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Tasting of California Cabernets & Blends
- 2/17/1999 - The Wine Cellar - Edmonton, AB |
| 1995 M.Coz Meritage - Cosentino |
| The 1995 vintage is a blend of 65 % Cbaernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petite Verdot. The grapes are grown predominately in the Yountville area, with a small portion from
St Helena and Cosentino's Oakville Estate. The lots of grapes are punch cap fermented by hand.
Each lot remains separate for aging in the same barrels for 26 months prior to blending. The wine is unfined and bottled unfiltered. The wine is huge up front, and very expansive. This well-balanced wine has a hint of mint in the nose with notes of cassis, earthy blackberry, cherry, currant and spice. Medium complexity, with a very forward appeal, it will age well but is very flamboyant now. |
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| 1995 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red |
| The proprietary red wine made by Pahlmeyer is usually a blend of 75%-80% Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and a tiny quantity of Malbec. The 1995 Proprietary Red Wine may turn out to be as impressive as the 1994. It boasts an opaque purple/black color, as well as a fabulous nose of pain grillee and cassis, with background notes of licorice and cedar. Long, ripe, and full-bodied, with marvelous concentration, purity, and balance, this wine possesses sweet, ripe tannin, adequate acidity, and a long, intense finish. It provides a mouthful of fleshy, powerful wine that may or may not close up after bottling. It is capable of lasting 20-25 years. With the assistance of consulting oenologist Helen Turley, the Pahlmeyer wines have emerged as some of the finest in northern California. |
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| 1994 Monte Bello - Ridge |
| The 1994 almost defies inspection given its austere, extremely tannic, hard style. The opaque purple color is accompanied by a wine that smells and tastes ripe, rich, and brilliantly made, but it will require a minimum of 10-12 years of cellaring to shed enough tannin to become civilized. Although it should be a winner, it may not be as sure a bet as such vintages as 1991, 1992, and 1995. When young, this wine rarely reveals its full potential. Having said that, the last three vintages of the Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon (1993, 1994, and 1995) are immensely impressive, with perhaps the 1994 the least expansive - for now. |
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| 1994 Monte Bello - Ridge |
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| 1994 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon |
| The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley exhibits an opaque purple color, gobs of sweet, blackcurrant, plum, and raspberry fruitiness, along with some sexy, toasty oak. On the palate, this explosive Cabernet reveals layers of rich, jammy fruit, low acid, and that velvety texture that is so much a characteristic of this vintage. These All-American Cabernet Sauvignons continue to be "can't miss" propositions with the majority of Cabernet lovers. |
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| 1993 Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon |
| The 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley is one of the more tannic and backward wines I have tasted from Silver Oak. Now that it has been bottled, it has closed down, displaying far less lushness and obvious concentration than it did last year. The color remains a healthy dark ruby/purple, and the nose offers earthy, toasty new oak, and sweet black fruit aromas. Tight, yet powerful and rich, this full-bodied, dense, atypically backward Cabernet Sauvignon does not possess Silver Oak's usual approachability and precociousness. Nevertheless, this wine has plenty of merit. It should drink well after 3-5 years of cellaring, and last for 15+ years. |
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| 1993 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve |
| A blend of 91% Cabernet, 6% Merlot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged in small French oak barrels for 19 months, 90% of which were new. It was then bottled unfiltered to retain the rich texture and complex flavours. The wine displays loads of cassis fruit, licorice, herbs, and well-integrated, toasty new oak, full body, an understated, elegant personality, and outstanding length, ripeness, and extraction. It will drink well for two decades. |
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