Category Archives: Wine Tasting

August 16, 2021 · 1:02 PM

2013 Berringer Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley

Producer: Berringer

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Appelation: Knights Valley AVA, Sub-Appelation of Sonoma County AVA, California

Vintage: 2013

Score: 91 pts. – 100 pt. Scale, 16 pts. – 20 pt. Scale

Provenance: Buyer Cellared Original Purchase

Decanted for 30 mins. before serving. Nose is a bit muted. Touch of blackberry. Palate of fresh blackberry, black currant and black cherry. Missing a mid-palate – fairly simple profile. Moderate oak. Medium-plus finish of blackberry and a touch of dark chocolate, but nothing nuanced. Tannin is medium-minus, with medium acidity. Very soft mouthfeel, especially noticeable when drinking without food. Nicely aged lower cost NorCal Cab Sauv. Very enjoyable on its own, but with the bottle age, missing a little structure to stand up to the coffee rubbed prime rib we paired it with. This label is one of my favorite daily drinkers, but I would say – at 8 years in the bottle – a couple years too many. Won’t wow you, but solid value and very enjoyable.

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August 11, 2021 · 4:40 PM

2010 Fanti Brunello di Montalcino

Producer: Tenuta Fanti (previously Fanti San Felippo)

Appelation: Brunello di Montalcino

Varietal: Brunello (clone of Sangiovese)

Vintage: 2010

Score: 94/100 – 100 pt scale, 18/20 – 20 pt scale

Tasting Note:

OK, we know Brunello IS Sangiovese, but wow, is it different. Not the flavors, but the texture, mouthfeel, tannin and finish.

Nose is full of alcohol, but you can make out the red/black cherry, leather and earth. Upon open, the alcohol is integrated and the palate is full of red and black cherry, this transitions to black plum as it continues to open. Mid-palate of leather and a bit of dark chocolate. A long finish that adds a herbal mint character. Tannins and acidity are high, even after 11 years in the bottle, but are somewhat muted and softening. Another 3-5 years and this wine will be exceptional. The tannin is finely textured and presenting a wonderful mouthfeel, not really silky… yet. The clarity and freshness of fruit is spectacular. This wine is clearly Old World Italian, a little lighter in weight and would be great either on its own, or accompanying a red sauce, or red meat entree. This Brunello is aging really well. I am looking forward to popping the next bottle in three years…

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August 7, 2021 · 5:39 AM

Earth, Wine and Fire Wine Dinner Review

Background

If you don’t have a Fleming’s in your town, or have just not had dinner at this restaurant chain before, bear with me. I will try to provide some reference. Fleming’s is a high-end steakhouse, similar in style to Ruth’s Chris, but not quite as expensive. They have been running a four course wine dinner special (branded as the title of this review) paired with Wagner Family wines (Caymus label) and my wife and I decided to give it a try. There were two options: Earth – vegetarian and Fire – meat. We selected Fire. Our overall experience was one step down from true gourmet, but very enjoyable. This is the full detail.

Salad Course

Dish: BURRATA WITH NORTH ATLANTIC LOBSTER

Wine: 2018 SEA SUN, CHARDONNAY 90 pts. (100 pt. system) or 16 pts. (20 pt. system)

Wine Note: Sweet citrus nose with lemon-lime mousse on the palate. High acidity and a fair amount of oak. If you like stainless chardonnay, this is not your wine. My wife and I prefer Old World style oaked chardonnay, so the very fruit forward profile was a little out of character. Nice mouthfeel. I would guess, the winemaker allowed some extended lees contact. Enjoyable chard for our palates and the acidity paired very well with the burrata. Some aging potential, if you like to lay down your wines.

If you have never had burrata, it is a soft cheese a little like mozzarella in flavor, but creamy and richer. Love the stuff and the fresher, the better. This burrata was excellent, but it was the other components that were a little disappointing. The lobster did not seem really fresh (we ARE in land-locked AZ, I suppose) and needed to be poached in butter. Lobster flavor was a little off and weak. The parmesan cheese crisp flavor (on top) almost over-powered the more delicate burrata below. Still… pretty enjoyable and an excellent pairing with the acidic Chardonnay.

