Browse Tag

napa valley

Fay Wray

[bottle]Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon Fay (Napa Valley) – Eucalyptus and thyme, with a dark residue of blackcurrant. Mostly, it’s structure right now, with massive tannin dominating. Appealingly authentic, though there’s very little that’s actually appealing about the wine right now. Let it rest. (4/08)

Without reliving the weeks before Easter

Shafer 2004 “Relentless” (Napa Valley) – Wafts of pretty oakspice, good red fruit, and lots of tannin…both grape and wood. Ultimately, the wine is completely dominated and then overwhelmed by the arbor, and lacks character as a result. (2/08)

Unicanard

Duckhorn 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Patzimaro (Napa Valley) – Very dense. Blueberry milkshake, both vanilla and chocolate versions, with a full, lush texture. Tannic. New World all the way, but with more tannin than is typical in the genre. (2/08)

George

Forman 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – A bit closed, but authentic, with peppers bracing the sweet fruit. The only flaw is a bit of obvious heat on the finish, but that could be exacerbated by the stage the wine’s in. Not bad. (2/08)

Rick Beringer

Beringer 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – Good raw materials: bell pepper, cassis, some tobacco. A little under-stuffed and simple, though the finish is long enough. This is aging nicely. (2/08)

Nora

Dunn 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – Dense and thick with chocolate and lactic finish. Very long and well-balanced. Very good in its style, though this sort of thing is beyond my ability to truly enjoy. (2/08)

York town

Ridge 1999 Zinfandel York Creek “Late Picked” (Napa Valley) – Off-dry prunes, the usual volatility, licorice, unsweetened chocolate, and drip coffee. The more of this style I taste, the less enamored I am; pushing it all the way to Essence level would be preferable, because without those layers of sweetness the classic late-harvest zin flaws of desiccated berry and nail polish remover are fully exposed. (2/08)

Diamond in the rough

[bottle]Rombauer 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) – Very austere, aromatically, with the palate showing tarred rosemary and not much else. It’s imbalanced in favor of its tannin, as well, which adds to its dry severity. (5/07)

Rombauer 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon “Diamond Selection” (Napa Valley) – Much more structured than the regular cabernet, but more balanced as well, showing espresso, dark black fruit, and leather with a light charred coconut aspect to the finish. More expressive and longer than any of the wines so far, though there’s also the faintest touch of brett. (5/07)

Auto parts

Rombauer 2003 Merlot (Napa Valley) – Smoked black cherry residue and black pepper; there’s a char to this wine, probably from the oak, that somewhat dominates. There’s good acidity, but the wine hollows on the finish. (5/07)

Silver

[bottle]Sterling 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) – Melon, pineapple, ultra-ripe lemon marmalade and fig, with dryish honey notes and isolated acidity. It doesn’t taste confected, but it does taste mass-market. (8/07)