Wine Musings Vol#43

Wine of Merit: ****Staglin Family vineyard, Estate cabernet sauvignon, Rutherford, 1997: Wow. A stately, maybe statuesque wine. I guess it is not bragging if you can do it, and I find the Staglin wines to be the authoritative benchmark for Rutherford cab vintage in and vintage out. This cab possesses just leagues of depth – very much like a powerful Paulliac in a great vintage. Cassis, black and blue fruit, graphite, cedar, tisane…a wonderful combination. Perfect integration across the palate – new oak adds a mocha nuance with more minerals and blueberry and Malabar pepper. Super long, juicy, concentrated finish. A serious wine that is bringing it’s “A” game.

***++Phelps, Insignia, Napa Valley, 1997: Quintessential Insignia. Fresh mint, dark chocolate, wonderful flavor integration. Palate is still full and round, open knit and welcoming. Finish is also full but sweet and fine. Insignia is famous for its timelessness and this is another example of a wine that seems like it could age another 10 years without any effort.

***+Plumpjack, reserve, Napa valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1997: This wine has settled down and actually added some nuance that makes me appreciate it more. Still thick and unctuous, it has a touch of green olive and cigar tobacco that makes it interesting. The palate is chewy, with licorice root and briar added to the chocolate covered raisin base note. The finish is firm and youthful. Another example of a wine still awaiting its prime, some ten years later. Nice!

***+Tom Eddy, Napa Valley, cabernet sauvignon, 1997: A wine that I have always appreciated and always wondered why it hasn’t taken off. Very Napa, this wine shows yummy cassis, chalky minerals and chocolate, along with bright red fruit. Great depth and breadth on the palate all the way to the furry, fine, peppery tannic finish. Very well crafted and delicious.

***+Chalk Hill, Estate, Sonoma County, chardonnay, 1997: Staying with the theme - this was quite a surprise. Great pale straw color. Youthful but complex and delicious. I would have guessed Corton if served blind. Wonderful lemon custard, linseed, slate and popcorn – not flabby but full bodied and still holding its shape perfectly. Palate is full but still nice, zingy acids and a lovely firm, citrus-y finish. In no hurry at all. Great example of a chard that can be cellared with confidence. Yum.

***+Enrico Santini, Poggio al Moro, Bolgheri, 2005: To celebrate our planning a summer trip to the Maremma, I have decided to dig in to wines from that region from now until then. This is an excellent start. This is a fairly new estate, practicing sustainable, organic viticulture. Yummy, unassuming, $25-30 (in Italy it sells for $14!)…sounds like a winner! 30% Sangiovese, the remainder mostly Bordeaux varietals – with 10% syrah thrown in for good measure. Out of the gate, the impression is mostly the Sangiovese, with spicy red currant and cherry fruit, leather and lavender. The mouth feel is generous and integrates well with the flavors, which now include chocolate, plum and vanilla. The finish is sweet, not terribly firm, and delicious. With time the wine takes characteristics of the other varietals, the red fruit gives into the plum, chocolate, licorice and mint, though somehow it always retains its Tuscan sense of place. Great. Santini’s other wine, Montepergoli, is also worth seeking out – at a higher price point.

***Flora Springs Trilogy, Napa Valley, 1987: Stately, if a bit over the hill. I have always been a fan of this balanced, nuanced wine made by the steady hand of Ken Deis for these last 27 years. I believe at this point it was still made with equal parts cab, cab franc and merlot – hence the name. Since then it has added the other Bordeaux varietals of Malbec and Petite Verdot. In its old age now, it still shows heady aromas of tobacco, morel mushroom, raspberry jam and violets. Touch of soy and black licorice. Thinning now on the palate it does not however drop off at any point – seamless to the furry finish. Very much worth drinking - but I am glad this was a cellar orphan. Owned and stored since release.

**++Zahtila Vineyards, Oddone vineyard, Dry Creek zinfandel, 2004: Very nice. Reminiscent of the Rafanelli – just less so. Perhaps to make up for it, the oak (American) is much more center stage, adding café latte and vanilla elements to the raspberry fruit, spice box and Malabar pepper notes. Given the good QPR of Rafanelli – this wine would have to sit the bench.

Wine Musings LTD: Paris Tasting Redux

Ok - not really. But the wines, if not the vintages, were similar. More or less. As in more Mouton and Montebello and less everything else. And we included an 89 Haut Brion that the folks in 1976 could only have dreamed about. To the wines:

**1983 Leoville Las Cases: Already passed its prime and devolving. Brickish rim. Nose has elements of tomato skin and stewed fruit, along with the signature St. Julien earth and cigar box.

