Celebration Dinner features top rated Reds

Celebration Dinner features top rated Reds

Celebrating closing out a major business transaction that leads to a new chapter in my career, we were invited to a gala dinner at fellow Pour Boy Dr Dan's and Linda's. They laid out an extensive selection of artisan cheeses and charcuterie featuring a full shank of cured ham. 

This Covap Jamon Iberico Bellota Ham Leg is produced in The Valle de los Pedroches, located in northern Cordoba in Southern Spain.  The valley has the largest extension of centuries old oak trees in the world, and more than 750,000 acres of continuous pasture-lands.  The unique setting provides acorns that are feed for 100% Iberico Breed pigs raised there where they graze with 2 ½ acres per pig. The vegetarian diet of the Iberico Breed pigs based on acorn and grass from the pastures contribute to the distinctive product. The processed ham is aged for a minimum of 3 years in aging cellars that is key to the curing process.

Starting dinner was a chopped dinner salad and a delicious roasted red pepper tomato basil soup. 

For dinner they prepared pork chops stuffed with a chanterelle mushroom dressing, haricot verts and butter whipped potatoes. 

Dan pulled from the cellar a pair of top ranked vintage champagnes from which I selected one. 

Dan then pulled out a Champagne sword with which to strike neck of the bottle to open for serving. I admit I've never done this before and wasn't sure how its done. 

Dan prepped the bottle by cooling the neck stiffening the cork and surrounding glass rim. Then following the seam in the glass of the bottle, he instructed me to strike the lip of the rim of the bottle, which cleanly broke off, taking the cork with it and cleanly disgorging the Champagne. 

 

Tattinger Domaine Chandon Blanc de Blanc Methode Traditional Carneros Vintage 2012 

This is a méthode traditionelle sparkling wine from Domaine Carneros in Napa Valley, the best known high profile estate and grower-producer of what most folks would think of as champagne. However, only sparkling wine produced in that legendary well known French region and appellation can truly, or legally be called or attributed to Champagne. Even though the estate vineyards and beautiful French Château are owned by famed Champagne house, owner producer Taittinger, its sparkling wine produced in the authentic méthode traditionelle is sparkling wine.

Founded by the noble family behind Champagne Taittinger, Domaine Carneros was established in 1987 when Claude Taittinger selected the 138-acre parcel in the heart of the Carneros wine production appellation at the very bottom of Napa Valley where the Mayacamas Range that separates Napa from Sonoma Valleys foothills meet the bottomlands of San Pablo Bay. The Domaine Carneros Château is a stunning landmark on the highway between Napa and Sonoma.

For years, the Domaine Carneros winemaker was Eileen Crane, often referred to as America's doyenne of Sparkling Wine who oversaw the development of the Taittinger style in Carneros. In 2020, after 33 years, Crane passed the torch to a new CEO, Remi Cohen, who carries on the Taittinger tradition.

Domaine Carneros has always faithfully produced méthode traditionelle sparkling wines in the distinctive style across a portfolio that ranges from classic non-vintage and vintage-dated Brut cuvee to this ultra-premium luxury vintage label and their flagship Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs. 

Only the premier sparkling wines are vintage specific productions, crafted from the finest grapes in good vintage years. All others are NV or non-vintage blends.

All Domaine Carneros wines are estate labels, 100% sourced from their six estate vineyards comprising 400 acres in the Carneros appellation.

The 2012 Domaine Carneros Blanc de Blancs is a blend of 36% Pinot Gris and 64% Chardonnay.

Light gold colored, light medium bodied, complex fruit flavors of green apple, nectarine and lemon citrus with notes of stone and brioche and a bit of tartness with lingering moderate acidity.

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2587947

https://www.domainecarneros.com/

https://twitter.com/domainecarneros 

Dominus Estate Napa Valley Red Wine 2010 

This is kind of become one of Dan's signature wines, being one of the hallmark ultra premium labels in his cellar collection dating back a couple decades. 

This is the American label of legendary Christian Mouiex, producer of Chateau Petrus, arguably one of the most storied labels in the world. 

