What Order? Old Napa Cabs vs New Napa Cabs?

We have a welcome dinner for our new assistant winemaker David Milner this weekend.

Here is the line up: (all bottles are 750ml)

Screaming Eagle 2009
Harlan Estate 2008
Bryant Family 2009
Maybach Materium 2009
Peter Michael Les Pavots 2009 (the lone non Napa in the new bunch)
Viader 2004

then the oldie goldies:

Chateau Montelena 1976 (North Coast, with the original price tag of $9.50 on it from Mr Liquor …)
Dehlinger Estate RRV 1989 (our aged non Napa ringer)
Beringer Private Reserve 1990
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Cask 23 1992

I was wondering the best way to present them, in ordered flights or just decant them and put them all on a table, or blind, or pre pour them?

Being a Pinot Guy, I don’t drink a lot of Cab, so I don’t have the experience on decanting & presenting older wines.

Any thoughts would be most appreciated…

Whenever we do a CLONYC (www.clonyc.com) dinner, we go older first. This way the bigger wines don’t clobber the more fragile older ones. Seems to work best fo us. Seems like a nice line-up. Have fun.

Total agreement.

I would decant the younger wines first, and let them sit open to help them open up.

Then I would decant the older ones, and pour them in a flight. No point in doing these blind, to my way of thinking. So you have 4-5 glasses on the table, finish those older ones off, and then do the round of the younger wines after they have had a chance to open.

+1

This is my preference, too. I don’t like to waste delicate, older wines on tiring palates.

+1

Having had this come up many times, the best results have always come from drinking older first. We can pick up nuances much easier with them before our palate gets inundated with the more forward younger wine characteristics.
You can still do them blind in flights even though the old vs young is revealed. I also agree with Merrills suggestion re decanting in that order with care for the 76, it may be better to pop and pour depending upon anyone`s experience with it recently, if any.
Enjoy.

I agree no point in doing them blind.

Not sure if I think your palate will be all that tired - how many people will there be? It’s only 10 wines, so you should be able to go through them as long as there’s you, the asst winemaker, and 2 more people. That seems like there’d be a nice healthy pour for everyone.

More seriously, seems like you have experienced tasters so you can do them worse to better or young to old or old to young and I’m not certain that it really matters. I’ve done tastings those ways and sometimes you really appreciate something a bit more nuanced after the sledgehammers. For that reason, I think that Montelena has the potential to be one of the best wines of the night.

Good wines either way you do it tho.

The proper way to present them is in my presence.

Well there is that.

Notice how there was only a request for INFORMATION without a follow-up INVITATION?

Greg - what is your location? I know where Piper is. Here. [wow.gif]

For a different perspective: common practice amongst wine geeks in England is to go from young to old. Sure, it’s a practice that is contrary to my preference, but I just thought I’d throw that out there — many folks who know their wine and who have good palates do prefer to go from young to old.

I sued to do the older ones first but lately I have been switching that around with good results. The young ones, in effect, become the starter wines to warm up my palate. Then the older ones are the more complex. Anyway, for me, its not as cut and dried as I used to think.

Brian, That is generally the way to do it in Europe, but keep in mind that it is a rule that is based on drinking Bdx or Burgs. It is also a rule that is based on the idea that the older wines will be better.

Generally, I’d definitely serve what I think are the best wines last regardless of age.

Interesting approach. newhere

Prefer oldest to youngest (regardless of Cab, Pinot, Burgundy, Bordeaux, etc.) When the evening starts, like to get all the wines opened and do a quick assessment of the younger wines, decant or not if it makes sense. As you enjoy the older wines, will give the younger wines some time to open up.

I don’t mind this approach when (1) the starter (younger) wines aren’t so numerous as to cause any level of palate fatigue, and (2) the starter (younger) wines aren’t so heavy/acidic/tannic as to stick on one’s palate to an extent that would materially change one’s perception of the older wines. Of course, this is but a guessing game, but I think it’s a guess that could be an educated one more often than not.