TN: 1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages

WINE TALK
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  • 1997 Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Cinq Cépages - USA, California, Sonoma County (6/26/2018)
    My last bottle of this was 10yrs ago, and it seemed to be drying out a slow death, as well as showing more of an aged plum and Port-like raisin. As usually the case…this is my last bottle from release, and it is SUBLIME! No raisin here! Showing more of a vibrant deep dark red berry fruit…black cherry, red plum…as well as a classic creme de cassis. Tannins are dusty and spicy…dry, yet more of the dusty cedar type, not grippy, still letting the fruit show through. Smooth and silky ala Bordeaux, but too much of a spice and sour skin kick to trick you into the wrong Country. Wonderful layered flavors of tobacco, mint, smoked cherry wood, graphite powder…good length…finishing dusty and spicy, screaming for cow! Always been a fan of this Winery, especially from the early days when my Dad(passed in 2010) lived just a few miles away from the Chateau…visiting him, and the winery, were special memories. (94 pts.)

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Color looks great! Cool to read this, I remember buying the 93 and 94 vintages for like $16, maybe even at Costco.

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Thx for the note. My son’s birth year but I opted for Dunn and Togni to purchase.
Wine is a conduit for the memories. I enjoyed reading…take care…

Cheers,
JP

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Awesome note as always Buzz! 99 Cinq Cepages was the first wine I bought to cellar when I was in college. Believe it was #2 on the Spectator list that caught my attention when first getting into wine. Drank it a while back and it was solid…even after ‘un-ideal’ storage conditions (i.e. being moved to a new house that me and my buddies rented each year and being kept in a small wine rack in my bedrooms).

Appreciate the post and the strory - glad it drank well and brought back some nice memories.

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This was on of the first “nice” wines I bought…I remember thinking that there was something to this that was so very different from the wines I was used to drinking. So glad to see this beauty is holding up.

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I drank my last bottle of this in 2008 and thought that it was fading. Unfortunately it was truly my last bottle.

Great story and it is really indicative of what can happen with good cellar aging. I have experienced many similar surprises over the years.

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So funny, I had the exact same wine yesterday too!
It was terrific. The nose was a bit more subdued on my bottle, but the texture and mouthfeel were extremely impressive.

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The last time I visited they were pouring a 2004 next to their freshly released 2013 at the winery. I remember enjoying it significantly, with what seemed like a lot of vivacity left in the 2004. It was fun to taste the two together and feel the potential in the '13.

Thanks for sharing!

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Had the '95 last year.
It was drying out.

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Had this at a recent event and it was terrific, much to my surprise. Terrific example of good modern Cabernet.