Dalla Valle Maya 1999 and 2001

One of the most elegant cabernet wines of Napa Valley, is the Maya of Dalla Valle. Although very rare, and seldom tasted of drunk, it’s always a pleasure to do so. The new winemaker Andy Ericson told me in August, that production now is very small due to the replanting program, and Maya is even rarer in the latest vintages, and vintages to come. The Maya vineyard is only 3.05 hectares, planted to two thirds of Cabernet Sauvignon and one third Cabernet Franc. Elevated above the valley floor, with a red volcanic soil and a perfect southern exposure to the sunshine as well as cooling breezes from San Pablo Bay, this vineyard creates unique conditions for a great wine. And great is what it is!

1999 Maya / 97-98
There is something magic about the 1999 vintage – the ripeness is there, but besides the winemakers who seek too high ripeness and richness in their wines (which makes them boring), the wines are overall very complex and elegant. So many well made and even exceptional wines were made in 1999, and Maya is no exception from that. It’s really a very fine wine, already when the cork is popped and you put the nose in the bottle, you understand that this will be a great wine experience. Imagine a cuvée of the very best classical styled Napa Valley wine, and a great wine in a perfect vintage of St-Emilion in Bordeaux, and then let wine reach an age of ten years, then we are getting very close to this!
There is still some primary red and dark fruit on the nose, but also more complex secondary aromas of lead pencils and cedar – but not really cigars – and the oak is extremely well integrated. There are really no rough parts at all on the nose, and also on the palate the wine is as seamless as can be. Of course there are tannins, rich and firm but ripe, and there is some sweetness from the fruits, but then acidity, mineral notes and a long, very complex richness takes over, and stays in the mouth for more than a minute. Only in the finish, some ripe fruit flavors take over and create a seductive balance to some very fine tobacco notes. This is a profound wine, at the same quality level as the magic 1994 Maya. Drink it over the next 6-8 years.

2001 Maya / 96-97
The competition in the tasting where I put this bottle was extreme – all the Napa Valley cult wines of Napa Valley were put in a blind tasting – and this one was next to Grace Family, Araujo Eisele Vineyard, Screaming Eagle and Sloan … and then came the rest. At first, it was very shy, elegant and youthful with delightful and pure cassis fruitiness, but within ten minutes a more complex nose and palate evolved. The oak is very fine, perfectly balanced with the fruit and medium intense body, and there are so many notes reminiscent of the finest bordelaise wines – foremost lead and cedar, but also a hint of grass. All those complex flavors are present on the palate, which also shows a beautiful balance of acidy, tannins and mineral notes, and in the lingering aftertaste there is layers of fruit, acidity and sweetness – but overall an elegance that is outstanding. All those lovely things mentioned, I don’t believe this is a wine to keep for a long time, also it is just too elegant to drink right now. And it really showed well, especially to the other elegant cult wines of the valley, those from Grace Family and Screaming Eagle. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve vertical 1996-2005

It’s always something special to drink the Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from Mondavi Winery. Most often the wine is delicious, but there is also the emotion of drinking a wine that in many ways changed the direction of the Californian wine culture. Robert Mondavi always believed that the wines from Napa Valley could play with the best in the world, and his never ending hard work and ambition later on proved to be right.
This reserve is always a blend of grapes and vineyard sources, but the majority of the grapes (normally 70-75 percent) comes from the oldest and best vines in the well known To-Kalon Vineyard that surrounds the winery in Oakville. The balance comes from slightly cooler vineyard sites in Stags Leap District, as well as from other small vineyard lots in Oakville and Carneros. The blend varies, but on average it consists of 85-90 percent Cabernet Sauvignon plus Cabernet Franc and small portions of Merlot and Petit Verdot.
Since the grapes are harvested at a moderate (and wise) ripeness of 24-25 Brix, the wine will never be too ripe, sweet and overly alcoholic. On the contrary, this is always a very elegant and classic wine, as young of course with a dense and dark fruit. With age, it improves to a classic!
After a strict selection of grapes, a light crush and a few days of cold soak, the grape must is fermented during 9-10 days with remontage 3-4 times per day. The cuvaison may stretch from 30 to 50 days in total, and that’s also one of the reasons for the fine structure. Only new French oak barrels are used for malolactic fermentation and the 18 to 20 months long ageing.

