My impression from the critics is that if you accidentally look at a bottle of 2011 Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, not only will you keel over and die, but the last thing you see will be a tunnel going toward the light, at the end of which all of your deceased relatives and friends who were taken away by 1991 Bordeaux and 2002 Southern Rhones will be saying “I told you so.”
I liked the 2011 Jean Edwards Napa quite a bit so I realize the police tape put around the vintage can’t be entirely right. Can anyone suggest AVAs to look in, or specific wines? I note quite a few price drops in the face of the 2012/2013/2014 juggernaut crossing the threshold of my local retailers. I’m fine with elegant and restrained and old school as a break from cassis paintballs (mmm – cassis paintballs!) but I’d like to pick wisely. Thank you.
The general consensus is elevation is ur friend with this vintage. with that being said, top producers were even more discerning and i think the cream rose to the top.
At the risk of a commercial post, I will proudly state that I and recent guests have loved EMH Black Cat 2011. Regular or Special Selection (which is gone). It stands shoulder to shoulder with my other vintages (which someone may not like, in general, as a Cabernet profile) when shown alongside them. Notable is an herbal quality that does not show “green” at all, but layered and complex. I describe the nuances as dried sage.
Mods - if this is too commercial, please move or delete.
One other 2011 that I absolutely loved was Robert Foley’s that Truett shared with me at lunch a few months ago. It was gorgeous.
Had a bottle of 2011 Lewelling last fall that we (4 of us who drank it) just did not like. Maybe it needs more time in the bottle, but just not very good. And they must have known it too since they did not bottle their “special” Wight Vineyard. And it was nowhere as good as their 2010.
I agree that elevation helped, but 11’s were just inconsistent. I have had some I like better than 12’s. Most, not so much. Its a vintage to pay attention to the critics you trust or if you can, try before you buy.
Hobel has been my favorite Napa cab of the vintage, I’ve consistently favored it to the '12, and Have been through a case of each. The '11 isn’t lacking for weight or power - it has both in spades, however it also has a beautiful, feminine floral character from start to finish that is missing in the '12.
Heitz did not bottle their 2011 Martha’s, either, and I think not their Trailside.
When I am in Massachusetts, and friends ask me to go wine shopping with them, I show them which vintages I would BLINDLY purchase, or which labels I think will probably represent consistency and value, year after year. Of course this an oversimplification, but that was that exercise is. The Napa 2011 vintage is not one I would tell a novice to seek out. But I think there are beautiful wines out there from Napa that deserve a place in the cellar. And most are priced well, I think.
I don’t know what your price point is, but the best 11s I’ve had recently were the Realm Farella and the Realm Dr. Crane (both over $100 though). As far as I know, they are still available because of the vintage prejudice, but they are really, really good. Another one I liked and is more reasonable, but which is probably sold out and not available at retail, was the Quivet Pellet (which came out of the box kind of ugly and turned into a swan).
This is one of the more disappointing 2011 Cabs I’ve experienced as well, from memory it seemed too green and weedy (and I very much like herbaceous Cabernet). Fingers crossed for the future.
Yeah, that 2011 Quivet is pretty awesome. I actually think it’s better than the 2011 Kenefick although I haven’t had either of them for a while. Mike Smith just did great in 2011 with all of his Cabs.
As mentioned, elevation helped get out of the fog which was a big part in a good bottle.
Mountain Cabs usually have too strong of a fruit profile for me. It muscles out all the other flavors - try a 2010 Mt Brave for a good example. Not in 2011 though. Outpost True Vineyard and several others are fantastic. Lokoya’s Howell Mountain and Diamond Mountain are pretty spectacular too.
Here’s my question about posts like this - and the subsequent responses -
What are you looking for in a wine? Immediate satisfaction? A wine that can be laid down for decades and that you expect to continue to develop?
2011 was a very challenging vintage across the entire state, especially but not exclusively early ripening varieties. Due to the cool growing season, frost conditions, and rain in some parts of the state, it got a big ‘ugly’.
I’m sure top notch producers still produced ‘good’ wines, but perhaps not so when compared to more stellar vintages? Just wondering . . . .
Working in the rhone variety realm, the vintage was not as ‘catastrophic’, other than yields and/or vineyards that I was not able to get any fruit from due to frost. Patience certainly paid off down in SB County with rhones - and we did not experience the same level of rainfall as others did across the state.
Curious to hear more thoughts on this in general and specifics . . .
Too funny, as I am reading this post drinking a 2011 Outpost 2011 Howell Mtn.
A lot of the valley fruit took a beating in 11 , so I have stuck to mainly Mountain fruit.
Saunter produced some fine wine in 11.
How’s the Outpost, Bob? I have a few down in the cellar but haven’t tried one yet.
Of the '11s I’ve had, the best so far have been Myriad Napa and Myriad Three Twins(haven’t opened a GIII yet), and Merrill’s Special Selection. I thought Round Pond, Beau Vigne (Juliet), and Pride all made good wines, as well, although not at the same level as the first three mentioned.
My question remains - for those who say an '11 is ‘good’, is it 'good for an ‘11’ or is it ‘good’ regardless of vintage? And what about potential ageability?
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