'96 Phelps Napa

[ddf68]

Good wine, but flirting with too much oak, IMHO, which was a surprise to me. I've had the '95 and the '97 and neither showed anything close to as much oak as the '96.

Also had the '97 Mondavi Napa. It rocked. Plenty of dark berry flavor with a nice dose of tannins. Good balance for a young Cab and a bargain at $20 a pop.

Both Cabs went extraordinarily well with mother-in-law's prime rib. I can't think of any dish I've had that matched better with a CA Cab. This red wine habit I've developed is turning me into a real carnivore.

ddf

ddf

[chittychattykathy]

I agree totally, my 1992 Cask 23 went quite well with our roast beast! Rib-strippin' good!

[winoweenie]

ddf68, Agree and agree on both topics. IMHO I think the 96 like many of the 96`s is showing more oak is because the vintage begs for more time. Seems like some of the concentrated vintages are much harder in their youth than lush suckers like 97. Phelps has always, IMHO, put out some wonderfully concentrated Napa cabs. Think I may be redundant, (I probably posted this somewhere before, but you know, the memorys` the 2nd thing to go) but every 10 years the Phelps Napa has been outstanding....75, 85, and now 95.Must be something to do with mid-decade crisis? Oh Vell, what was the question? WW

[winoweenie]

CCK, The 92 Stags Cask didn`t make it to Az., thus was not included in my TN`s. It has been one of my favorites over the years. The 92 had to be a killer as the other 2 releases were super......Sound of whirling noisemaker..............HNY!!!!! WW

[ddf68]

Winoweenie, I think you're right about the '95. I started collecting wine just as it was disappearing. I managed to snag 6 at what then seemed like an awful lot of money for a bottle of wine. Now wish I'd gotten a case or two.

ddf

[winoweenie]

ddf68, Happy Happy!. If you think you`re having remorse now , wait another 5 years and you`ll kick your cat. Finished my last 75 in 87 and was heartbroken, still have 2 85 but still kickin` the kitty, and even tho I bought 3 cases and 6 mags of the 95 , know I`ll repeat the procedure down the line as this is as good as standard Napa cab gets. Lookung back in dismay, winoweenie