1996 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 91-92
Only 3 percent of Cabernet Franc and 2 percent of Merlot was added to Cabernet Sauvignon in this vintage. Today the wine shows a delicious maturity with a fine but not dominant fruit with small notes of leather and tobacco in a quite classic way. It’s really a very elegant wine that could be taken for a slightly warmer vintage in Bordeaux, the alcohol is only 13.5 percent. On the palate, there is still some primary fruitiness and sweetness, but also notes of raisins (which I don’t like), but overall it is the fine classical nuances and elegance that should catch your attention. Drink it over the next 6-8 years.

1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 93
Only 50 percent of the blend in this great vintage came from the To Kalon Vineyard. The color is dark, still quite young and the nose is slightly deeper and richer than medium intense, and it’s very elegant with notes of dark cherries, black olives, walnuts and only small traces of the oak. On the palate, it is medium intense and still young and well structured, with the fine balance of sweet ripe fruit and high intensity, but still more elegant than rich. It is still quite firm, and it will open up to a more Bordeaux like greatness with some more bottle age. Drink it 2010-2017.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 89-90
When released, the reds from the El Niño vintage 1998, was criticized by most American wine writers as unripe wines with green tannins. In most cases I agree on that, but the critic was not true for all wines. The wine growers who did the best job, and the winemakers who sorted the grapes well, made very good wines. Most of the wines, however, still didn’t show the ripeness and sweet fruit that so many American wine writers like and look for. But for me, with a more European palate, I found many wines to be quite elegant and classic, although not great with Californian standards in mind. However, I knew the best wines needed some years in bottle to mature, and to leave some of the grassy notes behind. Over the last year, I have tasted dozens of 1998s – and now I know I was right.
The 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a good example of a good (but not great) wine of the vintage. It is medium intense, actually with slightly deeper fruit than the 1996, but what is doesn’t have is the same complexity and finesse although it is medium bodied. I like this wine, but I wouldn’t keep it much longer. Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 92-93
This is one of my favorite vintages for the red Bordeaux grapes in Napa Valley. The color is still young and dark, and the nose has just begun to open up and show the wine's full potential. It’s very elegant, rich and deep with a perfectly clean and ripe fruit (cassis and dark cherries) and only some signs of a first maturity. On the palate, the still firm but perfectly ripe structure combines a finely ripe but elegant dark fruitiness and if it wasn’t for a slight touch of tobacco, it would all taste very young. Still the aftertaste is a bit closed due to the tannins, but over time it will open up and reveal a complex balance between fruit, body, mineral notes and a more silky tannic structure. Drink it 2010-2020.

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 89-90
This vintage seems to be uneven – some wines are very fine, others more average. To me, this wine belongs to the latter group. It has a medium intense nose, but I miss the higher perfumes to be found in relatively young wines like this. However, it shows some depths, and small notes of chocolate and walnuts. The palate shows a quite good body, a nice and slightly sweet but not intense fruit, and surprisingly also some maturity with tobacco and the kind of sweetness you normally find in mature wines where the tannins are softer. Also, it lacks the concentration you seek in a great wine. Drink it over the next 3-5 years.