We lasted tasted this wine back in 2014 when I wrote, "While this got a 100 point rating from Robert Parker, the most noted major reviewers, like so many Dominus releases, it may take a decade or more for it to reveal its full potential."

"While clearly a spectacular wine, at this young age, its a bit closed and tight suppressing its fruits and other nuances."

The legendary label release was awarded 100 points by Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 99 points by James Suckling, 98 points, Vinous, and 96 points by Decanter.

My view of so many of these extraordinarily highly rated wines, its not that they stand out as being so spectacular, rather, they're notably in their lack of negatives. In other words, they're flawless, lacking any detracting traits. Like a flawless diamond, this stands out as having no negatives, as opposed to highlighting particular positives! 

In its 98 point review, back in 2015, Vinous wrote, "Dominus is a powerhouse that will require a number of years to soften. A wine of baritone-like depth and explosive structure, the Dominus is a long-distance runner. The firm tannins beg for patience. Today, my impression is that Dominus will be one of the last 2010s to open up." 

Eight years later, it is just starting to open up and settled to lose that closed and tight status to reveal its true character and perhaps full potential.

Blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot.

Dark garnet colored, full bodied, firm, dense, concentrated and complex yet polished and elegant with layers of black fruits, black tea, graphite, creosote and anise with hints cedar of spice and dark chocolate with smooth polished nicely integrated tannins on the finish.

RM 95 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1374630

Dominus Estate Napa Valley Red Wine 1986  

Knowing Dan is a huge fan and long-time collector of Dominus, I pulled from our cellar this aged vintage release of the label from 1986. This is from the early years when, from 1983 to 1991, each label release featured a pencil sketch, chalk or water color like painting character portrait of the legendary winemaker producers. I show the Dominus library of these early artist series labels that became collectors' labels for many, on my wine label library pages.

https://mcnees.org/winesite/labels/label_library_pages/california_label_lib_pages/label_library_california_d.htm#Dominus_Estate

I purchased a OWC - original wood case, of this wine back on release around 1988. Every couple of years I opened a bottle to taste and monitor how it was aging. For at least a decade, over the course of half of the case, I found it a bit tight and closed. Then, after about fifteen years, on about the eight bottle it started to open to reveal its character and potential. Alas, that was what Dominus tasted like, but, unfortunately, at this stage, we drank half of the case too early or too soon. Now, at thirty-five years, perhaps we held on to the last few remaining bottles too long. 

Back in 1996, at ten years, in a 1986 horizontal comparison tasting, Robert Parker wrote about this label, "One of the richest, densest, most concentrated offerings in the entire tasting, it also proved to be one of the best-balanced, with better integration of acidity and tannin than many 1986s exhibited, this large-scaled, concentrated wine appears to have aged at a glacial pace since I first tasted it."

At that time, Wine Spectator wrote, "Starts out earthy and leathery, in a rugged style, but works its way into more complex mineral, currant and cedar flavors and finishes with a cedary, earthy note and a good dose of currant flavor."

It's always a tell-tale sign of a wines' challenging approach-ability when it's predominant flavor profile is non-fruit flavors, overshadowing the berry fruits. 

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate awarded this release 93 points, Jancis Robinson gave it 17.5 on her 20 point scale. 

At thirty-five years, this was definitely past its prime, approaching the end of its drinking window, garnet colored with a slight rust hue setting in, the dark currant and berry fruits overshadowed by that 'rugged style' with earthy leather, mineral and cedar flavors on the slightly tart finish. 

RM 87 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1424

Interesting and notable is that this label bears Cellartracker number 1424, one of the earliest bottles to be registered in that vast database that now numbers in the millions. 

See earlier post -
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2016/11/mouton-dominus-insignia-highlight-big_17.html

https://www.dominusestate.com/

Dan also presented two ultra-premium labels big reds, Joseph Phelps Insignia 2007 and a Château Léoville Las Case 2016. In retrospect, I should've opted for the older vintage, and the Napa wine, which would've been more approachable, most likely in its prime. 

