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.

The only one I know of those are Beringer private reserve. I wonder, in a duel between beringer private reserve, Stags Leap SLV, Seq. Grove Reserve, and BV. G. Latour 1991, how would your notes look?

On 3/25/16 4:16 PM, DaleW wrote:

> 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+

I had this wine shortly after release and then again about a decade
later. I am not at all surprised that it is showing as well as it is
now. The Reserve in that year was even more profound.

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

We also had a bottle of this, which we drank when it was way too young
(poor storage conditions back then). Not at all surprised that it's
doing as well as it is, either.

What a great tasting! You got CA in its heyday, before the siren song of
spoofulation took hold (and prices went gaga).

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 6:45:45 PM UTC-4, Michael Nielsen wrote:
> The only one I know of those are Beringer private reserve. I wonder, in a duel between beringer private reserve, Stags Leap SLV, Seq. Grove Reserve, and BV. G. Latour 1991, how would your notes look?

Who knows, as I've never had the '91 of any of the others. Though I'd be prepared for disappointment from the BV GdlT , a legendary bottling but my experience is 90s decade they were somewhat disappointing

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 12:28:13 PM UTC-4, Mark Lipton wrote:
> On 3/25/16 4:16 PM, DaleW wrote:
>
> > 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+
>
> I had this wine shortly after release and then again about a decade
> later. I am not at all surprised that it is showing as well as it is
> now. The Reserve in that year was even more profound.
>
> > 1987 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Powerful style, brambly black
> > fruit, leather, young. A-
>
> We also had a bottle of this, which we drank when it was way too young
> (poor storage conditions back then). Not at all surprised that it's
> doing as well as it is, either.
>
> What a great tasting! You got CA in its heyday, before the siren song of
> spoofulation took hold (and prices went gaga).
>
> Mark Lipton
>
> --
> alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

You got serious about wine before I did, drank wine but didn't pay attention till early 90s
Yes, some great wines back then (though some swing back towards that style now)