2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 94-95
This was the first vintage made in the brand new 20 million dollar winery with its 56 fermentation vats of French oak from Taransaud. Over the last year, I have tasted this wine many times, with consistent impressions. It’s still very young, firm and almost closed – you have to let it sit in a decanter for at least one hour to see the more fine nuances. It’s young, dense and dark, yet very elegant, with notes of cassis and dark (almost black) cherries with both sweet and sour flavors. There is also the very typical note of walnuts. On the palate, it’s rich but not sweet, with a classic (or even modern Bordeaux like) structure with firm but ripe tannins and a good acidity. The oak is still quite present and shows fine notes of chocolate and coffee, and although the lovely dark fruit is still dominant you may find some mineral notes. It’s truly a great wine that will be a classic in the history of wines from Mondavi. Drink it 2012-2031.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 93-95
I was really hit by this wine, tasted the first time at the winery some years ago, and since then several times again at the winery. Again, this is a great vintage with smaller proportions from To Kalon (only 53 percent) and with slightly more Cabernet Franc than on average, 12 percent. As the other vintages from the 2000s, this is still a very young wine that should be kept for many more years before tasted again. It’s dark and densely structure with a rich but not sweet fruit, intense but foremost elegant, and it also shows more spicy notes (lavender, saffron and bay leafs) than in other vintages. On the palate, it shows layers of ripe fruit, it’s rich but still dry, at the moment everything is hold back by the tannins and the bittersweet tannins of the oak. For sure this will be a great wine for the future. Drink it 2014-2025.

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / 92-94
Of course this wine is far too young, but still very appealing. The nose is quite restrained, but not shy since it is packed with dark, ripe fruit, and also at this stage with a slightly spicy note of oak. On the palate it is rich, intense and fresh – the acidity and the mineral notes are very present although the fruit is quite sweet – and also the alcohol is notable (this vintage, alcohol reached 15 percent). Even if the different fractions of the wine has not yet married, there is enough to see and taste to understand that this wine will become a beauty over time. The oak is still a bit too present, the tannins firm and dry (but ripe!) and the fruit is nervous. But I really like it – we just have to let it be for some years. It’s a sleeping beauty. Drink it 2015-2025.

The Judge 2003 from Kongsgaard

John Kongsgaard and Chardonnay joined forces already in the early 1980s, when John worked at the legendary Napa Valley winery Stony Hill, and later on from 1986 to 1996 at Newton Estate up at Spring Mountain. There, the wild fermented Unfiltered Chardonnay became an eye opener for chardonnays to many consumers. Today Chardonnay is the most important noble grape variety of California, and there’s hundreds and hundreds of chardonnays to be found.
He started his own label in 1996 when working with Fritz Hatton at Arietta, a winery he later on left to focus on his own wines. Nowadays he lives up at Atlas Peak, where he has dug a cave into the mountain at his 61 hectare estate. His regular Napa Valley Chardonnay is very good, but it is always the rare top cuvée The Judge, named in honor to his father, that ranks among the best chardonnays in California. Grapes are sourced from the Stone Crest Vineyard in Coombsville in the cooler southern part of Napa Valley, they are whole bunch pressed and the grape juice is then slowly fermented during several months in new French oak barrels, where the wine will undergo full malolactic fermentation and spend up to two years.

2003 Napa Valley Chardonnay The Judge / 95
I compared this wine with several great California chardonnays from vintages 2004 and 2005, and this wine was significantly more golden in color. However, after tasting it, I didn’t think of it as more matured, rather as a more concentrated wine. When poured from the bottle, it was rich and ripe with a sweet butterscotch note – all this which is expected in a young full malolactic barrel fermented chardonnay. However, the oak was well integrated, at this stage only showing some vanilla notes and just a hint of spiciness on the palate. Instead, there’s a lot of flavour and a full body to match the oak and surprisingly moderate alcohol (14.1 percent), and although this is a full malolactic wine, there’s a quite good acidity. Again, just like all great chardonnays of California, the true personality and complexity of this wine is revealed only after a proper serving procedure – it really needs decanting and a slightly higher serving temperature, let’s say 30-40 minutes in a decanter and 12-14 degrees as serving temperature. On the palate, the wine is very intense and rich with sweeter notes of fruit, alcohol and oak, but there’s also a fresh acidity that gives elegance and balance to the wine. I once told John Kongsgaard I thought this wine lacked structure and acidity, and still I do. However, I would lie if I told people I don’t like it. Summarizing my tasting notes, they actually really remind me on my tasting notes of Bâtard-Montrachet from quite good producers. And that's not too bad. Drink it over the next 2-6 years.

