Turley Hayne PS (96.4)
9. 1994 Laurel Glen (95.9)
10. 1994 Caymus SS (95.8)
Personal WOTN: 1994 Harlan Estate
Other wines to look out for: 1994 Laurel Glen, 1994 La Jota Anniversary, 1994 Caymus SS, 1994 Dominus, 1994 Turley Hayne PS