2nd Course

Dish: COCONUT-CRUSTED PORK BELLY

Wine: NV RED SCHOONER, MALBEC 89 pts. (100 pt. system) or 15.5 pts. (20 pt. system)

Wine Note: Fruity nose with a little burn from the alcohol. Palate is filled with red and black fruit – black plum, blackberry and boysenberry. Medium acidity and medium minus tannins. A touch of residual sugar. Lighter, smooth mouthfeel. Very easy drinking red with a bit of structure. Successful for the style of wine it was meant to be. Drink now, don’t hold.

The pork belly was very tasty and the grits were fabulous! Our restaurant added goat cheese, instead of cheddar (on the website) – fantastic idea. The vegetable medley included (not shown below) was seasoned with spicy chiles. I pushed my veggies aside, in order to really enjoy the grits. The fruity, sweet wine was needed to pair with the leftover spiciness from the veggies. Turned out to be a pretty fair wine pairing with the fat from the pork belly and spice.

3rd Course

Dish: FILET MIGNON & BONE MARROW

Wine: 2019 CAYMUS VINEYARDS, CABERNET SAUVIGNON – NAPA VALLEY 87 pts. (100 pt. system) or 15 pts. (20 pt. system)

Wine Note: OK, you Caymus fans out there, I get it. Easy drinking Cali cab, but I just can’t do it. There is so much oak, as the joke goes, I could set the dang wine on fire. Fruity nose, but lacking freshness due to the over-powering oak. Blackberry and black currant on the palate, with some dark chocolate in the middle. Medium minus tannin and medium acidity. Simple wine flavor profile. I am sorry, neither my wife, or I could finish this wine. Just not a good match for our palates.

The filet was seasoned well and perfectly prepared. I have had better bone marrow. It needed to have more of the fat rendered out. Altho I will say, the filet with a bit of bone marrow on top was a pretty tasty bite.

Dessert Course

Dish: ORANGE OLIVE OIL CAKE

Wine: NV EMMOLO, SPARKLING – CALIFORNIA 89 pts. (100 pt. system) or 15.5 pts. (20 pt. system)

Wine Note: Citrus fruit on the nose. Palate of primarily lemon with a touch of tropical fruit. This is a cuvee style sparkling with a small amount of residual sugar. High acidity. Nice mouthfeel with a medium length finish to round it out. This could be more interesting with some bottle age. Has enough of a backbone to enjoy in 3-5 years.

If you have not had olive oil cake – no, it does not taste like olive oil, but it IS very moist. I have had the orange version before and this was quite good. The tart lemon coulis drizzled on the plate was a nice addition. The citrus flavor in the cake paired very nicely with the sparkling wine.

Dining Experience and Rating

In general, this was a serious white tablecloth experience. Great service from our waiter, she was friendly and engaging. One of the managers stopped by twice to check in on us. I felt like there was a genuine interest in making sure the experience was enjoyable. I felt a bit rushed tho. This is the kind of meal that takes time to work your way through. I understand they want to turn tables, but for this kind of bill, you expect the time to have an experience. I would score the experience at a 92/100, or a 2 of 3 star equivalent. The meal was very good (especially the steak), but could have been better and the service was really excellent.

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July 3, 2021 · 2:05 PM

Judging-Scoring Wines

Risky Business

At the risk of upsetting every wine critic/judge out there, I set out to create a wine scoring system that matched my view of fine wine. I will include this scoring template at the end of the article, for those that might be like-minded. Email me if you would like a self-calculating spreadsheet copy.

My Motivation

After pro Sommelier training (where scoring was discouraged), I was exposed to the WSET scoring method and wine judging courses. Both used a variation of the UC Davis 20 Point Scoring System. I was shocked how these systems were unable to separate amateur from premium wines effectively. In these classes, we scored fruit wines (cherry, blueberry, strawberry, etc.) and vitis labrusca wines (Concord, Chambourcin, Catawba, etc.). These wines were near undrinkable for me and were being given the same scores as mediocre Cali Cabernet. The methodology and scoring systems taught in these classes were intended to be appropriate for both amateur and fine wines. Although, away from class these same people would explain the intent of these systems was to score wines based on a comparison of LIKE wines. This is not how I understood the training and it is likely the public views this scoring similarly. This experience motivated me to build a scoring system that is weighted properly and could be used to provide comparatively accurate scores for amateur, professional AND fine wines, without a bias.

