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Hundred Acre wine tasting
Tasted November 9, 2022 by Quinn05 with 378 views
Introduction
Organised for the people who couldn't make the dinner with the winemaker. Everyone was asked to bring a bottle, so it turned into quite a special evening.
Flight 1 (1 note)
A nice Chardonnay to start. Non-blind.
White
2020 Hudson Vineyards Chardonnay
90 points
Creamy Napa Chardonnay with lots of vanilla, and a little minerality. Well made and a good wine if you like the style.
Flight 2 (3 notes)
Then the other whites. For two of them the surprise was spoiled, so only one was blind.
White
2020 One True Vine Sauvignon Blanc Summer Dreams Walking on Venice Beach
82 points
Far too much oak for this to be recognisable as a Sauvignon Blanc. Not a very good wine. And when you start factoring in the cost of this wine, even worse.
White
2013 Hyde De Villaine Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard
90 points
Blind. Perfumed and expressive. Nice and tight, good enough balance but a little too much oak in my opinion. Not bad though.
White
2018 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren Estate Vineyard
93 points
Rather elegant for a napa chardonnay, a bit of a burgundian style. Was a bit shy in the beginning, it needs around 5 more years I think.
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Flight 3 (3 notes)
Some Pegau samples. Non-blind.
Red
2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée
93 points
Barrel sample. To be bottled next week. This is not the definitive assemblage.
Very elegant, a "gourmand year" as another taster said. Distinct Kirsch-liquer on the nose. Gritty tannins. Something medicinal on the nose. A bit rough and unpolished as well, but that is more often than not the case with barrel samples.
Very elegant, a "gourmand year" as another taster said. Distinct Kirsch-liquer on the nose. Gritty tannins. Something medicinal on the nose. A bit rough and unpolished as well, but that is more often than not the case with barrel samples.
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Red
2020 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée da Capo
97 points
Barrel sample. To be bottled next week. This is not the definitive assemblage. Very, very similar to the Cuvée Reserve, but sooo much more concentrated. This is truly exceptional stuff.
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Red
2019 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée P.O.L.
75 points
Barrel sample. 50% Grenache, 50% Cinsault. 15.5% alcohol. First on Guigal La Turque barrels, which destroyed the wine, then on Burgundy (I forget which domaine) barrels in an attempt to restore the damage done by the Guigal barrels. The idea was to make something elegant, which has clearly failed. This is like a "Port-light", as one of the tasters remarked. It's all over the place too. I'm not convinced...
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Flight 4 (3 notes)
Then onto the Napa's, starting off with some amazing older examples. Blind.
Red
1993 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red
94 points
Blind. Wow, beautiful fruit that seems so very young. Very light and elegant, beautiful balance. This is a very good example of classic Napa.
Red
1995 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon
95 points
Blind. Some paprika in the nose, with some people calling a high percentage of Cabernet Franc. Very young and fresh, obviously mountain fruit with beautiful tension. This bottle was aged at the winery for 20 years, so provenance was excellent.
Red
1996 La Jota Cabernet Sauvignon Anniversary Release
97 points
Blind. Vibrant with lots of fruit. Young fruit too, with most tasters calling 2001. Beautiful focus of the fruit. "Aristocratic", as one of us remarked. Round and smooth. Much more Californian than the Togni. And there is definitely still potential, I'm very curious how this will be in 5 years.
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Flight 5 (3 notes)
Blind.
Red
2009 Olabisi Cabernet Sauvignon Double Top Secret
92 points
Blind. This is a huge Napa blockbuster. Almost Aussie Shiraz-like in its thickness. Big, (over)extracted red fruit, cherry specifically. On the nose the seems older than the La Jota before it. There's also a slight hint of brett.
Red
2019 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
90 points
Blind. Slightly malolactic on the nose. The weird label choices are what I remember best, some odd mix between classic and modern. Like the wine itself.
Red
2014 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard
95 points
Blind. My own bottle. Amazing fruit, rough tannins but soft enough to drink. Very complex. Almost Paulliac-like. Needs some time though, revisit in 3 - 5 years.
Flight 6 (4 notes)
Blind.
Red
2014 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard
88 points
Blind. This definitely wasn't Cabernet. Very funky nose. Meaty and smokey. I'm not a fan of the funky nose, not the type of Syrah I like to drink. Someone said the vineyard is called En Chamberlin because it's supposed to be similair to Gevrey-Chambertin. I hope that was a joke.
