Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting

[wondersofwine]

Participated in a nice tasting of eight California Cabernet Sauvignons plus two ringers (from Australia) at Fowler's in Durham (arranged by Carolina Wine Company of Raleigh). Tasted blind. $15 if reserved ahead of time. $25 for walk-ins. We were asked to pick out our favorites and rank them 1 to 5 and also write comments if we chose. I turned in my comments so have only the rankings and sketchy memories to impart. Some of my preferences showed a change from past tastings. I attribute part of it to the youth of the Cal cabs (all from 2001 or 2002).
2001 FERRARI-CARANO "TRESOR" $39.99; $29.99 by the case My notes indicated that I thought this was a blended red. It had a very nice nose but both the nose and palate indicated blackberries or plum rather than black currants. I gave it one of my two highest scores of the tasting--18/20. I probably should have scored my top two at 19 to allow for more range. I was vindicated when I got the key revealing what the wines were and this was the only Bordeaux-type blend (all five classic Bordeaux grapes) or Meritage in the group. Some others may not have been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon but all were others were listed as C.S. I put this down as my second favorite of the tasting because it didn't taste like a traditional C.S. and this was supposedly a C.S. tasting.

Next up 2002 LARKMEAD CABERNET SAUVIGNON ESTATE $39.99 net
I liked this one too. Because I turned in my comments, I'm not certain if it was this one or the third one we tried that impressed me with the start and finish but that seemed a little thin mid-palate. However, I had this tied for third or fourth place of the ten with a score of 17.5/20. Interesting notes from wineshop owner and Robert Parker:
Larkmead Vineyards dates fromt he 19th Century and in the 1960s, Andre Tchelistchoff (important in California wine industry) considered it one of Napa's four finest properties. Recently, under winemaker Andy Smith, it has again risen to the top rank. Parker calls Larkmead's 2002s brilliant, rating the estate Cabernet 93 points. He says its a hedonistic Cabernet that will have huge crowd appeal and should fare well in blind tastings (as it did with me).

The third we tried was 2002 DOG RIDGE DV3 CABERNET SAUVIGNON from Australia. $34.99 or $24.99 by the case (the Australian wines were the least expensive in the tasting) I rated this 17-17.5/20 and tied for fifth or sixth place.

Fourth up was 2002 JORDAN C.S. $44.99/$39.99 case price. I gave it 16-16.5/20. May have found it too tannic or the nose too reticent. (None of the wines were decanted beforehand but the bottles had been open for about three hours by the time I got there).

Fifth wine was 2004 THORPE CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVE $29.99/$24.99 by the case.
My lowest score of the tasting--15/20. However, I did like the Thorpe Shiraz which won high honors at a Sydney tasting.

Sixth up was 2001 HESS COLLECION C.S. $39.99/$35.99 by the case. I gavfe it 17/20 and tied for fifth/sixth with the Dog Ridge DV3.

Seventh was 2001 DEL BONDIO "BELLA OAKS LANE" CABERNET $39.99/$29.99 I had it tied for third or fourth place with 17.5/20. Notes we were given say that the Del Bondio family have been grape growers in the very best part of Napa (the Rutherford Bench) right behind Robert Mondavi's winery for three generations. Recently they began making small quantities of their own C.S. from their very best grapes with incredibly reasonable pricing. (This was my first taste of the "Bella Oaks" but it has been very popular at other CWC tastings.)

Eighth tasting was 2002 BV GEORGE DE LATOUR $89.99/$79.99 by the case. When we tried a dozen 1994 Cabernets thanks to Winoweenie at the Finger Lakes offline, this was my favorite. I think I rated it lower this time because it was too young and is one that shows much better with a decade or so.
I gave it 17/20.

Similarly with the ninth wine--2002 ROBERT MONDAVI CABERNET RESERVE $119.99/$99.99 by the case. I have really been impressed with this wine at other tastings (different vintages) but gave only 16.5/20 this time. I have tried the regular Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet in restaurants and find it too tannic at this age.

The tenth wine was my favorite of the tasting at 18/20--2001 SILVER OAK "ALEXANDER VALLEY" C.S. $69.99/$64.99 by the case. I believe it was this one that came through with some of the classic C.S. descriptors--cedar and tobacco--along with the fruit. In the past I tried both the Silver Oak Napa and Alexander Valley and prefered the Napa and did not rate either as high as I did this one on Saturday.
My ratings were
2001 Silver Oak "Alexander Valley"
2001 Ferrari-Carano "Tresor" (Bordeaux blend)
Tie between 2002 Larkmead Cabernet Sauvignon Estate and 2001 Del Bondio "Bella Oaks Lane"
for third and fourth
Tie for fifth and sixth between 2002 Dog Ridge DV3 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2001 Hess Collection Cabernet Sauvignon