The Evaluation Criteria

First, it was necessary to determine what separates fine wine, from other wines. In that evaluation, I arrived at the following characteristics that are under-represented in the UC Davis System: Balance, Complexity, Finish and Aging Potential. All of these measures are intended to be scored in the UC Davis “Quality” category, but to make the scores more comparatively accurate, I decided these characteristics needed their own point categories. I then looked at what seemed to be weighted incorrectly in the UC Davis System and arrived at: Clarity, Color and Acidity. Four of twenty points for clarity and color is 20% of the score. This is weighted too heavily towards mediocre wines. Acidity was only 5% of the score – not weighted heavily enough. I realized, if I reduced the points for clarity and color, increased points for acidity and added balance, complexity, finish and aging potential categories… I might be able to devise a scoring system that could properly measure a Concord wine (for example) and build an appropriate score against say… an aged Bordeaux Gran Cru.

A Wine Scoring Template

Now I was ready to put my scoring template together. I realized that many media outlets still use the old Robert Parker 100 pt system and decided to add it to my template. I wanted to help both systems arrive at a roughly equivalent score. I realized this could only be done, if I started the 100 pt score at 50, instead of 0. You will see what I mean below. The closer the wine came to the premium category, the better my 100 pt method seemed to arrive at an accurate score. It was the opposite with my 20 pt method, albeit much closer to reality than the UC Davis 20 pt method.

After the long explanation, here is my effort to build a scoring system that can evaluate both a poor blueberry wine and a Gran Cru Bordeaux – with the same template – done accurately and with a logical systematic approach.

In the past, my Somm training won out and I tried not to add scores to my tasting notes. In retrospect, I think this was mostly due to being uncomfortable with the systems available. I intend to use my scoring template moving forward and hopefully develop consistency and comparative accuracy across my tasting notes.

Feedback

I would be very interested in other opinions regarding both the thinking that drove this creative process AND the relative accuracy using this scoring system. I am also open to modifying aspects, if the changes fit within the logic model used to build it. Please feel free to leave your comments on this page. Thanks!

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June 19, 2021 · 6:37 PM

Wine Dinner Review

Restaurant Review

Tisha’s Fine Dining (BYO) – Cape May, NJ

Score: 94/100 – $$$$ (see rating guides below)

Meal: Arugula salad with Burrata cheese and red Beets, Pepper crusted Prime Filet medium rare with mash potatoes, green beans and fried onion strings. The shared desert was profiteroles layered with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce.

Wine Pairing: Stags’ Leap 2017 Petit Sirah Napa Valley – Score: 94/100. Wine paired well with Dish: Yes.

Stag’s Leap 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – Score: 91/100. Wine paired well with Dish: Yes.

My wife grew up in Cape May on the Jersey Shore and her family has owned a beach house there for a couple of generations. She visits for a week, or two, in the Summer every year and I usually join her. We always make sure to arrange our reservation for Tisha’s and it is always the culinary highlight of the trip.

Restaurant Menu and Ambiance

The menu rotates every week with as much local in-season produce as possible. The choices are typically American style seafood and meats, with a few other items such as pasta dishes. My wife and I have been visiting Tisha’s for near 20 years now and have never had a mediocre dish. Although, I would suggest the seafood and meats, over the other dishes. The veggies are always in-season and fresh. There is good reason why Jersey is called the Garden State!

The ambiance includes indoor and patio dining with a small, upscale white tablecloth feel. Reservation availability is limited in the Summer. The servers are always friendly and attentive, but the premises can get very busy. Patience is needed for both the kitchen and servers in the Summer – to enjoy the experience. The restaurant staff requires your entire order upon arrival and paces the service for you. It seems a little odd for fine dining, but I have never had a bad experience.

