Gregory dal Piaz had invited a motley but pleasant group of NYers to Cafe Loup
for a tasting of 11 '80-'82 CalCabs from his cellar. Subway from Lincoln Center
was speedy, and I was quite early arriving. I was the first to arrive, followed
by Greg's wife Michelle. While we waited, I opened the
2000 F. Cotat "les Culs de Beaujeu" Sancerre. Nose of flowers and minerals, a
Pouilly-ish flinty note. Big for Sancerre, with citrus (grapefruit) and melon
fruit. I had chilled this bottle before I left Westchester, but it sat without
an ice bucket for quite a while. Second-go-round as it warmed was less
pleasant, it really needed the cold to show OK. Nice wine, but really pushing
the value limit at $33. I'll give a B+ on the first taste.

2002 P. Frick Gewürztraminer (Alsace)
Aromatic nose, blast of Gew. fruit. Off-dry, litchi and fruit salad, quite
good.
The term "Fricking Good" was making the rounds.B+/A-
(Jay Miller says Frick even makes a good Pinot Noir. I'd sworn off Alsace PN,
but might give this a try if I see).

Then on to the main event. Wines were passed one at a time, no flights.

1981 Cuvaison Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Initially I thought the nose a bit restrained, but it seemed to gain intensity.
Nice palate of red fruit, light notes of tobacco and earth. B+

1982 Cuvaison Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
More of a raspberry meets cherry cough drop flavor. Still some tannins showing!
Tasty if not really complex. B

1980 Harbor Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Initial pop of bottle funk that immediately dissipates. Watery kirsch fruit,
not much else. C+

1981 Harbor Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Nice balance on nose and palate of fruit and aromatics. Medium-bodied, somewhat
elegant. Cherry fruit. A-

At this point I'm pretty surprised by the showing so far. 4 wines in, I'm
surprised (a) none seem over the hill - even the '80 Harbor which I don't care
for doesn't really seem faded (b) all are showing fairly deep color with little
browning (c) where is all this red fruit coming from & (d) little oak apparent.


1982 Harbor Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Not especially complex, but youthful big blackcurrant (finally!) and plum
fruit. B+

1980 Inglenook Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
A little acidic, but pleasant enough. Somewhat drying finish B/B-

1981 Inglenook Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Bright raspberry fruit, nice balance between the fruit and acid, lively and
young. B+

1982 Inglenook Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Lots of cedar (Greg says he thinks the turning point style wise in Napa was in
early '80s, as more wineries moved towards new oak). Plenty of fruit. B/B+

1980 Keenan Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
This one is also showing some oak, mixed with some rich black fruit, very
concentrated. Can't mistake this for anything but Napa cab, very well-done. A-

1981 Keenan Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Black plum , oak, dense, a little simple B

1982 Keenan Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
Toasty oak, blackberry fruit. B

The oaky wines were helped a lot by my lamb. My two favorites of the Cabs were
the '80 Keenan & the '81 Harbor, two very different wines, but each impressive
in its own way. Greg had labored hard to make sure we came with low
expectations, and the wines showed way better than at least I expected. The '80
Harbor was the only real dog, and it was drinkable. I kind of doubt most of the
'90s Cabs I've tasted would last 20 years as well.

At this point I was looking to my watch. I had promised Betsy she wouldn't have
to wait for me after her show, I needed to get to Lincoln Center. I took a pour
from a bottle I noted as 1997 Stags Leap Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Oh dear.
That's all I wrote. I THINK it was Stags' Leap Winery, from memory of label. In
any case a hurried taste showed a proto-typical '97 Napa- very ripe dark fruit,
soft lush texture, sweet vanilla oak with a little mint. Nice wine for the
style. B/B+

As I made my goodbyes, Marc Hanes beckons me to try a dessert wine. I think it
was the 1999 Echarderie (sp?) Paradis Quarts de Chaume. Lush apricot and honey
flavors, balanced without the really zippy acidity you see in a lot of young
QdC. Nice way to end the evening, but no real sense of the wine.

A very pleasant evening with nice people and surprisingly nice wines. Cafe
Loup's food was good if not exciting (I had escargots w/hollandaise (!?), and
rack of lamb with assorted veggie sides). Thanks to Greg for his generosity.

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B
a good wine, C mediocre at best. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a
party where it was only choice.
Dale

Dale Williams
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