| About sixteen Pompous Twits converged on Linda Kemp's house for the chance to help her clear out hers and Mike's wine cellar on Saturday afternoon. Some of their older reds needed to be opened and consumed, so several of us were on hand to help out with this arduous duty. In attendance were Linda and Mike Kemp, Tom Regner, Susan Mountain,John Warner, John Walz, Dave Hulet, Julie Mrasek, Jinny Horner, Paul Marshall,Sascha Mountain, Tom Tilley, Haruyuki ("Harry") Kojima and Taia Kemp. Jerry and Carol Rose were there to taste the first few wines before havingto leave to attend a *beer* event (of all things)! Apologies if Imissed anyone's name.
Susan Mountain, Mike Kemp, John Walz, Linda Kemp
Click to Enlarge PhotoThe Wines These were never "cult" wines, but most of them were representativeof what many folks were buying in the late 70s and early 80s.
Mount Eden Cabernet Sauvignon 1972 Santa Cruz Mountains (13%)
Between ruby and garnet. Nose is woodsy, cedar, tobacco and a bit ofwet dog. Very high in acidity, with cedary notes; fruit is plum skin andcurrants. Medium-length finish with a pencil-like note. Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon 1983 Santa Cruz Mountains (Monte Bello vineyard)(11.8%)
Note: Although the bottle states that this wine was made from grapesgrown in the famed Monte Bello vineyard, it is not their Monte Bello cabernet. Garnet with slight browning at edges. *Gorgeous* nose of mixed dried fruitand a bit of oak. High acid, firm but velvety tannins, loads of black cherry. Chateau La Terrasse [Bordeaux] (12%)
Deep garnet. Pleasant woodsy nose. Very oaky and low in fruit; thin,with hints of red licorice ("redvines"). Villa Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon 1978 Napa Valley (13%)
Garnet with no browning at edges. Nose of toasted oak, berryfruit &black pepper. Loads of cherry and blackcurrant with a touch of green pepper.Nicely balanced. Impressive. (Favorite so far.) Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon 1978 Wildflower Vineyard, SonomaValley (15.9%)
Dense ruby, nearly black in color. VERY oaky, cat-tongue tannins, hot,highly extracted with tons of cherry-candy fruit flavors. Stonegate Cabernet Sauvignon 1979 Napa Valley (13.1%)
Deep ruby (not as dark as the CSJ, above). Nice nose, very typicalof CA cab with blackcurrant and berry. Sandpaper tannins predominate. Thiswine has fallen apart. Not much there. Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon 1969 Napa Valley (12%)
Garnet, no browning. Chocolate-cherry nose. Tannins are fully resolvedand this wine is soft, almost flabby. Low acidity. Interesting blend ofblack fruit flavors combined with tea; a bit of anise on the finish. Thiswine is over the hill and yet it is still quite interesting in its complexity. Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon 1977 Napa Valley (13.8%)
Ruby with garnet edges. Spicey nose, "rich" smelling fruit a slightlyalcoholic. Well-integrated oak, spice, both green and black pepper, gooddollop of cherry and plum. Tobacco arrives on the long finish. Mill Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 1977 Sonoma County (12.5%)
Looks like young wine. Dense ruby. Grilled beef, toasted oak and slightoregano odors. Remarkably fresh and youthful on the palate, velvety mouthfeel,plenty of candy fruit and plum skin; well balanced. Medium finish. Ridge Zinfandel 1982 Howell Mountain / Park-Muscatine (13.2%)
(Blend of 82% zinfandel, 18% petite sirah.) Spicey, fruity nose. Hookedon first taste -- lively acidity, friendly tannins, grapey-blackberry-plumfruit with a touch of spiciness. Good stuff! Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon 1979 "Centennial Vintage" Napa Valley(12.5%)
Huge dose of TCA on the nose. Tried to ignore it. Flavors way off.Dumped. (Noted that a few others did NOT think the wine was corked. DifferingTCA sensitivities?) Monticello Cabernet Sauvignon 1980 Napa Valley (12.5%)
Ruby-garnet. Red licorice nose with cherry and cedar. Cherry and raspberryflavors with moderate acidity, medium tannins, light oak. Nothing standsout. No complexity. Very ho-hum. Callaway Petite Sirah 1975 Temecula (14.1%)
Purpleish. Not much nose. Not much flavor -- what's there is more likered table grapes than any other fruit. Lots of oak. Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Petite Sirah 1978 Napa Valley (13.2%)
Deep, deep garnet color. Nose of vanilla (egg nog, specifically) witha hint of vinyl and sour cherry. Loads of stone fruit -- red plum, clingpeach -- briar, only slightly-detectable oak, well-integrated tannins,good balance. Nicely complex for a petite sirah. Medium finish. Duckhorn Cabernet Sauvignon 1983 Napa Valley / "Three Palms" (13%)
Dense ruby color. Scent of oak, light vanilla, anise, almonds. Thinand uninteresting wine; fruit has dropped out almost entirely. Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon 1982 Napa Valley (13.4%)
Ruby, no fading. Toasty oak and "barrel room" odors, very fresh smelling.Lots of black fruit, slight pruniness, jammy and chewy wine. Nice but onlymedium finish. Davis Bynum Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 1981 Sonoma County (13%)
(No note on color.) Nose is vaguely port-like with cedar. On palate,lots of dried fruit flavors, particularly plum/prune with hints of dateand green pepper. Nicely resolved tannins. Longish finish. BREAK: "SOMEONE OPENED **WHAT???**
Storrs BXR 1997 (Bordeaux-style blend, five varietals) San FranciscoBay (alc. n/a)
I can see why this wine tied for first place at the San Francisco InternationalWine Competition (it tied with Phelps Insignia, which is many times theprice). Medium-dark ruby red. BIG cabernet nose -- fruity and spicy. Loadsof complex fruit, extremely well balanced and focussed, layered flavors,nicely oaked (not overdone at all), velvety tannins, complexity, complexity,complexity! Lonnnng finish.
Superb wine. Nothing else this evening has come close... BACK TO WORK... Buena Vista Cabernet Sauvignon (1981? Can't read vintage.) Sonoma-Carneros(alc. n/a)
Flat, uninteresting nose with vinyl-like twang to it. Weak and dilutedon palate; lacks power and finesse. One note. Dumped. There was a second Mondavi, but I got separated from my notes and simplytried some. Not really noteworthy. Also drank some '97 Pedroncelli "MotherClone" Dry Creek zin. Not bad at all. Not overdone, just nice fruit that
would go well with food (I know this, since I ate with a bit of it!) SUMMARY
This was both a great tasting and superb social event for the Twits! From where I sat, it looked as though everyone had a great time and enjoyedthemselves immensely! There was a fair amount of talking about thewines, but there was also quite a bit of "roaming" around and joining inone of the many ongoing conversations. Personal thanksfoboth Mike and Linda for their warm hospitality and for creating a partly-likeatmosphere, which was perfect thor this type of tasting!
Notes by Tom Regner (Twit since 1990) Top | 