The Food

The salad had great flavors and textures. The Arugula was peppery, the Burrata cheese was creamy and fresh and the beets were fresh and sweet… tasted almost like fruit. Nine times out of ten, the beef is out of this world and this was one of those nights. The Filet is on the menu with a bleu cheese flavored butter sauce, but my wife and I prefer the beef without it. The medium-rare steak was a touch towards the medium side, but the beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very tasty. The sides were fresh and accompanied the beef well. The desert was very tasty, not too sweet and the pastry was light and airy, but not quite fresh enough to be perfect.

The Wine

My wife and I enjoy Stags’ Leap wines. Please note, this is NOT Stag’s Leap. If you weren’t aware, the two wineries settled a law suit years ago by agreeing to move the apostrophe. Christophe Paubert (Stags’ Leap winemaker) is French trained and produces wonderfully balanced wines. In contrast, the other Stag’s Leap produces the more typical Napa fruit-tannin bombs.

The Petit Sirah is not a typical U.S. product for this variety. This had a typical fruit driven profile, but was much lighter, structured and balanced. Red and blue fruits were on the nose and palate. The wine was dry with medium tannin, medium+ acidity and a nice long finish. The texture was a bit silky with fine-grained tannin. As a comparison, this was nothing like the very common Michael David Petit Sirah. The wine actually paired well with the Burrata cheese and beets in the salad.

The Cab had a huge fruit-bomb nose, but the palate was not quite as concentrated. Still more fruity than I would prefer, with plum and blackberry on the attack. A rather simple taste profile, but with good balance and excellent structure. The wine was dry with medium tannins, medium+ acidity and a long fruity finish. This cab had the signature Stags’ Leap fine grained tannin. It paired very well with the Filet we had for the main course.

Rating Charts Used in this Review

(Common industry comparative data used with detailed scoring templates)

Wine

97 – 100Exceptional
92 – 96Excellent
89 – 91Enjoyable
85 – 88Passable
80 – 84Barely Acceptable
74 – 79Choke it Down
50 – 73Flawed

Restaurant / Food

97 – 100Exceptional3 Star Equivalent
92 – 96Excellent2 Star Equivalent
88 – 91Enjoyable1 Star Equivalent
82 – 87PassableDiner Quality
77 – 81Barely AcceptablePoor Diner Quality
72 – 76DumpDive
50 – 71Should CloseNuf Said
Does not include fast food, or take-out restaurants. Sit down only.
$$20 and under
$$$20 to $30
$$$$30 – $50
$$$$$50 and over
The dollar signs represent cost of a two-course dinner/pp, taxes and a 15% tip (no drinks or dessert).

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June 16, 2021 · 5:16 AM

Crazy Recent Op-Eds on Wine-Searcher

Geez, I have not been reading enough Op-Ed pieces on the Wine Searcher website lately (http://www.wine-searcher.com). The editor there must have changed. Recent articles posted on their website have been ridiculous. Like these…

Forget Cellaring Wine?

The link to this article is at: https://tinyurl.com/4yn62bwa

This piece was written just to get people upset. The title is deliberately meant to be provocative and act as click-bait for wine enthusiasts. I can’t believe a respected industry media outlet like Wine Searcher posted it. This writer doesn’t have a palate and obviously does not collect, or cellar wines – otherwise, they would understand the obvious benefits of bottle aging fine wines. The argument that wine enthusiasts prefer the fresher fruit forward character of younger wines and are just shamed by the wine elite into bottle aging wine is ridiculous. Seriously? Cellaring wine is an exclusionary practice? This piece reads like a political promo brochure selling a popular candidate… no it is not ethically wrong to age a bottle of wine. No, bottle aged wines when cellared correctly do not lose their fresh fruit. (I could go on…) Bordeaux, Barolo, Brunello would never taste their best opening before AT LEAST five years of bottle age. Even Napa cabs improve in a five year window. Yes, not everyone spends $50 USD or more on a bottle, but for those who do, the expense of cellaring wine is definitely worth it.

Expensive Wine is Unethical?