I selected the Las Cases, which no doubt has decades of life in front of it, having obtained this at auction and shared part of the case with Dan, thus eager to try this holding. I admit I was influenced by our visit and private tour and tasting at the Chateau, a highlight of our visit St Julien in 2018. Of course, Joseph Phelps was a highlight of our Napa Wine Experience and private tour tasting, with Dan, back in 2017.

See earlier post -
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2017/08/joseph-phelps-napa-valley-winery-tasting.html

Château Léoville Las Cases St Julien Bordeaux 2016

As I mentioned, our visit and private tour and tasting at the Château Léoville Las Cases  was a highlight of our visit St Julien in 2018. We served this wine from daughter Erin's birthyear vintage from large format Jeroboam bottles at her wedding back in 2006, and son Sean's birthyear vintage from large format magnums at his wedding in 2018. 

Our Cellartracker records show we still hold a decade of vintages of this long last label dating back three and a half decades, still holding bottles from the kid's birthyears '81, '82, '85 and 1990, several in large format. 

CT'er reviews of Las Cases 2016 - 

Our experience this night was perfectly reflected in a September review by fellow Cellertracker Bert Camem who wrote - "Knowing it would be too young, I couldn't resist opening a bottle. With about two hours decanting it was not a disappointment. Yes way too young given what it promises, but most definitely approachable and if you have a few, worth opening one now. Quite acidic, but I'm sure this will soften. Elegant and concentrated. Closed but enough flavour there to enjoy. Despite its very dark colour, it has a core of tangy/ripe red fruit that has a lovely freshness and purity. First growth quality at a fraction of the price. I think this will be stunning when it is ready. 97 points"

Another CT'er, Beatles wrote: "Out of this world; a truly great Bordeaux. Vertical, chalky, powerful as a tight fist with a concentrated, yet so relaxed fruit. Too young? Of course it is, still you can drink this, if you like, it's world class." 98 points.

What drew me to open this label was written up by fellow CT'er Decarlor who tasted it on the same date as our tasting and wrote, "Probably the best Leoville Las Cases ever. Decanted 3 hours. I was surprised by its readiness, despite it will improve for sure over time. Very complex wine with blue/black fruits prevailing over red." 100 points.

Dark blackish garnet colored, medium full bodied, impeccably polished and elegant, flawless (there's that word again, as above), concentrated but nicely integrated dark berry fruits with subtle notes of cassis, graphite, black tea and dark chocolate with smooth polished tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 96 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2594471

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/08/leoville-du-marquis-de-las-cases.html

https://www.domaines-delon.com/

https://twitter.com/DomainesDelon

Boy's Night Out Cellar Tours Wine Tasting

Boy's Night Out Cellar Tours Wine Tasting 

Son Ryan and neighbor Dave M hosted a wine tasting opening their two cellars and a flight of spectacular wines accompanied by artisan cheeses, smoked salmon, charcuterie and assorted eats.

Evening hosts, Ryan M and Dave M

Dave is the principle of Elements, the banquet meeting facility, wine and food service associated with Hotel Indigo in Naperville (IL). We recently hosted our global team summit there for a week, where we met,  and learned he was my son's neighbor and a fellow oenophile and serious wine collector, and hence the planning began for wine get-togethers such as this!

Dave's Cellar

Ryan anchored the tasting flight with a couple of ten year old labels and suggested I bring some vintage in five or ten year increments in light of my cellar collection spawning several decades. I pulled from my cellar two twenty-five year old labels from the 1997 vintage to round out the tasting.

What great fun and how special to share a father-son shared interest experience such as this.

Ryan started with three classic Napa Valley labels from his cellar, accompanied by a selection of artisan cheeses and charcuterie. 

• Dominus Napa Valley Proprietary Red 2012
• Vineyard 29 Napa Valley Aida Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
  
• LaJota Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Franc 2018

From my cellar we opened two vintage Napa Cabernets.

• Lokoya Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
• Plumpjack Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1997
  

My tasting notes of these labels appear in a separate blogpost here. 

