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The tasters then huddled around one giant table. The swirling, sniffing,
sipping and optional spitting went on for 20 - 25 minutes per flight.
Tasters commented after each round, but the wines were not revealed
until we had examined all the wines. After a quick tabulation of the
group faves, we proceeded on to a meal of roast beast, assorted sides,
and some nice desserts.
The wines for the Cabernet tasting were presented in the tried and true
paper bags, so as to protect their identities. The wines were all double
decanted a few hours before sampling. Most of the wines involved were
known to the group, but they were somewhat randomly assigned to flights,
and unknown once bagged. I note the overall first, second, and third
place votes registered for each wine.
Flight 1 --
#1 -- This wine captured the essence of coconut in its bouquet,
and evolved to being largely about green bell pepper on the palate. It
is dense through the center, where black fruit and chocolate do peak
through, but it turns harsh, thin and charred at the close. Jeff
Faunce minced no words when he called it "terrible." Charlie
Luhta thought "it should have been drunk five years ago." I
was slightly more tolerant of the wine than those two fellows, but it
was certainly the weakest of the flight and in the lower tier of wines
on the evening. This particular bottle showed little upside.
1995 DOMINUS (0-0-1)
#2 -- Sweet fruit and freshly turned earth, compete with a
distinct animal/funky note on the nose. Where a small group of us found
the scent mixture most compelling, Tom Warren summed it up for a
nose wrinkling majority -- "Too horsey." It is wet and juicy at the
entry, but tannins slam down hard from the middle through the
finish..."certainly seems like one of the Dunn's to me." Even with
the mighty tannins, I like the broad textures, and enjoy the earth and
cedar notes marking the close.
1995 DUNN HOWELL MOUNTAIN (0-1-0)
#3 -- The fruit fragrances are quite sweet and ripe...joined by
plenty of coconut, vanilla, and tangy spice. It is wet in the mouth, and
offering warm fruit and chocolate through the middle...tannins seeming
less invasive than in the previous two wines, but still seeming
assertive on the finish. This strikes me as sort of cartoonish in its
demeanor...still, I can comprehend its appeal.
1995 BV TAPESTRY (0-1-3)
Both Jeff King and Pam Gillikin expressed a notion that
the entire flight "lacked complexity"... I agreed.
Flight 2 --
 #4 -- Roland Riesen termed it an "interesting nose", and
I'd concur. Dark earth, peppermint, anisette, and menthol all wandered
in and out. In the mouth it was harsh as the tannins were drying and
bitter, though there was a fair amount of chocolate flavor in the
finish. I doubt more time would help this bottle.
1995 DUNN NAPA (0-1-0)
#5 -- This wine had my favorite "nose of the night" -- dark
plums, blood, dried figs, good dirt, and a touch of mint...nothing too
dominant at any one time. It is smooth when sipped and showing a nice
assortment of "dark stuff" -- berries, earth, chocolate, and charcoal.
It is chewy and dense, showing good length all the while. This is the
first wine I came across that drinks well now, but seems likely to add
complexity in the coming years.
1995 SNOWDEN (0-1-3)
#6 -- One sniff has me mentally finishing a fruit sauce with a
pat of butter. This wine certainly represents a style of lavish oaking
and smooth, ripe, plummy fruit... just lightly chewy at the close. It is
a well constructed Cabernet -- built to please, but it is not
particularly interesting.
1995 CAYMUS (0-0-1)
Flight 3 --
 #7 -- Some initial "aquarium" notes moved aside and left a
bouquet full of ripe, dark fruit, earth, black pepper and a good bit of
herbs...Pam calling it "minty fresh, in a good way." It well
proportioned with its smoother tannins, discernible acids, and ripe
cassis -- easily the best balanced wine I sampled. It showed real verve
through the center, making it unique amongst it peers. Not only that,
but I actually sensed some minerals as it wraps up -- always a welcome
find for me.
1995 CHATEAU MONTELENA (1-2-2)
#8 -- The nose seems incredibly reluctant -- just hinting at
spicy oak, hay, and later some black tea. I really like the smooth,
lustrous mouthfeel, but just as was the nose, the palate flavors are not
at all forthcoming. The structure sets up as "reasonable", but I can
find no fruit... only some oak left laying about, and trace amounts of
minerals. There is not much here to love, or even like, but I had the
sense this might be in some deep slumber.
Tasting a leftover ounce a few hours later, it really made no
improvement. Not one person thought it was a poorly treated, or
obviously tainted bottle...this one is just not giving up anything at
present.