Find the link to this article here: https://tinyurl.com/u33h7ae6

This writer is out of his mind. Every free-market proprietor is entitled to set their own pricing. If someone is willing to pay the price, whether it is because the product is THAT good, or just the novelty of it, heck… even just for social status… more power to them! In free market economies, regulating price is crazy! Wineries should be allowed to sell wine at prices the market will bear. There is no denied basic need here. If a winery is able to sell their production every year at ridiculous prices, so be it. Is there any value there? No, not in my opinion. Do I think a bottle of DRC, or Bordeaux Gran Cru is worth several thousand USD? No. Is poor value a sin now? If you want to look at basic commodities we all need to survive, wheat, corn, water, etc. you could make an argument, but wine? Seriously?

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October 12, 2019 · 3:55 PM

2006 Copain Syrah Brosseau Vineyard

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Copain Syrah Brosseau Vineyard

California, Central Coast

Tasting Note:

The fruit is bright, fresh blackberry on the nose. Amazing for an aged Cali Syrah. A touch of menthol and alcohol follow through to the palate with a mid-palate and medium-long finish that includes tar and licorice. The oak is well integrated with a hint of vanilla still present. A well balanced wine on the palate – medium high acidity, medium tannin and a silky mouth-feel that presents a lighter Syrah profile. Alcohol is a bit heavy, but not overwhelming. This wine is singing and in its prime drinking window now. Thoroughly enjoyable on its own, but would pair well with red sauces, or red meat. I did not expect a Copain Syrah to weather the test of time so well!

This is a superb example of a New World Syrah with an Old World Northern Rhone influence. I have not tasted a Copain wine aged this long before. A pleasant surprise!

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February 3, 2019 · 12:39 AM

2009 Delectus Cabernet Sauvignon Boulder Falls

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2009 Delectus Cabernet Sauvignon Boulder Falls

Napa Valley, CA Winery – Sonoma Knights Valley AVA Fruit

If you haven’t tried older Delectus wines, you should. The winemaker before 2016 (Gerhard Reisacher) had some interesting ideas that make his red wines worth investigating. The extended cold soak, cool fermentation and extra time their reds spent on the lees drive a different profile. When you include the high quality fruit coming from well-managed Knights Valley estate vineyards, you have reds that show notable balance for fruit-forward high-alcohol wines.

Delectus was acquired by Vintage Wine Estates in 2016. Vintage hired a new winemaker and lost their access to the Knights Valley vineyards. For the record, I have no idea what they are doing today, but if you can get your hands on inventory from vintages prior to 2016, it is worth giving them a try.

Winemaking Ideas

These are not classically styled Old World wines. In good vintage years, the extended cold soak makes the wines quite extracted. The longer cool ferment and the extra time on the lees seems to affect the tannin and add a finer texture. In my opinion, if you were to marry this philosophy to a cool climate region, that would be something special. Instead, you have wines chasing Robert Parker’s next 100 point score. Don’t get me wrong, these are well-made wines and I do enjoy them as what I call “cocktail wines”, or accompanying rich red meat dishes. The usual high-alcohol makes these dry wines taste sweeter. Somehow, Mr. Reisacher managed to make these high-alcohol wines fairly integrated and balanced. Something you don’t see much of in Napa Valley.

My Wine Tasting Note from CellarTracker

Like other tasting notes on CT, this wine also hit me as odd. To get the first question out of the way, it does not taste hot, even though the label lists 16.7% ABV. Shockingly, the alcohol is well integrated. Upon first pour, this is a high-acid fruit bomb. At 9 years of bottle age a surprise… decant and give it an hour before you drink and you will find the real wine underneath.

