I’m not really a Napa guy. Big, high-powered and often oaky Napa Cabs are just not my thing, both because they’re bad matches with food and because I prefer the balanced, elegant Napa Cabs of the '70s and early '80s, before Parker’s ratings and influence turned the vast majority of them into super ripe, concentrated, high alcohol, steroid monsters. Of course I’m not a fan of the Wine Advocate either these days, although I’m willing to give Antonio Galloni a chance, given his track record with his Piedmont Report. Nonetheless, I managed to be included, somehow, in this eBob gathering on the occasion of Antonio’s first visit to Napa since his designation by Robert Parker as his successor to cover California wines, as well as Burgundy and Italy, for the Wine Advocate. I honestly didn’t know it was an eBob offline when I accepted a friend’s kind invitation to come as his guest. As it turned out, Antonio had been to PRESS for a similar blowout, with three or four dozen wines, the previous evening, so how he was able to manage going to the same restaurant for a similar kind of evening the very next day is beyond me. He’s a young guy though. He indicated that, with his young children at home back in New York, he was in Napa for only one week now, and would be back for a two-week trip in October.
The theme of the offline was “bring something that says Napa to you.” Several of us started the evening before dinner at PRESS with a very informative tasting at Rudd with Rudd’s winemaker Patrick Sullivan. We did a very nice flight of the Rudd proprietary red from '05 to '08, and I’m reporting on that tasting separately. (PRESS Restaurant and Rudd Winery, by the way, have the same owner, Leslie Rudd.) Not counting those Rudd wines that were brought along to dinner (that I tasted before dinner), and recognizing I may have missed two or three other bottles that floated between the three tables of us during the course of the evening, I count 33 bottles that I took notes on during dinner. Of those, 24 were Cabs or Bordeaux blends. The assembled gang did bring some interesting older wines. Several of our very old bottles, unfortunately, were already over the hill, or otherwise flawed. My WOTN, by far, was the '72 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, which was still in great shape, and reminded me a lot of the fabulous 1974 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, which I’ve had on a few occasions. I brought a couple of wines that say Napa to me, and neither of them were Cabs. They were both Syrahs–two of the better ones from Napa, IMHO: Lagier-Meredith and Kongsgaard. For more details on the wines, including my tasting notes, see the flight summaries below.
I wish I could report that I learned more about Antonio, his philosophy or his thoughts so far on California wine at this dinner, but I can’t. Even though we were seated at the same table, there were 22 or more of us there, and Antonio stayed seated in the same spot all evening. He was also engrossed in messages on his smartphone for a good deal of the time, and I was absorbed in tasting as many of our wines as I could before bottles ran out. So other than introducing ourselves, and my asking him about his stay here and his family, I really didn’t gain any wine-related insights from Antonio on this occasion. He seems like a good natured and likeable guy, if not particularly outgoing. I do wish him well in what seems like an enormous vinous territory to cover now. Since proper coverage of that territory will presumably involve a lot of travel, I expect it will be rather hard on him, as a young father with very young children at home.
White Wines
Since the theme was Napa, most attendees apparently didn’t think white wines said “Napa” to them. The Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc from To Kalon, however, was a good choice. I can’t find any information on the B Block. I know it’s not the I-Block, where the very old vine To Kalon Sauv Blanc vines are. Nonetheless, it was quite tasty and holding up well for an eight-year-old Sauv Blanc. It was nearly as good as the '08 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc Reserve To-Kalon that I tasted two weeks before. The 17-year-old Stony Hill Riesling was hanging in there, although it lacked the acidity I expect from Stony Hill.
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1994 Stony Hill Riesling - USA, California, Napa Valley
Light golden yellow color; petrol, peach, apricot nose; mature, soft, peach palate with low acidity; medium finish (88 pts.) -
2003 Robert Mondavi Winery Sauvignon Blanc B Block To-Kalon Vineyard - USA, California
Light medium golden yellow color; mature, lanolin, waxy, peach nose; tasty, mature, waxy, ripe peach, lanolin palate; medium-plus finish (92 pts.)