1995 RIDGE MONTE BELLO (0-0-0)
#9 -- Medicinal scents dominate the early sniffing, but it
steadily adds a good bit of ripe berry, charcoal and mint. It is wet and
juicy when sipped and it comes across as an oasis for the dry desert of
tannins we had all been traversing tonight. It still shows ample
structure, but it is the smooth, plush cassis and blackberry fruit that
is the focus. Herbs pound out a steady beat at its core and "Eureka!" --
I struck a vein of minerals at the finish. I'd drink this sooner rather
than later.
1995 MONDAVI RESERVE (1-1-2)
Flight 4 --
 #10 -- "S'mores on a campfire" Tom commented, and many nodded. I
get the smoke, but thankfully could not locate the marshmallow or graham
cracker... just a bit of chocolate. Earthy and herbal, this seemed like
an "old school Cab" to me, and I liked it. Nice ratio of fruit to
structure... this is a very solid, and appealing wine. Notes of well
aged cheddar lingered on my palate as it faded away.
1995 SULLIVAN (5-1-0)
#11 -- This had a sulfurous stink about it...I found it hard to
shake. Amy McClellan termed it a "wise, old, smelly sneaker."
I should probably have no idea what that meant, but strangely I did. It
showcased both black and blue fruit, and it seemed to be one of the
riper wines on the table. The tannins have a good bite through the
middle, but seem more pliable as it closes in a cool menthol finish. I
can see the appeal of this wine, but the sulfur scent and its sense of
ripeness hinder my own enjoyment.
1995 FLORA SPRINGS RUTHERFORD RESERVE
(5-1-0)
#12 -- Scents of Indian spice, black pepper, and herbs. It is
open and easy as far as fruit and tannins go, but it seemed a bit washed
out to me. There is plenty of spice as it wraps up.
1995 SADDLEBACK (1-2-0)
#13 -- Dried leaves, and prunes give me an overall sense of
decay. It is ripe, juicy and warm with alcohol - coffee and chocolate,
too. It is easy in many senses, but it lacks spine and anything beyond
visceral pleasure for me. That said, it was very positively received by
the majority.
1995 VENGE RESERVE (0-2-0)
"Colonial" Bob Eppich led the chorus of a number of tasters in
saying he found this to be the best overall flight...he and many others
finding all the wines to be very enjoyable and of higher quality.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The results were in -- the Flora Springs
Rutherford Reserve (5-1-0) and (an "unknown" to some) the
Sullivan (5-1-0) tied for the
group's top spot. The Chateau Montelena
(1-2-2) was third. A first place vote also went to each the
Mondavi Reserve and the accessible
Saddleback.
I selected the Montelena, Snowden, and the Mondavi Reserve as my top
three of the night, but the Sullivan was not far removed from this
group. The wines seemed to fall into clear tiers for me:
Excellent -- Montelena, Snowden, Mondavi
Reserve, Sullivan
Good to Very Good -- Flora Springs, Dunn
Howell Mountain, BV Tapestry, Caymus, Saddleback, Venge Reserve
Poor to Average -- Dunn Napa, Ridge
Monte Bello, Dominus
The last trio of well regarded wines has a fine record for developing in
the cellar, and though I did not find any of the bottles to seem
obviously tainted or damaged, I can imagine that they are perhaps in
awkward stages. The Monte Bello is one in particular that I have sampled
on a number of occasions, with far better results. No single bottle is
proof of anything, but it was a poor showing for all three.
Though everyone acknowledged that we were largely examining "snapshots"
of the wines, the group seemed to think these 95's were in slightly
better shape than the similar 94's
we tasted last year. Though a few of the wines may yet improve
in regard to complexity and overall symmetry, the group's impression was
similar to the previous year -- better to drink these earlier than
later.
LM
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Larry Meehan was a one
time "boy entrepreneur," now a full time Dad. In the moments when the
insanity fades, he is a fairly prolific tasting note writer, minor
league party planner/caterer, sporadic wine educator, and consultant for a few
retailers who (at their own peril) seem to value his opinions. Hailing from near Cleveland, he
frequently gathers with local enthusiasts to share thoughts and a few glasses, but also
concocts a number of tasting events that bring friends together from around the country.
Larry samples hundreds of wines a year from a myriad of regions -- "Understanding the diverse
and constantly changing landscape of wine will be a life long endeavor...I'm glad it is
so much fun!"
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