We moved around the corner to Dave's house with his magnificent cellar from which he offered our choice of wines to open.  His home is full of wine themed artwork and artifacts besides the incredible rec room, wine room and cellar. The formal dining room features this spectacular wine art from famous wine paintings artist Eric Christensen. This rare Giclée oil print by America's Watercolor Master is a hyper-realistic oil featuring the Napa Valley producer Duckhorn and their Discussion bottle with many imaginative and intriguing reflections. 

Once down in the cellar - we focused on selecting the continuation of the evening's wine flight. Dave has set the tone having opened the legendary producer Scarecrow and their Napa Valley Red M Etain. 

Ryan pulling down an OWC
(original wood case) from Dave's
cellar collection

We pulled from Dave's extensive cellar collection and tasted a spectacular flight of extraordinary Napa Valley Cabernets.

• Scarecrow M Etain Napa Valley Red 2017
• Continuum Napa Valley Red 2014
  
• Realm 'The Tempest' Napa Valley Red 2014
• Hall Vineyards Kathryn Hall 2015  
  
  
  

  

And from Argentina, Nicolás Catena Zapata, Adrianna Vineyard in the Gualtallary District, Tupungato Alto Region, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina this Malbec,

• Adrianna Vineyards River Stones Malbec 2015
  

To end the evening, late into the early morning, we retired to Dave's outdoor patio for closing out the remaining wines, some aperitifs and cigars. 

 

What a spectacular evening, looking forward to our next Caroline Crew wine event.

Cherry Circle Room dinner features super wine flight

Cherry Circle Room dinner features super wine flight of ultra-premium Dominus, Kongsgaard and Darioush Napa Valley wines

We spent a getaway weekend in the City (Chicago) and dined at the Cherry Circle Room in the old Chicago Athletic Club on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, opposite Millenium Park and the popular Cloudgate (Bean). I was there to scout the venue for some upcoming corporate events as well as for a superlative fine dining experience. 

The iconic Cherry Circle Room was the members' dining room at the Chicago Athletic Association for generations. It has been totally restored and updated melding the building's historic original features with modern design elements and was recognized as James Beard award-winning space for Outstanding Restaurant Design.

We dined with fellow 'Pour Boy' Dr Dan and our two Lindas. We both took BYOB from our cellars a bottle to share and compare with our dinner entrees. 

Wine flight: Darioush, Dominus Bordeaux Blends
Kongsgaard Syrah

Darioush Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 

We visited the magnificent Darioush estate in Napa with Dan and Linda during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2017, (Dan's) Linda's first trip to the valley. Years earlier, in 2003, Linda and I visited the Darioush estate for a private barrel tasting, during the time the new winery was under construction. 

http://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2013/01/soaring-red-flight-silverado-solo.html

Darioush Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2001

We were first introduced to this wine by fellow 'Pour Boy', Bill and Beth when we were invited by them to a wine dinner at their Cress Creek Country Club in the late nineties.

We visited the winery during our Napa Valley Wine Experience in 2003. Their fabulous winery and tasting facility on Silverado Trail in southern Napa Valley was not yet open but was well under construction at that time.  Tonight's wine selection was from the case we purchased during that visit.  

We attended with Dr Dan a gala Darioush - Domaine de Chevalier Gala Wine Dinner in Chicago. This was a fabulous private dinner hosted by Darius & Shaptar Kaledi of Darioush Winery and Bernard Laborie of Domaine de Chevalier at Everest restaurant in Chicago in the summer of 2004. 

At twenty years of age, this big full throttle Napa Cabernet was probably at its apex, not likely to improve any further with aging, and nearing the end of its prime drinking window. 

Tonight's tasting was consistent with the last time we tasted this label's vintage release in 2013 when I wrote back on 1/26/2013:

"This remains a blockbuster wine, living up to the tone set by the large oversize, almost magnum size bottle - dark inky color, full bodied, complex but smooth and polished, full forward black berry and currant fruits with a layer of spicy cinnamon oak with tones of black tea, anise, tobacco leaf and dark chocolate - well balanced and polished with nicely integrated silky smooth tannins on the lingering finish. RM 92 points."

