Last night our Bordeaux group took a detour to Cali. Theme was 1991 (and older) Cal Cabs. Dinner was at the midtown East Bobby Vans- nice round table, great service, good meat.

I had made a quick trip home to doubledecant my wines before getting on train, but my 1991 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon was corked beyond belief. Grabbed a couple of backup bottles and jumped on train.

As I arrived two half bottles of MV Krug Grand Cuvee. I'm not a the biggest Krug fan stylistically (I tend to prefer lighter/crisper) but these were nice and fresh, nice bready finish. B+/B for me, others who gravitate more to that style might rank higher.

1985 Stony Hill Chardonnay
Dark, savory, good acids, oxidative notes but some interest. B-/B

1990 Stony Hill Chardonnay
Tired, honied, good bones but probably some suboptimal storage before I avquired ( I thought I had grabbed the '91 which has generally shown better/younger, oops) B-/C+

1978 Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Last time I had this was 6 years ago in mag, thought this might be showing age, but it was actually showing quite young, in a midbodied style. Black currant, plum, cigarbox. A-/B+

1978 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Redder fruits, spicy, a bit of bell pepper. A-/B+

1985 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon
Sporting some VA, some brett, and a little TCA, no thanks

1986 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon
No TCA here, but plenty of brett, a little hint of maderization, C+/B-

1987 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon
Powerful style, brambly black fruit, leather, young. A-

1979 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon
Nice coffee/mocha aromatics, fully resolved, not quite as fresh as the 1978s. B+

1990 Diamond Creek Three Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
Midbodied, cassis, herbal, tangy. Good to start with, with air really blossoms- some coffee, that tangy herbal thing, long complex finish. A-

1991 Raffanelli Cabernet Sauvignon
This was one of the surprises of the evening for me, nice balanced CS with leather, smoke, and earth over dark fruits. B+/A-

1991 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweet, chocolate edge, a thought simple compared to some other 91s. B-

1991 Shafer Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon
Sweeter, plummier than some others, big wine that seemed a little ponderous, B/B-

1991 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Mid to full bodied, a little vanilla but sweetness in check, cassis and smoke. B+/A-

1991 Togni Cabernet Sauvignon
Wow, now this is singing, and just gets better throughout evening. Young but stunning. Cassis framed with a complex blend of pepper, mocha, and leather, tannins are there but suave, this has decades ahead of it. A-/A

Very fun night.
In 3/2/1 voting, those that got votes (if I can read my scribbling correctly) were
Togni 17
Diamond Creek, Montelena 6 each
78 Mondavi 5
Rafanelli 3
Jordan , 79 Schafer , Beringer 2 each


Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.