Groth Oakville Cabernet with Grilled BeefSteak

Groth Oakville Cabernet with Grilled BeefSteak

We watched four grandkids for the weekend, back and forth between our house and theirs’. For dinner on our deck we grilled out flank steak with scalloped potatoes, asparagus, cheese bread and Texas toast. To accompany the grilled beefsteak I pulled from our cellar a favorite Napa Valley Cabernet. 

This follows another Oakville Cabernet from the same appellation and vintage recently which, not surprisingly, had an almost identical profile and status. That earlier wine food pairing was featured in these pages in this blogpost - 

Paradigm Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 with Tomahawk Ribeye steak dinner

Groth Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 

This is a remarkably similarly situated replay of an earlier previous tasting of this wine about three years ago, which, therefore, I’ll excerpt here. 

At twenty years, the fill level, foil and most importantly, the cork were in ideal condition. Amazingly, even this bottle has the same label conditions as the one opened back in 2021 with ripples of separation from the bottle. Obviously this batch of bottles had some issues with the labeling machine resulting in this separation a decade and half later, identically on multiple bottles of the same batch (as shown, tonight’s bottle here, and earlier bottle below). 

From blogpost - 

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/groth-oakville-napa-cabernet-2004.html

Posted May 7, 2021

Groth Oakville Napa Cabernet 2004

Groth Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - ideal pairing with filet of beef

We feasted on the left over filets of beef from last evening and I pulled from the cellar this Groth Napa Cabernet - a perfect pairing. Indeed, the producer's menu suggestion for this wine: "A slab and a Cab", Dennis Groth recommends you drink his Cabernet Sauvignon with steak."

We visited the Groth estate winery and vineyards during our Napa Valley Wine Experience back in 1999. Groth gain notoriety and recognition when Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave the Groth 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon the distinction of being California’s first perfect 100-point wine. 

Since then, Groth wines have been ranked on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines list eight times, most recently in 2019, when the 2016 Reserve Cabernet was No. 4. 

From the beginning, Groth has been a family business, managed today by second-generation family member Suzanne Groth. 

Groth Vineyards & Winery was founded in 1981 by Dennis and Judy Groth. Dennis gained his fame in fortune in Silicon Valley when he was CFO of early tech phenom Atari (remember 'Pong'). When it was acquired by Time Warner, Dennis went on to President of the Consumer Products Division and President of the International Division.

The Groths purchased the 121-acre vineyard parcel in Oakville, Napa Valley in 1981 and in '82 added a second vineyard of 44 acres located south of Yountville. The Groth estate vineyard was originally planted between 1972 and 1974 by Justin Meyer, who went on to achieve acclaim with Silver Oak.

Those two vineyards remain the primary source of grapes for the Groth portfolio which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. 

Dennis and Judy moved to Napa Valley and have resided in Oakville since 1985. Today, Dennis is Chairman of the Board, and Judy plays an active role in the look and feel of the winery. Their daughter Susan now runs Groth Wines. After college and several years working various jobs in the wine business, she returned to the family business in 1998, working in sales, public relations and marketing. She took the reins as President and CEO in 2017. “It was only after selling other people’s wine that I was able to appreciate how very special Groth Vineyards was.”

The Groth Oakville Estate sits on the valley floor in the heart of the Napa Valley. The Groth family helped Oakville become recognized as one of the world’s preeminent wine regions. Today, the Oakville AVA is home to the largest concentration of the very best Napa Valley producers of Cabernet Sauvignon. Oakville District Cabernet Sauvignon wines are is renowned as full, lush and elegant.

 

Groth Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2004  

 

Winemaker notes on the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon: "Big and lush with huge gobs of fruit in the aroma and flavor. The texture of the wine is soft and supple, typical of Cabernet Sauvignons grown in our area of the Oakville AVA. Patience during bottle aging will reward the "steward" with an outstanding bottle over the next 10 to 15 years." 

Indeed, at seventeen (now twenty) years, this is likely at its peak and should continue to drink well for another decade. Thankfully, we still hold a couple more bottles of this vintage of the half dozen vintages in our collection (which includes still a Alec birthyear vintage 1990). The fill level was perfect while the cork appearing perfect was a bit soft upon extraction using a 'ahso' two pronged cork puller.  

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, smooth, elegant, briary black berry and black raspberry fruits with notes of cassis, dusty cedar and hints of dark chocolate, herbs and creamy oak turning to gripping tannin on a fruit filled finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/barcode.asp?iWine=328095

https://grothwines.com/ 

@GrothWines

Groth Napa Oakville Cabernet and Grilled Beefsteak

Groth Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon and Grilled Beefsteak

Sunday night dinner on the deck, Linda grilled one of the special extra thick cut T-Bone beefsteaks from our team dinner last weekend. Served with whipped potatoes and wedge salad, our steak dinner was a perfect setting and pairing for this aged Napa Cabernet from our cellar. 

We hold more than a decade of vintages of this label dating back to the 1990 vintage, birthyear of son Alec. Linda and I first visited the Groth Estate and Winery back in the mid nineties.  

Dennis and Judy Groth grew up in the Santa Clara Valley, eventually to be known as Silicon Valley. Dennis began his career as an accountant earning his  CPA in 1968. In 1978, he became CFO of Atari, the electronic games company, moving up to President in 1984. Atari was eventually sold to Time Warner.

In 1981, Dennis and Judy purchased a 121-acre vineyard parcel in Oakville, Napa Valley, and in 1982, added a second 44 acre vineyard just south of Yountville. 

The Groth Oakville Estate sits on the valley floor in the heart of the Napa Valley in the Oakville AVA, home to the finest Cabernet Sauvignons. The property is adjacent to Opus, Silver Oak and Plumpjack vineyards. The Groth estate 121-acre vineyard was originally planted between 1972 and 1974 by Justin Meyer, who went on to achieve great acclaim with Silver Oak.

The Groths moved with their family to Oakville in 1985 taking up residence on the estate. 

Today, Groth Oakville Estate is run by their daughter Suzanne Groth. Growing up in Napa Valley, living amongst vineyards with an estate winery, she decided early on a career in Wine.

After four years with the Henry Wine Group, a California wine distributor, selling fine wine to restaurants and retailers in the San Francisco Bay Area, she returned to the family business in 1998, working in sales, public relations and marketing before ascending to President and CEO in 2017. 

She says, “It was only after selling other people’s wine that I was able to appreciate how very special Groth Vineyards was.” 

It didn’t take the Groth family long to realize just how special their Oakville Estate was when they gained early recognition when Robert Parker of the Wine Advocate gave their Groth 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon the distinction of being the first 100-point Napa Valley wine.

Since then, Groth wines have been ranked on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 Wines list eight times in the winery’s history, most recently in 2019, when the 2016 Reserve Cabernet was No. 4.

Groth Napa Valley Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Michael Weiss, winemaker for Groth said: "The 2006 vintage in Napa Valley has, with age, turned into one of the best so far this century." 

This was a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Merlot, aged in French Oak barrels for 20 months, 50% new French Oak. It was awarded 93 points by Wine & Spirits and 90 points by Wine Enthusiast.

At sixteen years this may be at its apex, but certainly has another decade to go at this level. I extended the Cellartracker drinking window from 2018 to 2026.

The fill level, label, foil and cork were in perfect condition.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full bodied, complex, concentrated, structured yet perfectly balanced, smooth polished black berry fruits are highlighted by notes of cassis, graphite, dark chocolate, black tea and hints of anise with soft velvety tannins on a long lingering finish. 

RM 93 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=624737

https://grothwines.com/

@GrothWines