This is a Bordeaux Blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot.

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=462550   

http://www.darioush.com/

Dominus Napa Valley Proprietary Bordeaux Red 2009  

Dan brought from his cellar vertical collection of this legendary Napa Valley super premium Bordeaux Blend label for our dinner. We've dueled with vintages of this label dating back to a case I bought on release of the 1986 vintage. We drank a bottle every couple of years until finally with only one or two bottles left, the bottle was finally emerging and opening to reveal its full potential and character after more than two decades. Such is this long lived ageworthy wine. 

This legendary label is from the legendary producer Christian Moueix who has been producing ultra-premium wines for over fifty years of producing wines in Bordeaux’s Right Bank and thirty-eight in the Napa Valley. 

Son of legendary Jean-Pierre Moueix, after completing agricultural engineering studies in Paris and graduate studies in viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis, Christian returned to France, at the age of twenty-four, to take on the responsibility of managing his family’s many chateaux, including Chateau Pétrus, one of the premier brands in the world. 

He managed Pétrus for over thirty-eight years and today he directs eight family chateaux including, in Pomerol, La Fleur-Pétrus, Trotanoy, Hosanna, and in Saint Emilion, Bélair-Monange. Since 1991 he has been the President of Ets. Jean-Pierre Moueix, a top Bordeaux wine merchant.

In 1983, Christian Moueix began producing Dominus from the historic Napanook vineyard in Yountville. In 2008, he acquired a 40-acre vineyard in Oakville from which he launched the first vintage of Ulysses in 2012.

Collecting this label in those early years was fun with the artist series of pencil an water color drawings of producer winemaker Christian Mouiex which ended with the 1991 vintage turning to this basic label every since after close to a decade. My label library of Dominus and those early art series labels can be found at this link location.

This release was a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the remainding 4% Petit Verdot. This is estate bottled from fruit sourced from the Napanook estate to the west of Hwy 29, St Helena Highway in Yountville, Napa Valley.

This release was awarded 99 points by  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, and 98 points by Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling.

Circle Cherry room Somellier Anika opened and decanted this bottle and we gave it time to blow off some initial heat and aggressiveness, which it did after about an hour. 

Deep garnet colored, medium full bodied, well balanced, smooth, polished, concentrated yet elegant blackcurrant, black raspberry and ripe plum fruits with notes of floral, graphite, sweet mocha chocolate, hints of tobacco, vanilla and earth with finely grained silky soft tannins on a long finish.

RM 95 points.  

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1140345

https://www.dominusestate.com/

Circle Cherry room has a modest moderate published winelist. There is however, an extraordinary Reserve Wine List of the property's impressive collection that is not published. We were shown this list by Sommellier Anika, who has served at Chicago Spaggia restaurant. From that list we selected this classic Syrah. 

Kongsgaard Hudson Vineyard Napa Valley Syrah 1999

This is from Fifth-generation Napa natives John and Maggy Kongsgaard who produce powerful, graceful wines which are high intensity expressions of vineyard and variety from a ten-acre vineyard they planted in the late 1970s on a rocky hilltop in southern Napa Valley which has belonged to the Kongsgaard family since the 1920s. In addition to these family acres, they direct the farming under long-term contract on another seven acres in Carneros, the Hudson Vineyard, where they grow Syrah and Chardonnay. 

Kongsgaard wines are produced at their winery, high up on the eastern rim of Napa Valley, in a cave drilled into the volcanic rock. These 97-99+ point wines are allocated and sell out quickly to the producer's mailing list and are pursued by insatiable collectors in the auction aftermarket.

John was mentored by historic and legendary pioneers of Napa Valley: André Tchelistcheff of Beaulieu Vineyard and Nathan Fay—who farmed the Fay Vineyard made famous by Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ iconic single-vineyard Cabernet. After his first job in Sonoma, John took a job at Newton, experimenting with Old World techniques and bottling Napa Valley’s first unfiltered Chardonnay. In subsequent years, he worked with numerous world famous luminaries including Fritz Hatton, and Michel Rolland, and trained Aaron Pott and Andy Erickson.

