I’d find a Schrader Beckstoffer To Kalan from a solid year with some age on it. I did a 2009 blind tasting last year with a Shafer Hillside, a Tor Kenward Beckstoffer, and a Schafer Beckstoffer, and the Schrader was the unanimous WOTN. Definitely a ‘wow’ cab for everyone there.
*fyi, needed quite a bit of air before it was firing on all cylinders
Agree with the Myriad and Maybach suggestions, those are great wines that really stand out. The Elysian/Empyrean/Materium wines are going to be more in the $200+ range but the Myriad Crane or Maybach Amoenus can be found for under $200. These are age worthy wines so you might get something with a few years on it already in it’s drinking window.
There’s a '12 Myriad Crane for $175 on K&L and a '12 Amoenus on Benchmark for $172.
Oops didn’t see you had already ordered the Bevan!
Enjoy! My father in law is 87 and still loves drinking and talking wine with me.
Outpost True Vineyard 2016. Right about $200. decant for an hour or two. So many tannic/free radical sucking compounds in the wine he will live until 90. And half the sugar of Caymus
Lots of good options above and I think you’ll hit a home run with the Bevan you purchased. I would have suggested Shafer Hillside but after reading Rich’s post on the Schrader BTK I might rethink that.
Given Dad’s love of Caymus, I’d bring 2 bottles: a Caymus 40th Anniversary or a Special Selection plus your Bevan Wildfoote. Blows your budget but would be fun to compare an old favorite with something new to him. You never know how many more opportunities you’ll have.
I’m going through this right now. My dad only started drinking when he turned 80 (he figured “why the hell not?” and unlike Adam Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine he stopped with booze rather than horse). He’s turning 88 next Friday and asked me to bring a couple of wines to dinner. He too is a Cal cab guy – I tried to get him interested in more vintage Bordeaux, but as he says, “I don’t do nuance.”
What he’s dug the most so far is anything by Mike Smith – Myriad, Becklyn, Scarlett – but also Detert. The other big successes were Larkmead Solari, Roy Piper and Di Costanzo. People will note that these are different kinds of styles, but what I think they have in common is that they’re all pretty bold tastes, even if they range from classical to more modern.
I would go with this. I opened my bottle by accident when I misread the label, It was OUTSTANDING and approachable despite its youth.
AND this is kind of my sweet spot so I have had most of the others mentioned, but I think this is the best choice without having to find something 25 years old and worry about provenance.
MACDONALD !!!
OR;
Myriad Elysian
Kapcsandy GV
Maybach
Carter GTO
Abreu Thoravilos
Phelps Backus
1992 La Jota 11th Anniversary
Insignia
Karl Lawrence Reserve Herb Lamb
I have never tasted a Shafer Hillside Select, but still consider the 2004 Shafer One Point Five the “wine of my life” so far. So I’m thinking that this is probably a damn good suggestion!