Gang of Pour - Larry Meehan's Tasting Notes

The 1994 vintage is held by many wine writers, publications, denizens of internet bulletin boards and enthusiasts in general as one of the best ever for California Cabernet. Now, more than ten years removed from the harvest, we gathered with a baker's dozen of tasters to look in upon a nice selection from the vintage, including a good number of highly scored and sought after bottlings. The tasting was conducted "blind", in flights of bagged bottles. Most of the included labels had been announced previous to the tasting, though a few others were added late. The wines were presented in a random order, with no consideration to pedigree, appellation or cost. We discussed the wines after each flight, but neither revealed the wines nor polled for favorites in the flight, instead asking for overall favorites at the conclusion, as well as impressions as to how the wines had evolved.

With just one exception, the wines were poured shortly after having the corks pulled. The Spottswoode (because of a problem removing the cork) was decanted through a filter, then returned to the bottle. It was our good fortune to have no wines showing indications of TCA and/or cork taint problems.

Flight 1

A -- deep, dark color. The nose was both funky and showing ripe red fruit...both Tom and Jenna Warren noted its "Geauga County Fair" bouquet. It is full in the mouth and showing substantial, somewhat drying tannin. Jeff Faunce thought it showed a higher degree of acidity. It has nice spice, but also lots of dried herb that overshadow the jammy fruit. It finishes a bit hot. The wine does not seem to be in a good place...slightly disjointed.

1994 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

B -- The nose is initially higher toned with pine and baking spice, then turning larger in scale -- sweet berries, vanilla, caramel, and oaky spice. Loren Sonkin remarked on its "Christmas spice" scents. In the mouth, it is smooth, thick, ripe and juicy. It offers plenty of cassis, vanilla, red gummi bear...sort of a long, herbal/berry finish. This is not my preferred style (a little too ripe and syrupy for me), but one cannot overlook its fruit intensity and sultry textures. "Colonial" Bob Eppich said it is a wine to "take home, drink and enjoy".

1994 Joseph Phelps Insignia

C -- This is so different from "B" -- an elegant nose of dust, fresh turned earth, hay, dried fruit, and anise. There is plenty of expansive red fruits, but these are set against a very earthy/herbal core. The wine is nicely balanced...more suave than "big." The finish is quite long, featuring dust, herbs and nice minerals. Jeff Gillikin called it "delicate", while Jeff Faunce found it overwhelmed by wine "B." I liked this wine a great deal.

1994 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Flight 2

D -- Some initial rich, ripe red fruit was out in front of a basically shy, reserved nose...Amy McClellan remarked on its "savory spices." The attack is sweet, showing caramelized sugar and sweet berries, but then turning somewhat dilute at the center. The herbal/anise finish is of a medium length. The tannins and acids seem absent. An "OK"/open sort of wine, but certainly in a decline.

1994 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon

E -- The bouquet is a chalk/herb/berry blend...perhaps a bit of VA (Volatile Acidity) peaking out -- Tom Warren noted the "band aid." Red berry fruit flavors with a powdery texture, combine with pine and earth on the palate. It seems thin and minty on the finish...a touch of alcoholic heat. One of the weaker wines, but not really bad. Roland Riesen felt all three of the wines in the flight were dominated by oak and in decline...I was inclined to agree.

1994 Mazzocco Cabernet Sauvignon

F -- All sorts of coconut, vanilla, Tropicana lotion and sweet black berries on the nose. Sweet black fruit and plenty of oak flavored nuance seem to be the featured palate elements, though it did offer an interesting lavender character as it wrapped up. There is still plenty of tannin at work. It presently impressed me as something of a "cartoon character," oaky Cal Cab.

1994 Hess Collection Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Flight 3

G -- This offers a relatively pleasant, banana/fruity sort of nose, adding more animal and herbal character with time. This is a big, full bodied wine with plenty of sticky tannin. Jeff Faunce noted it to be "too acidic", as he did with (we would later learn) the earlier Dunn wine...in fact he found the two wines similar in many ways. I did not find the acids particularly problematic, or even prominent, but it was a nice observation on Jeff's part as to the winemaking signature. I thought there was plenty of fruit here, as well as an interesting mineral component. This was one of the only wines of the night that I though was still on its way up.

