At one point we had twenty signed up for this tasting, but by the time we started it had declined to 15. One of those not able to attend was John Walz, which was most unfortunate since he was the one who had put the tasting together in the first place. Fortunately, John and I had made contingency plans so I was able to present the tasting for him, although not with the same style. I did manage to uphold tradition and annoy some other patrons in the restaurant, however. (Amazing that Stella puts up with me!) To allow John (as well as others who were not able to attend) to review the wines vicariously, all the notes were collected and are summarized below. (If I couldn't decipher the handwriting, I omitted the comment. Classification as positive/neutral versus unfavorable is subjective and influenced by context of original comment. And the comments clearly demonstrate that one person's passion is another's poison.) The order is by bag numbers, which were assigned randomly. There were three flights of five wines in the blind tasting. Additional items outside the blind tasting are identified by letters, rather than by numbers.
The 1987 Cabernet entries were:
OPENER: APERITIF WINE
1999 Beaujolais Nouveau, Domaine Dupeuble Pere et Fils (Jerry).
This was seasonally appropriate, having been released just two days earlier. Fresh and fruity. One person said later that it was the best wine of the tasting. Another wasn't enamored with the genre. I'm taking some to my daughter's house for Thanksgiving. We drank a toast to John in advance for organizing the blind tasting.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Unfavorable comments:
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Unfavorable comments:
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Black cherry/raspberry, steel, high alcohol, tannic, nice nose, green pepper, slight fruit, tea, musty/mushrooms. Received no votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Weird, bitter & vegetal, corked or maderized, strange sulfur nose, unpleasant, over the hill, odd, flat, dead, no fruit or acid, sour, awful. From those who indicated scores, received five votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Garnet, woody, huge fruit, high acid, soft fruit, tannins, pepper, alcohol, spice, candy apple, cherry, pleasant, sl sweet finish, light, drink soon. Received one-half vote for best of its flight in the poll. (One taster thought maybe best but was undecided.)
Unfavorable comments:
Acid only, off nose, weak, stemmy, some fruit shows after opening, cherry fruit fading/disappearing, over the hill, alum? From those who indicated scores, received one vote for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Berry/cherry fruit, light, limestone, some fruit up front, tannic, oaky/woody finish, great, good body, good fruit, excellent balance, could be further aged, wonderful once it opened, green pepper, alcohol, balanced. Received six votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Weakening, not much in middle, light body, little fruit, short finish, sour, undistinguished, sulfur
From those who indicated scores, received no votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Nice nose, nice finish, got better & better, alcohol, very good, smooth, good structure, lightly peppery, plum finish, minty, boysenberry, black cherry, nice balance, rich, full, garnet, vanilla, mango, good body, oak bouquet, long. Received one vote for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Tannins rather than fruit, not much nose, little fruit at first, stemmy, closed nose, strong acid weak fruit.
From those who indicated scores, received no votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Minty, cherry, tart finish, plums, velvet, best backbone, complex with character, garnet, green pepper, lots of fruit, alcohol, good, balanced, herbal, tart fruit, tannins, little tannin, spicy, drinking well, slightly lemoney/grapefruit finish, mushroom, makes me wish I had it two years ago, melon? Received two votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Fruit starts dropping out after a while, little nose, no fruit taste, slightly sulfurous, a little light on body, musky, flat. From those who indicated scores, received three votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Great nose, acid, tannic, not tannic, slightly fruity finish, sweet oak/fruit nose, menthol-eucalyptus, long spice, pleasant cab nose, prunes, late-harvest like, lemon-pepper, big cherry, smoky, citrus, smoky, nice finish. Received no votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Sour, taste not great, sometimes losing its body, least interesting
of flight, no fruit, almost too much fruit, aged to ordinariness, stemmy,
slight sulfur nose, rot. From those who indicated scores, received two
votes for last place in its flight.
9. Silver Oak, Napa Valley
(WS-87)
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Tannin, great nose, mint, vanilla, green oak, good balance, coconut, long finish, the kind of wine I want to smell in the corner by myself, big enormous wine, perfect cab nose, pepper, ice cubes, excellent balance, all the parts are there, fresh plum, eucalyptus, smoky, leather, tobacco, cherry, green pepper. Received four votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Sour. From those who indicated scores, received one vote for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Wonderful, complex, eucalyptus, good wine, good balance, mocha, delicious, good fruit, some fruit, kiwi, cherry, minty, rosemary, mushroom, good balance acid-oak-tannins, chocolate, berry, mellow, light but pleasant, slight menthol, long finish, good body. Received nine votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Plain, rot smell, no nose, short finish, petroleum, weak. From those who indicated scores, received one vote for last place in its flight.
FLIGHT THREE WINES
11. Heitz, Napa Valley
(WS-87)
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Tannin, berries, jam, sweet oak body, tart, nice, tropical fruit, menthol. Received one vote for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Chemical, diswater with tart citric flavor, spinach, petroleum, insecticide, smells like gas on, hot, over the hill, sulfur, blank, medicinal, not so good, diesel, awful. From those who indicated scores, received three votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Oaky, acidic, green pepper, sliced mild onion, veg salad, good nose, very herbal peppermint with thyme nose goes to almost soy sauce, some fruit, tannic, spicy, peppery, bold, complex, a tad musty but good, coffee, clean nose. Received four votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Sour, vegy. From those who indicated scores, received one vote for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Ethanol, tannin, nice balance, big wine, fruit initially, spicy cinnamon, pepper, tart finish, complex, citrus, green beans, berry, grilled fish, sesame crispy, smoke. Received one vote for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Not great, stinky nose, not coming together, disjoint, hydrogen sulfide nose, gone, sulfur, acidic, tar, no nose, over the hill. From those who indicated scores, received three votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
Some fruit, remarkably tannic, nice nose for this flight, smelled the pork and thought this wine was better, good wine, bitter cherry, only distinctive flavor in flight, violets, spice, vanilla, black licorice, clean nose, no off odors, oaky, green pepper, darker, bitter remain, different from others, wow good fruit, nice balance, great raspberry nose & finish. Received six votes for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Hot, tarry, no nose. From those who indicated scores, received no votes for last place in its flight.
Positive comments and neutral descriptors:
A touch of fruit left, oaky, darker, tannins, deep berry-tar cherry & raspberry, some vanilla, spice, toast, nice, good medium finish, some leather. Received one vote for best of its flight in the poll.
Unfavorable comments:
Stemmy, hydrogen sulfide overpowers, petroleum, sulfur, cloudy unfiltered appearance, very little nose, maderized, over the hill, nothing special, ordinary, shows age, thin, vegetal, stinky, tarry-leathery. From those who indicated scores, received one vote for last place in its flight.
OVERALL RESULTS
Most people thought the second flight was the strongest overall, which made wine # 10, the Spotteswoode, the overall most preferred wine in tasting. This also seemed to elevate the status of # 9 (Silver Oak, Napa Valley) to tie with # 5 and # 14 (St. Clement and Chappellet Reserve) for the second-ranked wines overall. Then we went on to taste two more '87 cabs that people brought to share. At that point no one was taking notes anymore, but some appreciative comments were heard. The wines are listed as B and C below, without notes. Finally, we went on to a special treat, described in detail in D below. (Funny how "A" was "Aperitif" and "D" was "Dessert" here.)
POST-TASTING
B. (1987) Dom. Michel, Sonoma County (Linda)
C. (1987) Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards (Dave)
D. Dessert: Torta Sbrisolona (Carol)