Chardonnays from Marcassin

There’s several cult cabernets in California, also some cult syrah wines (notably those from Sine-Qua-Non - I'll get back to those!), and a few of Pinot Noir. When it comes to whites, there’s still only one producer with some kind of cult stature – Marcassin. Helen Turley, the woman behind the winery, came to California in 1977 and started her career in the laboratory of Mondavi Winery. Later, she made wines at Chappellet on Pritchard Hill, at B R Cohn and then at Peter Michael Winery. She became a superstar winemaker of Sonoma and then Napa Valley with many highly acclaimed wineries in her consultant business. She was loved, she was feared, and her wines was awarded with top Parker scores.

In 1991, she planted a 3.45 hectare vineyard in the cool true Sonoma Coast, Marcassin Vineyard, and begun to make great chardonnays, and pinots. Today, the wines are extremely hard to get, sold only through the mailing list. You'll also find them on the second hand market, but there they are very expensive.
The chardonnays are all made in the same way, whole bunch pressed, very slowly fermented with the indigenous yeast in 100 percent new French oak barrels, and always with full malolactic fermentation. The wine style is somewhat extreme, especially when taste young. Helen Turley says the wines need some years of bottle age, sometimes even 10 years – and although I normally don’t think California whites are able to age very well, I do agree with here on these wines. Give them 5-7 years from vintage, and don’t serve them to cold, 12-14 degrees is great. Like the wines from Kistler, these wines benefit from decanting.

2004 Chardonnay Zio Tony Ranch / 88-93?
The Zio Tony Ranch in Sonoma Coast is owned by the Martinelli family. This wine was a bit strange. At first, it was very shy and closed, with a quite oaky note and something that felt a bit unclean. Under that, there were notes of yellow plums, lemon zest and vanilla. With air, the musty notes became stronger, and stayed there for almost one hour. The cork wasn’t very good, but there was no trace of TCA, neither of oxidation. It was more like reduction – so I waited. For two hours! Then it turned into something very enjoyable, still young actually (Helen is right, her wines needs air, and bottle age) and the roasted notes of oak became more and more balanced and there is lovely notes of honey and both white and yellow flowers. On the palate, the wine is full and rich, at first with an intensity that you almost would describe as sweet, but the taste is completely dry. Alcohol is 14.9 percent, but to be honest, I don’t really feel that. The notes of honey is there, combined with lemon zest and a kind of clove like spiciness from the oak. The aftertaste lingers for a minute, or two, and suddenly I really like the wine. Still I’m a bit confused. Is the wine too young? Was it a bad bottle? Drink it over the next 3-4 years.

2004 Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard / 96-97
This is always the greatest selection of Marcassin wines. Made entirely from the estate grapes of the Marcassin Vineyard, and produced in the same way as the other wines. Unfiltered and slightly hazy, it doesn’t look too good (well, I know it's good, so I don't care), but just put your nose in the glass, and you’ll smile. This is almost as complex as California chardonnays gets, great and intense at the same time as there is finesse and cool but rich and ripe yellow stone fruits. The one hundred percent new French expensive oak is extremely well integrated, as in the finest grand crus of Burgundy, a proof of the intensity and quality of the site and the grapes … and the winemaker. If you focus, you’ll notice the high alcohol (14.8 percent), but most likely you’ll move on to enjoy the floral notes, the lemon zest, the cool Pacific influenced fresh acidity and the fantastic balance of this great wine. If there is something I miss that would bring higher score to this wine, is would be a bit more intensity and liveliness in the aftertaste. But as long as it is so damn good, I will not complain too much. After all, it is a truly great bottle of wine! Don’t serve it too cold, and don’t pour it directly from the bottle – it needs decanting! Drink it now thru 2014.