At first, the nose is almost non-existent, but later reveals itself after a couple of hours. Once it develops, the nose is alcohol, plum, blackberry, black currant and menthol. With time open, this wine becomes well-integrated. The palate starts with blended red & black fruit (like boysenberry compote), but after time it settles down and morphs into the blackberry, plum & black currant you expect. The wine is dry, but the high alcohol content makes it seem somewhat sweet. The mouthfeel starts out soft, but thin and then the tannin shows and the texture begins to fill the mouth – high tannins and high acidity abound. The mid-palate shows immediately after the fruit and is all dark chocolate (without bitterness) that follows to a very long finish. This wine rewards patience. I agree with one of the other CT notes. Much like a Conn Valley Cab. As fruity and bold (perhaps more even), but the tannin is fine-grained and softer. I would be concerned about giving this more time in the bottle. The alcohol is so high, without the big fruit/acid/tannin behind it, the alcohol will likely begin to dominate. It seems to be drinking well now, but is definitely for those who enjoy fruitier, high-alcohol wines.

Napa and the 100 Point Race

This is every bit like the more expensive “cult” wines I have tasted. If you are a fan of that style, track down one of these older vintage Delectus wines and give it a try. They stand-up to aging and offer a similar experience for a lot less!

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January 1, 2019 · 3:37 PM

Storing / Serving Older Premium Wines

e010682d525778b52a3834ccdf7b6fc7--wine-o-drink-wine  Aged vs. Young Wine

The figures vary, but most studies show that at least 95% of all wine by volume is consumed within 48 hours of purchase. So, what is going on when you read about a 1985 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti selling for $9,600/btl, or a 1986 Chateau Margaux for $440/btl at auction? Why are these wines so expensive and what makes them special? I will only touch on the idea here and save the deeper treatment for a future article. The bottom line is: these wines tend to be softer, fuller, more complex and balanced. For those interested in experiencing older, aged bottles and discovering the difference for yourself, it is time to review how to store and serve the wine for maximum enjoyment and protection of investment. It is necessary at this point to make a couple of quick statements: all wines are not made to age and some labels tend to age well in a given age range. Just because the wine is older, does not mean it is better. If you would like to purchase a couple of special bottles for entertaining (lets say), you will need to spend time on some serious research, or find an uninvolved party with wine training to help.

Storage

A small group of white wines can age well too (common example: Mosel Riesling), but the vast majority of aged wines are red. So, what is the criteria for extended storage of red wines? The critical elements:

No Light, No Vibration – Light and movement speeds the chemical reactions that age wine prematurely.

Consistent 55 F Degree Temp – The best temp environment for slowing the chemical reactions and allowing a slow aging process without “shocking” the wine. Temps over 80 deg. for days, or over 90 for hours can “cook” wine and add unpleasant “stewed” fruit flavors.

Near 70% Humidity, Bottles Stored on Side – This will ensure the cork does not dry out. If you have opened a wine with a crumbling cork, you will understand.

If you are looking to age a bottle well for over ten years, these conditions are critical. When done properly, this is part of what is called “good provenance”. It is best if you purchase aged wines from re-sellers, or auctions that guarantee good provenance. You will be able to taste the difference.

Serving

This is where many people connect with an image of the tuxedo-wearing sommelier with the towel over an arm and the haughty attitude. Whether you are interested in this type of wine experience, or not… I won’t share my opinions about this part of the service experience. Instead, I will focus on the treatment of the bottle and the wine to ensure the best quality product is being served.

Stand-up Your Bottle(s) Two Days Before Serving – This will make it easier when it is time to serve. As tannin oxidizes with age, it often leaves behind sediment that can be very unpleasant. Allowing the sediment to settle is helpful.

cork puller

Two-Prong Cork Puller vs. Corkscrew

Cork Pullers of this type cost roughly $6-$25. Some of the more expensive ones are a little handier, but there really isn’t much difference. Save your corkscrew for young wines. Anything over 10 years of age, I would open with this cork puller and save yourself the embarrassment of fishing crumbled cork out of your wine while serving guests.

mylar circle

Mylar Pour Spouts

These cost around 50 cents each, but will save much expensive wine from dripping on the table/floor. Basically, these are no-drip spouts and they work great.

vinturi_sreen_pack_1000px_500px

Vinturi Screen

Most wine enthusiasts have a Vinturi to aerate young tannic wines. Filtering your aged wine when pouring to remove the sediment is a must. It is easy to just pull the screen out of your Vinturi and use it. Other utensils are specifically made for this purpose. Any way you go is fine. Just trying to simplify…

decanter

Simple Glass Decanter

Look below in this article for comments on the controversial topic of decanting older wines. Wines like those mentioned above can benefit from what is called a “soft decant” to help the wines “open” and realize their full flavor profile. Personally, I highly recommend it. If you are transporting the bottles to taste with friends, just pour the wine immediately back in the original bottle… softly and pop in the cork. In this way, the group can see the original label when served. Look for a decanter with a lip, like the picture above. It will make it easier for the pour back in the bottle, without spilling.

