07 Napa Cabs settling down?

I haven’t cracked one in quite a while. Are any specific examples starting to behave?

Wednesday night we opened a 2007 Paul Hobbs Dr. Crane and a Spottswoode.

The Hobbs was “Jordan-like.” Very smooth and soft, fruit >>> tannin. Easy to get along with, with small hints of leather/humidor that integrated well with the fruit flavors. Adequate finish, but not long, by any means. It didn’t say a lot to me. I think it is an example of a more modern trend for early drinkability. I would also be somewhat hard pressed to say where I think it will go with more age. It got softer and softer as it sat and seemed to prefer cellar temp. vs. sitting in the glass at dinner and warming somewhat. Definitely seemed to fade with warming up a little (kind of like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in Boston Garden in game 7 in 1984.) Perhaps a faint popcorn sensation with tasting…but very very slight. If it is 100% cab, then I would be incredulous that they could make it taste as if it was blended with merlot and cab franc!

The Spottswoode was much more tightly wound. Still lots of tannin and a really nice, tight dance going on with the fruit/oak/tannin structure. It tasted “young,” almost brand new. Really long finish, with more exuberant but stern and to the point fruit flavor - not so much that I could say any specific fruit, but a very business-like true cabernet sensation/flavor that I find very appealing. It was really well integrated, youthful, and seems built for the long haul. Sometimes, a wine will make me say, “Yeah, that’s the ticket, I get this” and this wine did.

So, the two are of different styles, and I obviously preferred the Spottswoode.

The Hobbs should be consumed in the recent past, the Spottswoode at many times down the road.

Had a Larkmead about 6 months ago. Definitely moving into its prime.

I brought a 2007 Sojourn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain to the Di Fara’s offline. My note > Drinkable on pop 'n pour. This was singing after being opened for 90 minutes! Several people at my end of the table were ‘in love’.

I think the key with 2007s is a looooooong decant. I had a 2007 Spottswoode last November and it was decanted for approx 6 hours and it showed beautifully. huge blueberry notes on the nose and palate, just a whiff of cedar and lengthy finish. Conversely, I opened an '07 Outpost True for new year’s, only decanted it for about 90 minutes and it was pretty tightly wound, the nose was there but it wasn’t nearly as expressive in the mouth

That’s a great note. I am bad at identifying blueberry. I wonder if there’s a gene for that.

+1 on the wonders of decanting.

Love is fleeting. 2007s, I think, are not. We don’t have to worry about Pobega weighing in, because his (fleeting) love has turned toward Pinot .

I am having some friends in tomorrow to enjoy a celebratory vertical of my own stuff: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2011SS, 2012. Let’s see how this 2007 will show against the other kids.

Where are my manners. This is my '07 EMH Black Cat note from last month.

2/1/2015 rated 93 points: This was on fire tonight at our Superbowl dinner. Nice nose. Some tannins, giving this is a long life. Elegant. Limited notes, but everyone at dinner really enjoyed this. WOTN vs a '07 Sea Smoke Southing and a '10 ACV Right Bank.

Merrill, Nice.


Back on topic. It has brought me no pleasure to be on the wrong (right?) side of the ‘Greatness of the 2007 Napa Cabernet’ discussion. Early on, through tasting and many discussion I had made up my mind on this. Mr Eisenhauer was a step ahead of me but stays a bit more low-key than I on this topic. To reiterate, I think Cabernet Sauvignon’s best days are post-2007. Good for us all. Oh yeah, reports of my demise have been greatly…exaggerated.

Cheers!

I own very few Cali Cabs but am sitting on some 2007 Dominus? Thoughts on when to check in?

What should I wear and do I have to dance?

Agreed. have open the '07 True twice in the past six months. 7 hour decant was just right last September.

+1 I brought one of these to an offline at NVW&C a couple months back and it was well received by everyone. The fruit had really settled down from back at release and it was picking up some nice secondary aromas and flavors.

We waited for you, Scott, but eventually had to dig in. At this dance, the 2007 was rocking. No where near peak, is my guess. “Settling down” might be a good description, and in a fine drinking window. I don’t have many other 2007 labels in my cellar, but am trying to keep my hands off a favorite: 2007 Heitz Trailside.

I have not drank too many of the 2007’s I purchased, but after seeing this thread, I opened a 2007 Myriad Cabernet (spring mountain) last night and am glad I did! A beautiful wine that got better with each glass.

My Palmaz 07 has found its stride. Last year at this time it was shut down and had me a little concerned. We had a bottle about 3 weeks ago and was drinking well.

Had an 07 Jean Edwards Stagecoach Vineyard CS last Oct. for our fourth wedding anniversary. My note is below:

Drank for our 4th wedding anniversary. Absolutely gorgeous. The nose explodes from the decanter with a very pure CS smell. Red fruits, some tertiary aromas, no green bell peppers or other green notes. The palate is red fruits, beautiful acidity and structure, nothing overpowering and everything perfectly resolved. This was flat-out amazing. No signs of slowing down, but I see zero reason to wait. I can’t imagine this drinking better for my palate than it is now. I wish I had another bottle.

Karen has more, but I can’t buy any more for a bit.

I scored it 95 points and thought it was absolutely spectacular.

I have an 07 Corison Kronos CS that I’m going to hold for at least a couple more years that I have really high hopes for.

Posted this in another thread:

'07 Kapcsandy Cabernet Sauvignon State Lane (vanilla from a mile away, evolving even after 1+ hr in the decanter and 2 in the glass - needs to age more, but a fruity iron fist in a velvet tannin glove today)

Just to expand on that, I plan on leaving the remaining (few) '07 Kapcsandys I have for a long time before coming back to them!

Related tangent: had two '07s BV Georges de Latour over the last 3 years. Both were open for business. Delicious fruit, well-structured, both times I had with steak and it just paired phenomenally. Also keeping what few I have left stashed away for a while.

Interesting note on the Sojourn Howell Mountain. I pulled an 07 Sojourn Spring Mountain Cab last night to go with some leftover NY Strip’s.

It was a pleasant wine, with the tannin’s resolving nicely, but the wine really seemed lack any complexity, and had a short and un-inspired finish. I have some of the Howell Mountain 07’s as well, maybe I’ll need to find a time to open one of those. We haven’t purchased from Sojourn in a little while, partly because we’re just running out of room for more wine, and partly because we haven’t had great experience with them aging well.

07 EMH Black Cat firing on all cylinders this week. I’ll be drinking most of my 07’s within the next year. Spottswoode and Kapcsandy are the only 2 I’ll give 10+ years to.

cheers