2001 Chardonnay Marcassin Vineyard / 93-94
I had this wine at French Laundry, and therefore it was tasted open. The sommelier decanted the wine, as expected, and it stayed in the decanter for 20 minutes before I really tasted it. I can just image how much it opened up during that short period of time. As always, I find the wines of Marcassin to be a bit oaky at first and when young, but when they open up with some air, they show much more of their rich body, their depth, their intensity. With this wine, although it was almost 8 years old the time and the honey notes were more present, the oak was still there. Marcassin is always a very rich wine, and you almost always expect to find notes of pineapple and sweet lemon here, but still the acidity is so fresh so you’ll never feel any sweetness. This is one of the great things about this wine. Let’s go for the silky and quite charming body, but there is nothing easy about these wines. The acidity is always marked, this is the sign of the true Sonoma Coast, and even if there is sweetness from concentration and alcohol, you will describe the wine as completely dry. This is for sure a very good wine, but knowing it was a Marcassin, I actually expected a litte bit more. Was the wine fading away? Was it too old? Or was it still closed? To be honest, I don’t know.

Kistler Chardonnays

The more I taste the younger vintages of the chardonnays of Kistler, the more I find them to show elegance, complexity and personality. They are all whole cluster pressed, the must is then settled over night and fermented with its natural yeast in French oak, 40-60 percent new depending on vintage and vineyard. All wines undergoes full malolactic fermentation and are barrel aged on their lees for 12 to 18 months, with frequent bâtonnage during the first year. Consider that treatment, the wines are surprisingly elegant. And they have become even more elegant in recent years. I strongly recommend you to decant the Kistler chardonnays at least 30 minutes prior to serving them, or even one hour in advance, and also to serve them at around 12-14 degrees rahter than too chilled. This is the best way to maximize the pleasure of drinking those wines!

2004 Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard / 93-94
The grapes for this wine are sourced from the 8.10 hectare estate vineyard in the heart of Russian River. With a production of about 2 700 cases, it’s normally the largest of the vineyard selections from Kistler. Like all of his chardonnays, it's unfiltered and therefore slightly hazy, in this case also with a first hint of golden straw maturity nuances. On the nose, the wine shows lovely notes of ripe pears and lemon zest, and apart from a slightly more roasted touch of oak ageing than you normally find in Burgundy, it’s actually quite burgundian like. For sure, the cooler climate of Russian River is shown here, and the alcohol (14.1 percent) it very well integrated. When I first tasted the wine, it showed more ripe fruit, but with some air and the time in the glass (and especially after two hours in the decanter), the sweet notes almost disappeared. That’s when the highly appreciated complexity takes over. And there’s a lot of fresh acidity and also mineral notes from the goldridge soil, and the long lingering aftertaste is so incredibly elegant. The 40 percent of new French oak is incredibly well integrated. Drink it now thru 2012.

2005 Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard / 95
Color is slightly more golden yellow in this wine, still with a youthful greenish touch. As expected (this wine was not blind tasted), both the nose and body shows good concentration. The Chardonnay grapes of Old Wente Clone are sourced from the legendary E-Block of Lee Hudson Vineyard in the cool Carneros of Napa Valley, from where Helen Turley of Marcassin made her legendary wines many years ago, hence the great reputation of this site. At first, this wine is rich and creamy and almost buttery. But there is more to come if you are patient – with air it really opens up, and after half an hour in the glass, it reveals more of a grand cru power and finesse. There is lemon zest, a delightful smokiness from the oak and the ageing on the lees and fine notes of pan roasted brioche and the bacon fat. The more wine evolves in the glass, the more complex it becomes. No wonder the Hudson Vineyard selection so often is the very best of the Kistler chardonnays. On the palate, oak is still present although well integrated with the rich but still very elegant fruit. Notes of roasted hazelnuts and nutmeg are there in a very soft and delicate way, but the cleanliness of the fruit and the fresh acidity – and a salty sensation I guess derives from the minerals in the soil – gives the wine a great balance. I just love this wine! Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

The Napa Valley Reserve 1997, 2001 and 2005

Needless to say, anything that comes from the hands of the talented and hard working Bill Harlan turns into gold. For sure his Harlan Estate is a modern classic, one of the very best wine estates in California, and Bond is almost there as well. The Napa Valley Reserve is a unique member only wine, created by Bill Harlan in 1997 and since then a slowly growing wine club with the goal to reach 300 members. It's very easy to become a member – you only need to get a personal invitation from Bill himself, and of course pay the onetime fee of 160 000 dollars.
The winery is situated next to the luxury resort Meadowood in eastern Napa Valley, and grapes (predominately low yielding Cabernet Sauvignon) are sourced from their own vineyard as well as from Harlan Estate and Screaming Eagle (I guess), which now is part of this extraordinary venture. These are among the rarest wines in United States, and they are of course not commercial. Nevertheless, they are great!