***1983 Mouton Rothschild: Better than I have had before. Good solid color. Expressive nose of black fruit, tobacco, cedar and graphite. Lovely grip and surprisingly integrated finish. The mint should have told me mouton, but it just seemed too good to be the 83. Would I pay $180 a pop for this wine right now? Probably not – but it is a very good wine nonetheless.

**++1985 Ridge Montebello: I mistook this wine for the Mouton, as the Mouton was a better wine and I have a high opinion of the 85 Montebello. This was a good, not great bottle. Good fruit structure, some floral notes, good minerals with more evident wood and a big finish. Nice.

***++1984 Diamond Creek RRT: A truly lovely wine. Soft though by no means flabby – more elegant – this wine has great berry and stone fruit, violets and a mountain quality that includes bramble and lavender. I could drink a ton of this wine. The biggest favor RP ever did me was bad mouthing Diamond Creek. Wonderful.

*****1989 Haut Brion: As described above, quite the experience. Many, many layers of aromas and flavors, surprising sweetness which Dave says means that it is aging a bit (I should age this well), amazing depth and perfectly seamless integration. A quintessential wine. I think I saw John Caldarella tear up after the first sip. I don’t blame him.

***1989 Ridge Montebello: Very nice, though dwarfed in every way by the Haut Brion. It did not remind me of the great Montebellos I have had. Fairly well evolved, deep black fruit, some vegetal qualities, round mouth feel, searingly tannic.

***1989 Mouton Rothschild: I had big hopes for this wine as it is my anniversary year. A solid effort though I think not as good as other 89 Paulliac wines. Tobacco, cassis, red candied fruits. Full palate though the finish falls apart a bit. Worth drinking but not a longer term wine I don’t think.

1990 Dominus: Not a good showing for this wine. A bit funky, falling apart, red fruit, not worth writing home (or to you) about much. I have had great bottles of this wine and think it was simply an off bottle.

***++1993 Mouton Rothschild: Back on the road to Wellville. This is an outstanding wine – which exceeds my expectation. All of the Mouton elements are there, mint, black fruit, cassis, tobacco, lead pencil. Excellent concentration right through to the finish. Lovely and worth the current asking.

****1991 +Ridge Montebello: Another truly great wine. This is why I love Montebello. Great concentration, mountain fruit, minerals and violets – a deep, youthful, complex wine. Worth seeking out.

****1991 Stags Leap Cask 23: I think this was a controversial wine. I thought it was breathtaking of a fine wine. Velvety texture, satiny red fruit, pink peppercorn, rose petal, black truffle – it had Cheval Blanc like characteristics. It is definitely mature, but I thought it a very special wine – in the top 4 of the tastng.

***+1996 Ridge Montebello: I have previously posted on this wine. A great Montebello drinking great now. I thought the last bottle slightly better.

***(?)1995 Leoville Las Cases: A frustrating wine. The nose is coy and showing next to nothing. The palate is full, strong, offering great minerals and very nice balance and integration. Patience is a virtue – but right now I would bury this wine in the cellar and drink something else – hoping for some kind of awakening.

***+1997 Phelps Insignia: I thought this wine got a bit lost in the fray. Deep fruit, mocha, signature mint, slate, surprisingly firm, almost painful finish. It was delicious but seemed almost one dimensional. I have always been a huge fan of this wine from 1985 – 1991…I think it has become almost simple as it has attempted to cater to the international palate.

***1998 La Tour: Not a great LaTour, though clearly a noble wine. I do not have a strong recollection of this wine other than that I was surprised how one dimensional it was, offering deep, chalky black fruit and nice grip – but overall lacking the quality that makes me “1st growth”. I have had truly great LaTour, including the 59 / 61 / 70 / 90. This was not one of those. Nice.

****++2000 Mouton Rothschild: Another mind bending wine. Wow. What depth. Tobacco, cassis liquor, violets, mint and deeeeeeep stone fruit. Wonderful palate with minerals, red and black fruit, clove, briar. A statuesque wine. At $350 this is almost a steal.

That’s it. The 89 HB, 00 MR, 91 MB and 91 Stags are my wines of the evening, in that order. So in our 1976 Paris Tasting the French reclaim the title! All are 95 to 100 point wines, IMHO. No losers here.