Red
2013 Ridge Monte Bello
100 points
Blind. Dark red with some purple and a delicate watery edge. I was truly convinced that our host had put a Premier or Deuxième GCC Bordeaux in the line-up to fool us. Beautifully complex, black fruit, cassis, pine needles, some herbacious notes. And so very balanced and elegant. I have fallen in love with this wine and was truly amazed when it was revealed as a Californian wine. I have no experience with other Ridge Monte Bello wines, but I think I can safely assume the 2013 vintage lives up to the hype it gets. I think this has so much more potential, drink from 2030, if you have to willpower to wait that long.
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Comments (5)
Red
2013 Christopher Tynan Wines Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines Meleagris Gallopavo
99 points
Blind. You can clearly notice this is an amazing wine, and it is definitely worthy of 100 points in the future. But today, it just wasn't giving anything. It started of very shy already and then shut down completely after 15 minutes or so. Kept the glass around for 2 more hours and it didn't change anymore. This is a wine that at this point really just needs time, not air. Don't touch this until at least 2035.
Red
2017 BOND Vecina
95 points
Hedonistic for any other category, but rather elegant for a Napa. Big red fruit, lots of cherry, the fruit is very precise, which is in this case what I mean with elegant. Clearly from a warm year though. Not as badly affected by the wildfires as other Bond wines, the smoke taint here is barely noticeable.
Flight 7 (4 notes)
Then after 17 wines as a warming up, the Hundred Acre wines for which we were initially invited. Non-blind.
Red
2018 Fortunate Son Cabernet Sauvignon The Dreamer
92 points
This was okay, I think it mostly suffered from the comparison to the other Hundred Acre wines. Surprisingly decent value though.
1 person found this helpful
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Red
2018 Fortunate Son The Warrior
94 points
Older vines. And noticably higher quality. Much more balanced. At thrice the price of The Dreamer though, I don't know...
Red
2019 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon The Ark Vineyard
96 points
More structure than Morgans Way. Polished tannins, very soft and sensual.
Red
2019 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Morgan's Way
94 points
More fruit-forward than the Ark, which makes it, in my opinion, a little less interesting.
Flight 8 (3 notes)
Back to other Napa's, two Schafers and a Colgin, and back to blind tasting. Blind.
Red
2005 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
95 points
Blind. Very big, fruit forward Napa Cab. Drinking amazingly well right now.
Red
2015 Colgin IX Estate
96 points
Blind. I don't remember a whole lot about this wine. All I know is that I liked it, and it had suprisingly high acidity, giving it a rather fresh feel.
Red
2010 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select
96 points
Blind. Wow, what a difference 5 years can make. Compared to the 2005, I can safely conclude this is absolutely not ready. Wait 7 more years (because this one I think will need a little more time). And while you're waiting, if you're craving a SHS, crack open a bottle of 2005. That will surely provide you with much more pleasure.
Flight 9 (3 notes)
Two very good wines, against one mediocre wine, not a very fair flight. Blind.
Red
2014 Alpha Omega Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer Dr. Crane Vineyard
80 points
Blind. The nose promises a lot, then you take a sip and boom, ridiculous sweetness. This almost certainly has too much RS, it's not just overripe fruit. It was barely drinkable.
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Red
Red
2016 Harlan Estate
97 points
Blind. Nose is very closed, taste is beautiful, very complex. Insane aftertaste, truly legendary lenght. This is an amazing wine and I'm very grateful I got to taste it. But oh, what a shame, it was truly a crime to have opened it this young.
1 person found this helpful
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Flight 10 (2 notes)
Same vineyard, different winemakers. Blind.
Red
2010 Meteor Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Special Family Reserve
92 points
Blind. Both myself and my palate were pretty tired at this point, so no extensive notes. All I have to say is that the fact that this wine is almost 2.5 times as expensive as the DuMOL version (which is much better) is absolutely beyond me.
Red
2016 DuMOL Cabernet Sauvignon Meteor Vineyard
94 points
Blind. Still quite tight and young. Needs some time. This is a much more talented winemaker making a much better wine. If the Meteor Vineyard is a terroir you enjoy, this is the wine to buy!
Flight 11 (1 note)
Port to end the evening, which turned out to be another Hundred Acre wine. Non-blind.
Red - Fortified
2012 Hundred Acre Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Fortification
99 points
Absolutely loved this port-style wine. Near perfect, amazing stuff. If you can get it for the current listed auction value (~225), definitely pick it up, I know I would.
Closing
If anyone who attended reads this. Thank you for your insights, your great company and of course bringing such amazing wines!