This label was first inroduced in 1995. It is sourced from a two-acre plot of Syrah at the Hudson Ranch in Carneros—which was founded in 1981 by John’s Texas-born Davis classmate Lee Hudson. The terroir consists of proximity equidistant between San Pablo Bay and Napa and Sonoma Valley, and is comprised of volcanic soil. The vineyard was planted to John’s specifications. 

This Syrah is ferment on native yeasts, aged for two years in 40% new French oak, and bottled unfiltered resulting in a wine of complexity, depth, incredible power, and 'endless nuance'. 

Wine Access writes of this label, "Very few Napa Valley wines are mentioned alongside Bordeaux First Growths and the great collectible wines of the world—and they’re basically all cult Cabernets. 

Kongsgaard’s Syrah stands proudly alongside them, but also proudly apart. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind bottling from a master whose name evokes reverence and admiration from his peers. As a display of Napa Valley glory worth cellaring for years or passing on as an heirloom, you can’t do any better."

We drank this Kongsgaard Carneros Hudson Ranch Syrah for my father-son birthday celebration dinner earlier this year. 

We drank the Kongsgaard Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay at our Pour Boys Wine Dinner at Del Ray Beach Wine Kitchen back in June. 

Robert Parker's Wine Advocate call this “One of the Most Provocative” Syrahs in California

Winemaker and Robert Parker Wine Advocate notes for the 1999 Syrah Napa Valley:

The 1999 Syrah Hudson Vineyard is even better out of bottle than it was from cask. Its opaque black/blue/purple color is followed by an extraordinary perfume of barbecue spices intermixed with creosote, violets, blackberry and creme de cassis liqueur, explosive, full-bodied flavors of cassis, and an amazingly thick, juicy yet vibrant and well-defined personality. There is plenty of tannin, but the wealth of fruit and intensity is mind-boggling. Anticipated maturity: 2005-2020. Kongsgaard is crop-thinning down to one grape cluster per shoot in an effort to obtain Syrah at its most intense. There are 125 cases of the 1999 Syrah Hudson Vineyard. The wine is 100% Syrah fermented and aged in wood for 18 months, and then bottled without fining or filtration. The result is one of California’s most awesome as well as singular expressions of Syrah.  95 points

Inky purple-black in color, full bodied, dense concentrated muscular yet smooth and elegant, ripe blackberry and black cherry fruits with note of violet floral, cassis, black pepper, toast, allspice, bacon fat and herbs with elegant, plush tannins and on an incredibly long pleasant spicy finish. 

Still holding on at 22 year, likely at the end of its prime drinking window and not to improve with further aging. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=24584

https://kongsgaardwine.com/ 

Links mentioned in this blogpost:

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=462550   

http://www.darioush.com/

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1140345

https://www.dominusestate.com/

https://mcnees.org/winesite/labels/label_library_pages/california_label_lib_pages/label_library_california_d-e.htm#Dominus_Estate

https://www.lsdatcaa.com/cherry-circle-room

http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa_03/napa_03.htm 

https://mcnees.org/winesite/napa/napa_03/napa_03.htm

http://www.mcnees.org/dinesite/Dinesites/DineSite_Everest.htm

https://twitter.com/cherrycircleCAA
 

Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

Constant Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 -
The adventure, joy, and perils of holding vintage wine for a couple decades or more ...

Son Ryan came over for the evening and we went down and dug deep into the cellar to pull out this aged 1998 vintage release Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. We acquired this wine at the Estate during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 2011. My early blogpost of our visit to Constant Diamond Mtn Vineyard was here.

Bill & Beth, Bill & Jan, the late Freddie Constant,
Linda and me.