Older Wines
As mentioned above, the best wine I tasted at this gathering was the youthful and delicious 1972 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard. The 1992 Dunn Napa was also quite good, and mature at this point. The 1992 Philip Togni was also mature and good. The NV Christian Brothers Cabernet Select, pictured above, which was probably harvested in either 1964 or 1965, was hanging in there, surprisingly. The 1964 Charles Krug was also hanging on, although not as great as Charles Krugs I’ve had from the early '70s. The '78 Mondavi Reserve was nowhere near as good as a bottle I’d tried just two weeks before and written about here, as this bottle was much more advanced than the prior one. On the dead and dying side were our 1969 Mondavi Cab, and both the 1970 and 1975 Beaulieu Georges de Latour Private Reserve (which were quite good when I tried them from well stored bottles a few years back). The 1978 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow was okay, on the dark and brooding side, but seemingly still in a transitional state. I wasn’t surprised at all that our 1935 Simi Carignane was dead and flawed, but it would have been exciting had there still been something to it.
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1935 Simi Carignane Sonoma County - USA, California, Sonoma County
Murky dark red violet color; aldehydic, banana, shoe polish nose NR (flawed) -
N.V. Christian Brothers Cabernet Sauvignon Select - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bricked red violet color; mature, carmelized, plum nose; mature, plum, caramelized, berry palate; medium-plus finish (thought to be '64 or '65) (90 pts.) -
1992 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum - medium dark purple red violet color; mature, herbal, eucalyptus, plum, cassis nose; tasty, mature, eucalyptus, tart plum, cedar palate with grip; medium-plus finish 93+ points (93 pts.) -
1964 Charles Krug Winery (Peter Mondavi Family) Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bricking medium dark red violet color; mature, mushroom nose; mature, plush, mushroom palate, hanging in there; medium finsih (88 pts.) -
1969 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley
Medium dark red violet color; mature, plum, menthol, oxidized palate NR (flawed) -
1970 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bricking medium dark red violet color; menthol, dill nose; murky, plum, oak, dill, over-the-hill palate; medium finish (83 pts.) -
1972 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha’s Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Bricking dark red violet color; mint, cassis, eucalyptus nose; rich, gorgeous, cassis, mint palate with sweet tannins; drinking perfectly; medium-plus finish (97 pts.) -
1975 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Bricking dark red violet color; murky, plum nose; over the hill, plum murky palate NR (flawed) -
1978 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum - dark red violet color; mature, beef, herbal nose; mature, beef bouillon, black fruit, quite advanced palate; medium finish (87 pts.) -
1978 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Opaque red violet color; brooding black fruit, tar nose; mature, black fruit, charcoal palate; medium-plus finish (91 pts.) -
1992 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Opaque, bricking red violet color; mature, herbal, menthol nose; plush black fruit, ripe cassis, menthol palate; medium-plus finish 91+ points (91 pts.) -
1994 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum - very dark red violet color; plum, menthol, cassis nose; tasty, plum, menthol palate; medium finish (89 pts.)
Younger Wines
On to the baby reds. The best of this bunch, for me, were the Syrahs, including the two I brought, and Alan Rath’s '99 Lagier Meredith. The best of the Cabs or Meritages for me in this grouping was the '99 Pride Claret–very plush, with resolved tannins–and the 2002 Detert Cab, with its silky texture and integrated oak. I rated both 92+ points, as I did the stray, non-Napa, '06 Rhys Alpine Pinot. Also good were the '97 Pride Cab Reserve and the '07 Dominus. Others were young and okay, but not exciting. Disappointing were the '02 Bond, with its murky nose and expensive oak palate; the very simple '01 Blankiet Cab Paradise Hills; and the seemingly heavily American oaked '97 Lokoya Howell Mountain.