1994 Dunn Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

H -- The wine features plenty of chocolate, mint, and Indian spiced scents...some noted "baked goods" and even "glazed doughnuts". It is wet and juicy at the entry, with the chocolate and mint aspects from the nose, following along in the mouth. The dark fruit flavors are rich, smooth and full. The wine had a long lingering sensation, full of menthol, spice and more of that sticky tar.

1994 Raymond Generations

I -- High toned red fruit scents and flowers...more dark fruit, earth, spice and herbs with swirling. Deep, thick cassis flavors still seem to have the upper hand on tannins that bite against the gums. Nice acids give it a little lift in the center. Oak and spice nuances fill in through the middle, while the wines takes on a strange "banana peel" flavor and powdery feel at the close. Michael Donnelly thought this wine to be "well balanced", while Pam Gillikin thought it showed "plenty of acid...needs time." In general, I liked the wine, as I did this entire "big and tannic" flight. None of the wines were truly excellent, but all had some endearing qualities.

1994 Chappallet Cabernet Sauvignon


From left: Michael Donnelly, Loren Sonkin, Amy McClellan, Pam Gillikin, Jeff Gillikin	From left: Melanie Eppich, Bob Eppich, Tom Warren, Jenna Warren, Larry Meehan, Jeff Faunce

Flight 4

J -- It has an attractive nose of flowers, thyme, cinnamon, earth and graphite. This wine is deep, rich and herbaceous, all the while braced by good tannic strength and bright acids. At the outset I thought the wine had just the right measure to where dark fruit sweetness meets structure, but eventually I found that I could not escape the ripeness, as that quality continued to swell. Still, it is quite nice -- long, sustained, and marked by appealing mineral complexity. I thought I may have found my wine of the night, as it (and really no other) quite ascended to that point. Loren Sonkin called it a wine for "Oz lovers" (thinking it much too ripe), while others said "way too young". Upon learning this was the Monte Bello, I was pleasantly surprised, as I have consistently (at least a half dozen samples) found the 1994 MB to not only be the least appealing among the Monte Bello's of the 1990's, but simply unappealing in general. I've previously found the oak, ripeness and alcohol to be overdone...this bottle in far better proportion.

1994 Ridge Monte Bello

K -- The nose has a high tone (a bit of VA that I did not find problematic), presenting floral notes, lavender, and cassis...more lead pencil and tobacco with time. Jenna and Loren both noted a "celery" aroma. Sweet fruit with smooth textures are a fine counterpoint to a tobacco and earth core. It has nice notes of tarragon, thyme, leather and mineral through the middle and finish. The tannins are well polished, while the acids gave it some spunk. I think I was alone in listing this as an "upper tier" wine, but I found it both appealing and interesting.

1994 Flora Springs Trilogy

After tasting through all the wines, we polled the tasters as to their notions of the night's best and favorites. The Phelps Insignia (5-3-1) was the night's most decorated wine, with the Monte Bello (4-2-3) and the Mondavi Reserve (2-4-2) not far behind. The Spottswoode claimed the two remaining first place votes.

I went with the Monte Bello, Mondavi Reserve and Flora Springs as my top three, but it was very hard for me to distinguish a clear cut winner amongst a foursome which would also include the Phelps Insignia. I had the wines arranged in three tiers:

Have the wines improved with time? I believe the consensus answer was no. That said, most, if not all the wines were pretty decent in their own right -- even a late "throw in" like the inexpensive (around $15) Mazzocco was enjoyable when examined on its own. The greater issue that emerged was that nobody attributed, superlatives like outstanding or great to any of the wines. Wines like the Mondavi Reserve, that may yet develop greater complexity, were viewed as a long shot at best...even people like me who find a good deal of pleasure in aged nuance would say that the Mondavi was more pleasing a few years ago, than at present. Some of these wines, and no doubt other '94's, will be able to sustain themselves over another decade, but few of these seemed as if the trade of vibrant fruit for the potential of aged complexity would be a worthy gambit. Though there will always be notable exceptions, most felt it would be better drink these California Cabernets while they are young and opulent, so as to accentuate their greatest attribute -- the fruit.