WCC 1994 CALIFORNIA CABERNET
at Patroon House in Glenmont, NY (5/6/2004)
The WCC got together for a blind tasting of 1994 California Cabernet-based wines
at the Patroon House in Glenmont, NY. A very good restaurant which sadly closed c. 2007.
I coordinated the choice of wines from individuals' cellars to make sure there were no duplicates.
So the tasting was single blind for me, double blind for everyone else (except of course
for the wines they each brought).
I believe all were purchased on released and well stored.
Most were decanted an hour or so before the tasting began (except where noted).
For each flight, the wines were poured and tasted before the food, then tasted again with the food.
The notes, and the scores after the notes, are mine.
Most wines that weren't ready got a range of scores representing their potential.
I also took most of the bottles home with a small amount left in each and
accidently left them open (uncorked in a cardboard box)
for 2 days in my cellar until I tasted them again.
At the end of the tasting, before revealing the wines, the group voted.
The group felt there were so many good wines, we should forego our usual ordered ranking,
so each person just gave their top wines (usually 3 but 2 or 4 in a couple of cases).
After the name of each wine, I list the number of group votes for that wine and
the group ranking based on these votes.
Flight 1
With Carpaccio of Beef accompanied by Arugula and
shaved Parmesan, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil)
Great dish, an excellent choice for a first course in an all cab tasting.
- Niebaum-Coppola Rubicon Proprietary Red Wine, Napa (8 votes, tied for 1st)
Great fruit nose. Ripe, tannic, super-long finish. Thick, silky, very long. 94-96
Open 2 days: Tar! Truly Barolo-like cab (whatever that means). Mellow and lovely. 94
- Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley, Sonoma (1 vote, tied for 7th)
More astringent nose, huge in the mouth, expansive! 95
30 minutes later: Thinning out quickly, actually fading! 92
[Later learned that this had been vigorously decanted 6 hours earlier.]
Open 2 days: Faded but not gone. 88
- Shafer Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap District, Napa
(8 votes, tied for 1st)
Ethereal nose. Hugely extracted, backward.
Needs 5-10 years but is fabulous and exciting. 95-97
Open 1 hour: Extracted beyond belief. Super-long finish. Hedonistic is the word for this.
I sure hope this is one I have lots of. 98 Tied for my WOTN.
Open 2 days: Mint nose. Still thrilling! Red fruit and mint. What a wine!
Sadly, not a wine I have in my cellar.
Flight 2
With Seared Breast of Duck served with a sweet chili glaze and Ancho chili smashed potatoes.
The dish was great, but fought with the wines. Notes on the wines are without food.
- Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa (3 votes, 4th place)
Big mineral, red and black fruit nose. Huge mineral extract, tons of tannin.
Very tight and backward. Never changed.
This one may need 10 years to really show well. 94-96
- Phelps Insignia Proprietary Red Wine, Napa (1 vote (mine), tied for 7th)
Cherry Bordeaux-like mulch in the nose. Big, backward, long and tight. Pinpoint sweetness.
Great potential in 5-10 years. 94-98
Open 2 days: Peppermint and great fruit. Wow!! 97
- Caymus Special Selection, Napa (5 votes, 3rd place)
Another gorgeous red fruit nose. Lovely silky tannins, less extraction than most of above.
Sweet forward fruit. Drink over next 8 years. 94
Open 1 hour: Opening up. Terrific mineral nose. Thick and delicious. Glowing at the end.
Clearly among the best to drink right now. 96
Open 2 days: Fading 92
Flight 3
With Petit Filet Mignon with seared foie Gras, Andouille sausage-sweet potato hash and
a caramelized balsamic reduction.
This is a fabulous dish, which not surprisingly matches beautifully with the wines.
- Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa (1 vote, tied for 7th)
Funky ripe nose, part Bordeaux, part Napa, part merde. Very tannic, tarry.
Better with steak, but where's it going? 92
Open 2 days: Spearmint nose, no fruit, awful. 72
No sign that this bottle was damaged in any way. Drink up or sell.
- Togni Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain, Napa (0 votes, tied for 11th)
Herbaceous nose. Balanced. Gorgeous, cedar, long Lafite-like finish. Needs 8-10 years.
Open 1 hour: Tons of bell pepper that wasn't there before.
Open 2 hours: Bell pepper gone, gorgeous black fruit. Needs 5-8 years.
This one is all over the map. Hard to figure what it's about or where it's going. 93-97
Open 2 days: Cabbage. Yuck!
- Dominus Proprietary Red Wine, Napa (2 votes, tied for 5th)
Huge slaty red fruit nose. Lush ripe minerally. Black currants forever. Great length.
Sweet fruit. 96-98 Tied for my WOTN.
Open 2 days: Surprisingly, this was completely maderized.
I did notice some stains from old leakage where the capsule used to be.
- Ridge Montebello Proprietary Red Wine, Santa Cruz Mountains
(2 votes, tied for 5th)
Super ripe nose. Long, sweet, medium body. A little tart and hollow in the middle,
but still delicious. Ready. 93
Open 2 days: Opening up. Really nice fruit. Maybe it just needs 10 more years. 95
Flight 4
With cheese plate.
- Opus One Proprietary Red Wine, Napa (1 vote, tied for 7th)
Huge, lush, but rough tannins on the finish. Huge extraction. Goes on forever. 93-96
Open 1 hour: Fading fast. Much more tannic and tart. 93
Open 2 days: No fruit. Gone.
- Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa (0 votes, tied for 11th)
Slightly dirty red fruit nose. Mineral red fruit. Hot and alcoholic. Highly extracted.
There could be great potential here, but hard to say. 93
Open 2 days: Tarry, pleasant. 90
- Pride Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa (0 votes, tied for 11th)
Backward and tart. Bitter, stemmy, medicinal. Ripe red fruits, but where's it going? 88-92?
Open 2 days: Really vegetal and tannic. Should have been drunk a few years ago.
This was from the same cellar as a bottle that finished second only to the Dominus and the
Insignia at our first 1994 Cab tasting in Jan. 1998. 74
Clearly the positive surprise of the night was the Rubicon.
The negative surprises were the Bryant, the Mondavi and the Pride.
Still, the group felt these wines showed very well, and that this is clearly a great
vintage for California Cabernet.
The Shafer, the Dominus and the Insignia were my favorites.
Anybody want to trade me the Shafer or the Insignia for Mondavi reserve? ;)
All original content © Ken Vastola