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1997 Cardinale Red Wine - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque red violet color; ripe plum nose; ripe plum, berry palate with sweet, soft tannins; medium finish (89 pts.) -
1997 Pride Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque purple red violet color; ripe plum, berry nose; plush, plum, berry palate with balance; medium-plus finish (92 pts.) -
1997 Lokoya Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Very dark red violet color; plum, dill nose; plush plum, dill, American oak palate; medium-plus finish (88 pts.) -
1999 Pride Mountain Vineyards Reserve Claret - USA, California, Napa Valley
Very dark red violet color; mature, plum, herbal nose; plush, soft, tasty, ripe plum, cassis palate with resolved tannins; medium-plus finish 92+ points (92 pts.) -
1999 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Very dark purple red violet color; rich, baked plum, spice, deep, roasted plum nose; tasty, tart roasted plum, red plum, herbs palate; medium-plus finish (94 pts.) -
2001 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque red violet color; black fruit, chocolate nose; rich, plum, chocolate, black fruit palate; medium-plus finish (90 pts.) -
2001 Blankiet Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Paradise Hills Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
From magnum - opaque purple red violet color; maturing, plum, berry nose; simple, berry, plum palate; medium finish (87 pts.) -
2002 Bond St. Eden - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque purple red violet color; plum, murky nose; smooth, plum, oak, coffee, caramel palate with plush tannins; medium-plus finish (89 pts.) -
2002 Robert Foley Claret - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque red violet color; oaky, caramel, berry nose; soft, berry, caramel, plush palate with low acidity; medium finish (90 pts.) -
2002 Detert Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Opaque purple red violet color; lavender, plum, berry nose; tasty, silky textured, cassis, plum, plush, integrated oak palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points (92 pts.) -
2005 Kongsgaard Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque red violet color; strong green herb, smoke, red plum nose; velvet textured, intense, plush, tart black fruit, green herb palate; long finish (94 pts.) -
2005 Futo - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville
Opaque red violet color; oak, plum nose; plush, plum, oak palate; medium-plus finish 90+ points (90 pts.) -
2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Roasted plum nose; tasty, mature, tart plum, green herb, black fruit palate; medium-plus finish 93+ points (93 pts.) -
2006 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains
Tart red fruit, herbal nose; tart red fruit, herbal, green herb palate; medium-plus finish 92+ points (92 pts.) -
2007 Dominus Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley
Very dark red violet color; plush, berry, beets, herbaceous nose; plush, rich, cassis, ripe plum palate; medium-plus finish (92 pts.) -
2007 Emerson Brown Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque purple red violet color; rich, red plum, oak nose; tight, plush, oak, plum palate; medium finish (89 pts.) -
2007 Tofanelli Family Charbono Tofanelli Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Opaque red violet color; sweet green herb, black fruit nose; tight, plush, sweet green herb, ripe black fruit, oak palate; medium finish (88 pts.) -
2009 SonkinCellars Persona White Hawk/Alder Springs - USA, California
Opaque red violet color; red plum, carbonic maceration nose; lush, plum, black fruit palate with a sense of carbonic maceration; needs 2-3 years; medium-plus finish (90 pts.)
Sweet Wine
I’ve had other vintages of this Beringer artificially botrytised sweet that have had a little more acid. This had maturity going for it, but not enough acidity and complexity. Myron Nightingale was Beringer’s winemaker from 1971 to 1984, and he and his wife Alice spent decades developing their method for making a Sauternes style wine. The grapes are picked fully ripe and the whole clusters are placed in a layer on small trays. The clusters are then sprayed with pure Botrytis cinerea spores. The temperature and humidity are controlled until the botrytis takes hold in the fruit, after 30 hours or more. The humidity is then lowered so that the grapes dehydrate. After about two weeks, the grapes are gently pressed and the juice put into small French oak barrels for fermentation and aging.
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1986 Beringer Vineyards Nightingale Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Medium orange color with ruby lights; baked cherry, baked apple nose; rich, cherry, baked cherry, apple palate; medium-plus finish (88 pts.)