Del Dotto Vineyards Napa Valley Rutherford Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
Del Dotto Vineyards Napa Valley Rutherford Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1996 |
RM 89 points.
Cabernet Sauvignon 90%, Merlot and Cabernet Franc 5% each.
Tasted with Linda, Erin and Alec at Angeli's Italian our favorite neighborhood Italian trattoria celebrating our anniversary, Erin's new job, and Alec heading back to school at IU for his final Senior year this week.
Del Dotto is one of our perennial favorite producers and was one of Erin and Johnny's favorite winery visits on their Napa Valley getaway. Del Dotto has always put on one of the best tasting experiences in California wine country and their new winery in Napa is spectacular and carries on the tradition.
http://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=846486
http://www.deldottovineyards.com/
We first tasted this wine when we met the producers Dave and Yolanda Del Dotto (center, below) at our fifth Napa Wine Experience in 1999.
Rick & Linda, Yolanda & David Del Dotto, Liat and Andy at Tra Vigne in St Helena. |
During our Napa Wine Experience visits of 1997 through 2000 we hosted gala tasting dinners with the 'Undisccovered Dozen' emerging new wine producers to watch, featured in an article in Wine Spectator Magazine. Many of these producers released their inaugural vintage releases in or about the 1994 vintage. Those producers and winery visits included Plumpjack, David Arthur, Clark-Claudon, Robert Craig, Del Dotto, Elan, Paradigm, Pride Vineyards, Snowden, Nils Venge and White Cottage and are featured on my winesite http://www.unwindwine.com. I'm missing one which will come to me at some point - I don't remember what I don't remember!
An complete index of my tasting notes of these wines over the years is on the site at this link to California Producers Index. These producers make up a foundation of our wine cellar collection yet today. In many of these wines, we still have vertical selections of these wines, some dating back to those early release vintages.
Del Dotto Vineyards Connoisseur's Series 2001 Napa Valley Rutherford Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in a variety of different oak barrels. |
Del Dotto Vineyards Napa Valley Rutherford Estate mini-vertcal 1994-1996. |
As these wines reach end of their prime drinking profile, some more faint hearted souls who favor the younger profile are releasing these wines to auction. Pictured at left is a mini-vertical of 1994-96 Del Dotto Cabernet Sauvignon (including this featured tasting selection), that I picked up recently. The 1995 vintage release tasted recently was still showing remarkably well and had vibrant life left in it. If you find these, they represent great values since they can often be bought today for near their price points at release a decade ago. I should'nt reveal that since I now have to compete for those wines! Enjoy!