Decanting Older Wines

You are unlikely to find two Somms who address this issue alike. This is my opinion:

Splash Decant

There is a huge difference between what is called a “splash decant” and a “soft decant” as described above. The splash version is rough treatment of the wine for maximum agitation (have a laugh and Google the Mollydooker “shake”) and is intended to introduce as much surface area of wine to as much air (oxygen) as possible. This type of decant is meant for wines like young Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This will soften the tannins slightly (dry, cotton-mouth feeling), prior to serving.

Soft Decant

This technique is used with older wines to speed the “opening” of the wine. I have sampled older wines that tasted so closed on pour, they were virtually tasteless… but after 20-30 minutes, they blossomed into great wines and beautiful flavor profiles. Granted this is the extreme, but it does happen often enough. The other advantage can be what is called “blowing off” odd odors. Some older wines can develop unpleasant odors in the bottle that just require five minutes (or so) to dissipate. The soft decant can resolve this issue.

I prefer to decant most red wines, if I have the time and patience. Even lighter red wines like Pinot Noir. This is again a controversial topic in the Somm community. This treatment serves the same purpose for lighter wines as it does for older wines.

Needless Concern

Don’t be nervous about serving older wines to guests. It can be a great shared experience and the cornerstone of a memorable dinner party. I hope this information will help you feel more comfortable and inclined to investigate aged wines.

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November 18, 2018 · 11:22 AM

1984/1985 Napa Vintages: Comparative Blind Tasting

Recently, I attended a single-blind* tasting with a group of wine collectors whom I regularly meet to share interesting wine. While it has lately become popular to bash the direction of Napa reds and the influence of Robert Parker on the Napa wine industry, here was a chance to evaluate the longevity of Napa wines, BEFORE the wine style began to change. I will try to walk you thru the mindset of a single-blind tasting and wine evaluation. Hopefully, you will find it interesting. Hitch-up your britches, pour a glass of wine and let’s git after it…

(*”Single-blind” is the term used when you are provided with only general information, say: growing region and vintage, or Bordeaux blend and cool climate vineyard. With a minimum of information for context, you must then determine as much about the wine as possible, such as: grape varietal(s), winery – maybe even winemaker, etc. “Double-blind” tasting would include no information about the wine prior to tasting.)

Starter

I always enjoy starting a wine evening off with bubbly, but 1983 Dom Perignon? What a start to a great evening. The Dom still had medium+ acidity, was well balanced, but had moved beyond nutty to more of a brown butter component. The age on the wine gave it a beautiful texture. For those who have not drunk aged Champagne, the texture can be so gorgeous, it is worth tasting for the mouthfeel alone. The young Veuve Clicquot was bright and bracing as it should be.

The Cat (Wine) is Out of the Bag

Out of the bag quite literally… Here are the pics of the bottles out of their paper bags, after we wrote our tasting notes and had attempted to select which bottles matched which producer. Our host served charcuterie, bread and some beautiful pate I really enjoyed to clear/accompany the palate.

1974 Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Very balanced wine, but reaching its limit. Still with medium acidity and medium-minus tannins, this drank reasonably well, but the oxidation had taken over the fruit and was a few years beyond its drinking window. The fruit had moved to more prune and raisin, than fresh fruit flavors. This would have drunk better at around 35 years of age, around 10 years ago. The brownish color around the rim and prune flavors gave it away, almost all of us identified this wine correctly.