2005 Napa Valley Reserve / 96-97?
I must be honest with the circumstances around the tasting of this wine. Since tasting (and drinking) the outstanding 1997 Napa Valley Reserve, my friend (who is a member of the club) brought this bottle to a dinner two days later, and at that time I didn’t have my notebook with me. Also, the wine was tasted open, with all that comes with that, and the tasting notes were written in the morning the day after. The color is dark and dense, and the nose shows ripe and rich fruit, very lush and sweet but still elegant and complex with some (very well integrated) notes of cacao from the new French oak. On the palate, it reminds me very much about Harlan Estate, but I usual (yes, now I feel I’m entitled to say that) it doesn’t have the same intensity and silky texture. The Napa Valley Reserve has a slightly lighter body and therefore a more obvious tannic structure. However, there is nothing but the purest fruit and classic elegance to be found in the wine. This is again, a profound wine. Drink it 2010-2020.

2001 Napa Valley Reserve / 98
This wine was presented blind in a tasting of 12 Parker 100 points wines. Only one person knew that this wine was part of the tasting, and it was included to see how it would do next to the full score 2001 Harlan Estate. There was something in the wine that reminded me about Harlan Estate, just as I felt when I tasted the 1997 vintage a few days earlier. On the nose, the wine is packed with dark and ripe fruit with just a hint of sweetness, but there is a very noble elegance that is only to be found it the greatest of wines. It’s silky, polished and elegant on the palate, still with a touch of coconut and chocolate from the oak, but with a seductive fruit and the fine mineral notes you so often find in wines from mountain sites. It is really a great wine, the best of the three vintages I tasted, just below the outstanding full score 2001 Harlan Estate. It should be drunk within the next 15-20 years.

1997 Napa Valley Reserve / 97
When this wine was poured to me, I knew about this winery, but not about the wine itself. It is too rare to be found for that! However, when I tasted it, it felt quite familiar to me. At first it was closed, still young and very elegant with a wonderful dark cherry fruit with some stony notes of minerals and just a touch of walnuts (quite often, I find this aroma in the wines of central Napa Valley). With some air, it opened up, and when I tasted it, it was marked by minerals and tannins, although ripe and very elegant which made me suspect the grapes came from a high quality mountain site. Since the fruit was very intense and ripe, but the palate so well structured, I guessed on the cooler 1999 vintage. It was not. With more time in the glass, the wine opened up even more, and the more I sipped on the wine, the more my guesses went to Harlan Estate. When the bottled was showed (on this vintage, it was only labeled with the small vintage sticker), I didn’t realized it was the Napa Valley Reserve. It really tasted like Harlan Estate, but slightly more structured.
I have a theory on this wine, not proven nor mentioned at Harlan Estate (of course). Since 1997 vintage was great, and a big one, most of the grapes in this unique wine were sourced from the hills of Harlan Estate. It really makes sense. For sure Bill Harland needed an outstanding wine to attract members to his new exclusive wine club, and for sure he had a larger crop than ever to use. Whatever is true, this is a wonderful wine. Drink it 2009-2017.

Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, 1998, 1994 and 1984

On my last visit at the estate in August, the subject of discussion among the visitors was the Estate Chardonnay, the wine that won the Paris Tasting in 1976, and that is the main focus in the new movie Bottle Shock. Although the chardonnay wine of the estate is very good, my pick on the wine list is always their great Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Although made in a classic way, marked by mineral notes and a serious tannic structure, it also shows a rich dark fruit and great intensity. To me, this is one of the finest of the classic wines in the valley, and it is a wine to cellar for a long time.