I’ve written often about the 1998 vintage Napa Cabernets. It was widely panned as being a subpar vintage, especially after the much heralded block buster ’97. As a result, prices on the 98 releases were lower, especially after a couple of years when 98’s were still sitting on the shelves and the vintage was considered lackluster relative to the range of choices of more favored releases.

Lo and behold, IMHO this represented an opportunity to pick up quality wines at bargain prices when compared to the higher price points on the highly rated releases. Ironically, a decade, and now two decades later, those wines were and are often tasting very nicely and in some cases are on par equivalent to some of the other vintage releases.

Often, ‘off’ vintages can provide great QPR (Quality Price Ratios). Of course, perhaps just as often, off vintages are just that, ‘off’ in terms of quality in some way or other, due to whatever shortcomings that vintage suffered, excessive heat, not enough rain at the right times, or too much rain at the in-opportune times, all suppressants to the realized quality of fine wine.

This disparity was magnified perhaps by the fact that the much heralded 97 vintage in many cases, never achieved its lofty accolades and expectations – too closed, too tight, too subdued, or some other diminution of expectations.

Perhaps its time will come as the ‘lesser’ 98 reaches and surpasses its prime drinking window and eventually end of life, while the 97, a longer lived vintage, lives on, and perhaps still realizes the apex of its potential, late in life. It can happen. . So, caveat emptor. Don’t be afraid to invest in ‘off’ vintages. The price differential can be significant with savings of 50% or more.

Often, only in such years are some of the higher rated, ranked wines approachable or affordable. Take advantage to experiment, if you dare. You might be mightily rewarded. Or, your lowered expectations will be met.

Another related point, my wine buddies have heard me talk about my experience with a case of Dominus Proprietary Red Wine that I purchased on release back in 1986. Dominus, the Napa Valley project of legendary Bordeaux owner/producer/winemaker Christian Moueix often trades at super premium prices, and tends to be a long lived wine, in the tradition and style of sophisticated, complex Bordeaux’s.

Those early Dominus labels featured pencil sketch drawings of Christian Moueix on the labels for the first decade, up until the 1991 vintage release.

With that 1986 Dominus, I was patient, and waited, and opened a bottle of the 1986 around 1989 or 90. It was lackluster, rather closed and tight. I waited another couple years with the same effect. This exercise was repeated several more times until about 2006, when at twenty years of age, two decades, it showed complexity, polish, balance, breadth and depth – the attributes of its true character and potential one might hope for or expect from the pedigree’d label. Alas. That is what Dominus is supposed to taste like. But then, ahah, I only had three bottles left to experience its magnificence.

While its fun to enjoys one’s investment in a cellar, with case lots of wine, to experience how a wine will age and mature and hopefully improve over time, there is the real risk of drinking your wine too early, or holding it too long. I now realized I drank many of my Bordeaux from quality 1980’s era vintages too young. But, I also fairly often come across a bottle that I held on to too long, especially if it got overlooked or lost in the cellar, or just got passed over too many times for something more appealing or exciting. Such is the art of collecting fine wines.

Most folks would think that we hold onto our wines too long and drink them too late. Count my wife, Linda in those ranks. We look at it as part of the adventure.

Constant Diamond Mountain Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1998

My previous tasting of this label was in March of this year when I had a similar tasting experience and wrote: "Some bottles of this vintage are at or nearing their end of life and need to be consumed. While at the end of or past its prime drinking window, this bottle was still holding its own, maintaining its fruit and some of its terroir character and profile.'

"Dark garnet colored with some slight bricking in color, medium bodied, the black fruit is giving way to notes of earth, spice, leather and hints of vegetable with modest tannins. Time to drink up but this was still pleasant drinking."

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/03/constant-vineyards-diamond-mountain.html

Tonight, this 1998 Constant was drinking very nicely – probably as good as ever, and most assuredly not likely to improve any with further aging, and very likely to start to diminish from this point forward.

Not for the casual feint of heart drinker, son Ryan and I enjoyed it and its ‘maturity’ immensely, and we opened something more ‘youthful’, or ‘approachable’ for Linda and the others.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=43557
 

Bon chance!