1984 Diamond Creek Vineyard Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine still had strong tannins. It was a little watery with a very restrained nose and palate. Diamond Mountain region wines in the past have tasted big, tannic, with subdued fruit and without much nuance (IMO)… but with age, developed great mouthfeel. Exactly how this wine tasted. This was an easy tell, with some tasting history to reference.

1985 Silver Oak Alexander Valley (Sonoma) Cabernet Sauvignon

This was the fruitiest of the bunch and had the most obvious oak.  This was the surprise of the evening (IMO). Recent vintages of Silver Oak Cab Sauv are not generally viewed as being able to stand up to extended aging, but this 80’s era vintage was balanced and still fruity. A nice wine with tremendous character for 30+ years of age. With the most obvious oak on the nose and palate, this fit the Silver Oak tasting profile, making for a high probability of accuracy.

1984 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

I mistook the next two for each other. I have always had an odd relationship with BV as a producer. I have not really cared for their lower priced wines, having only a minimum of value (IMO), while their famous Georges de Latour release every year is good, but over-priced. They also seem to develop complex flavors in their higher priced wine, some flavors of which I don’t care for. So, I may have gone into this tasting with preconceived notions… which is always an interesting aspect of blind tasting. I guessed this wine was the Joseph Phelps, mostly because I enjoyed this wine as having the most balanced profile of the wines tasted and having the most gorgeous mouthfeel. Frankly, I didn’t think a BV wine could be this good. (buzzer sound) Well, I blew that one! Chalk one up for having a closed mind.

1985 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

I described this one in my notes with the typical wine industry generic term, “food friendly”. The kiss of the death for uninteresting wine in a tasting note in the U.S. This was the most acidic of the bunch. Which was amazing, since this wine was 33 years old. It was a little vegetal with a touch of tomato, but no green bell pepper… both characteristics of under-ripe Cab Sauv. Hard to believe this wine was from a warm vintage. This could only happen in a Napa vintage before 1995. No self-respecting Napa producer would ever harvest Cab this early in a warm year today. I enjoyed this wine the least of the bunch. Poor balance and “interesting”, but not particularly pleasant flavor profile.

1988 Lynch Bages Bordeaux Blend

This was smokey, with medium+ acidity and medium tannin. This was another example of an aged Bordeaux showing balance after extended aging. The flavor profile included an earthiness, that when you taste enough of 1st-5th growth Bordeaux wine, you come to recognize. Still with fresh fruit (blackberry) and stewed currants, the fruit was forward on the palate. I am not a huge fan of Pauillac region wines. I prefer the St. Estephe and Margaux regions in Bordeaux, but this was drinking nicely at 30 years and was a strong representative of Left Bank Bordeaux.

The Finish

IMG Port Btl

Just WOW!

This aged, vintage port was exceptional! The fruit had lasted very well. Not too sweet, tasting like a more recent vintage… but for a port, this wine was so balanced… integrated alcohol, good acidity, soft & full mouthfeel. All of us agreed, this was the outstanding wine of the evening. I wish I could hold on to ports this long. This one was worth the wait.

Recap

Well, there you have it. A great evening! I hope you enjoyed the personal perspective and found insight into blind tasting methodology. I think you can see, blind tasting accuracy is mostly: having tasted a lot of wine labels and being able to hold them in your memory. These were all exceptional wines, wines I would score from 90-99 on the Parker scale. We definitely proved the point, most collectors can easily identify Bordeaux in a line-up of Napa Cabs. All of us guessed the Lynch Bages correctly.

Napa Cab Sauv: Now & Back Then

Not many are allowed the opportunity to taste a selection of Napa Cabs from the 70’s & 80’s. This was a great experience. I will reiterate comments made before about Napa in the last 30+ years… Prior to 1995 Napa made true Bordeaux style wines: structured, leaner, lower alcohol and well-suited for extended aging. 1995 to 2003 was an interim period, where Napa Cabs were fruitier and more ripe than before, but still able to handle 10-20 years in the bottle. 2004 and after, most of the wine was produced for optimum drinking windows in the 5-10 year range. This is just a gross generality. There are individual exceptions with both shorter and longer aging windows, but in general, I have found this evaluation to hold true.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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