Hello;
Last Saturday, the Tastevins of Helsingborg had a small tasting - small in
number, limited to 30 participants, and small in number of wines, (you
guessed it) only five.
This was presented as an exposition of expression of terroir in Californian
Cabs. It has formerly been played down, apparently, and even denied, that
terroir plays a part in the quality wines of the New World. This was meant
to be a tasting of wines that definitely expressed terroir.
The wines were pretty near identical in terms of color - rather youthful, no
tendency towards brick on the edge - I´ll leave it at that. They had all had
one hour in the glass when the tasting started.
1. Napanook 1999 (Yountville)
[N] Smoky, toasted, very forthcoming acidity, some intensity. AFter a while,
deep down, fruitiness, oddly reminiscent of strawberries, loads of toasted
oak.
[P] Very coarse and dominating tannines, dark fruits, bordering on the
sinister
Overall impression: Apaprently Napanook comes from one of the colder parts
of Napa. It was the wine least appreciated by the guests. It was also the
youngest, it may be it will develop over the next years and the tannines
mellow - I know it not.
SEK 500, c USD 68
2. Caymus 1997 (Rutherford)
[N] Nose initially dominated by burnt, toasty notes, mineral (granit),
artichokes (the topinambour kind), burnt rubber, geranium, cassis
[P] Rather high acidity, dominating but not unpleasant tannines, minerality,
paprika (red paprika, or sweet red pepper), sweet fruit
Overall impression: This was more like it. In an impromptu referendum, a
third of the participants voted this the most pleasant of the wines. It
developed over time in the glass - high acidity and tannines, together with
this, could give the impression that this wine would develop further over
time.
This wine contains 10 % Merlot.
SEK 500, c USD 68
3. Stag´s Leap Fay 1997
[N] Dark fruit, a bit restrained
[P] Oak, a bit of dark fruit, fresh and pleasant acidity, violets, aniseed.
A certain elegance. Very good persistance.
Overall impression: My favorite. Both from the impression in the glass, and
the road record of the producer, it would appear to be a wine worth keeping
around in the cellar.
SEK 750, c USD 102 (Ouch!)
4. Red Rock Terrace 1995 (Diamond Creek)
[N] Initially something unclean about the nose, my first thought was, it´s
damaged, corked, whatever, too much sulphur. It cleared, somewhat, and
presented stony minerals, a certain animal meatiness.
[P] Dominating sweetishness, smoke, toast, a lasting impression of something
unclean.
OVerall impression: A wine I didn´t appreciate. This feeling was shared with
my neighbours, who were much more experienced than I am in matters vineous.
'Mouldy' (or the colloquial equivalent) a lady of a certain age, one of the
founding mothers of the society called it.
SEK 1400, c USD 192 (Ouch!Ouch!!)
5. Monte Bello Ridge 1993 (Sta Cruz Mts)
[N] Yoghurt? Sour cream? Burnt sugar, jammy blackberries, toasted oak, hint
of mineral.
[P] Sweet, alcoholic, good acidity, soft tannines.
Overall impression: Not bad but a bit wimpy.
SEK 925, c USD 126

At this point in the proceedings, the MC, who had hitherto discussed the
merits of the various wines, especially pointing out the seminal Paris, 1976
tasting, where a Stag´s Leap Cab was considered better than any of the
French entrants (including various first growths), said: Well, I thought it
would be interesting to bring in one of the wines from the Old World that
these are at times compared to. Fortunately, I have had a bottle lying about
for some time, and decided to open it.
6. Mouton-Rothschild 1989.
[N] Complexity. What´s in it? Grass? Newly toasted coffe? What intensity.
[P] Chocolate, or bitter cocoa, soft, pleasant tannines, intensity.
Overall impression: Grace and elegance. What a wine. My first experience of
a Haut-Medoc first growth, except a bottle of La Tour back in 1981 - we were
both to young ...

We were then urged to taste the Californian wines again, and experience the
presence of the sweet, almost overripe, fruit, lacking in number 6.

The MC then said, (and I took, though politely, exception to it) that it
would be very difficult, bordering on the impossible, to pair these wines
with food, and, that, really, they were more often presented in formal
tastings. I was gently reminded of the words of Mr Delmas, the legendary
regisseur of Ch Haut-Brion, who said (I quote from memory) 'My wines were
not made to be compared to Lafitte Rothschild - they were made to be drunk
with food'.
Exactly. Tastings are fun, and you may learn something new (as I did this
Saturday), but I prefer (most of the time) a good wine integrated in a meal.

Cheers

Nils Gustaf

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