2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / 94-95
Over the last year, I’ve tasted hundreds of 2005s, and the vintage shows great potential for long bottle ageing. This wine is dark and youthful, still not developed although it’s already quite complex. Working with the wine in the glass, the nose opens up a bit and shows a pure and very intense dark fruitiness to balance the lovely, stony mineral notes. What is surprising at this early stage, is how extremely well integrated the oak is. On the palate, the wine I medium bodied, but I suspect it will evolve into a more full bodied taste when the mineral and tannic structure softens a bit. There are small traces of oak bitterness, as well as a warm feeling of the alcohol, but apart from that this wines shows great complexity. It is for sure another great wine from this estate, and knowing how extraordinary these wines become after a decade or more in the cellar, I just wish I could have a quick glance of this wine in 15-20 years already now. This might be another classic vintage from Montelena. Drink it 2012-2030.

1998 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / 90
I don’t really understand what went wrong with American wine writers after the El Niño vintage of 1998. Most of the publications, especially Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate, really trashed the vintage as unripe, poor, and even very bad. Surely, the vintage was cooler, later and more difficult than most vintages in California, but was it really that bad? The answer is quite simple. No, it was not that bad! It was just another of those classic, cool and demanding vintages that we Europeans are so “blessed with”. The growers who worked well in the vineyards, and also made green harvest and a strict selection, made wines with finesse and fine structure. I admit that most wines were different than the more expected ripe style found all over Napa Valley and Sonoma. I can give many examples of very good wines from 1998 in those regions.
This wine was tasted from a 5 liter bottle, and it performed extremely well. It’s not deep and ripe, but elegant and classic, with complex notes of cedar, lead pencils – just as great reds from Médoc and Péssac-Léognan so often does. Is that so bad?
Okay, I miss some of the depth and length I normally find in this estate wine, and the nose is slightly more expressive than the palate, but overall it is a good and very drinkable wine with some complexity and none at all of the green and unripe personality of this vintage. Drink it over the next 4-5 years.

1994 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / 93-94
It is amazing to see the evolution of this estate wine. Tasted blind, most tasters would end up in Bordeaux – at least before they really taste the wine and discover the structure of tannins and minerals, typical for the well drained volcanic soil of this northern situated wine estate. The dark but slightly tawny colored wine shows a medium intensity on the nose, clearly with a great deal of maturation with earthy, leathery and chocolaty notes, and there is also the same kind of gravelly dust you’ll find in fine wines of Médoc with some age. On the palate, the wine still show some sweet dark berry fruit, and the tannins are firm (as they normally are here) in a classic cabernet way. Acidity is relatively fresh and the finish is medium long and complex, but perhaps a bit dried out. Apart from that, it is truly a very well made, well kept and lovely wine. It should keep well another 10-12 years, at least.


1984 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon / 94
Some years ago, I got a bottle of this wine as a birthday present. I poured it blind to some of my best friends, all top sommeliers and good tasters, and I put it next to 1989 Château Haut-Brion. Most wine lovers and tasters would think it was an easy game to distinguish the two wines. But then, they were not there. So the answer is – it was not too easy. This was just one of very many tasting games like this I’ve done. What we can learn from it is that great Californian cabernets from poor, stony and mineral rich soils have the potential to mature into very complex and classy wines. Also, that quality is not always driven by tradition, but as often by dedication and passion in combination with good terroir – no matter how long the history of the vineyard or estate is.
Therefore I arranged a tasting of a dozen Napa Valley wines from 1984, and this was one of them. The color was fully mature, brick colored but with a dark and ruby red center. On the nose, it was first a bit dull, but it actually opened up with some air and disclosed a touch of sweetness. Fine and complex earthy and leathery notes gave the nose a bit more complexity and we all wrote “very Bordeaux like and complex” in our tasting note books. On the palate it was also fully mature, but still with a great deal of tannins and mineral notes, and with the still quite rich and almost sweet fruitiness and good acidity, the aftertaste lingered for a minute or two. It was, and is, a remarkable wine. With wines as old as this, bottle variations are common. It should be drunk within the coming 3-4 years.