California Wines

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1990 was the first vintage (4,756 cases produced) and one of the most abundant before the replanting became essential because of phylloxera, and was again made at Robert Pepi. However, the percentage of Cabernet Franc jumped to 10% in the final blend. Mia Klein, who worked with Tony Soter, was part of the winemaking team. This wine performed beautifully, and had that Château Margaux-like finesse, elegance and richness. Beautiful blackcurrant notes, graphite, rose petal and licorice, were all present in this deep ruby/plum-colored wine that came across like a Napa version of a first-growth Médoc. It is medium to full-bodied, with beautiful, integrated tannin, acidity and wood. This should continue to drink well for another 10-15-plus years.Robert Parker | 95 RPStill young and firm, this delivers spicy plum and chocolate flavors; it’s polished, balanced and intense. Approachable now.--Spottswoode vertical. Best after 2000. 4,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

A potentially perfect wine, the 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon boasts a fabulous nose of cassis, cream, blueberries, violets, minerals, and spice. It smells like a hypothetical blend of a great vintage of L'Evangile, Clinet, and Mouton-Rothschild. The opaque purple/black color is followed by a full-bodied wine stacked and packed with fruit, glycerin, and extract. No component part is out of place in this formidably endowed, remarkably well-balanced wine. The purity, richness, sweetness and depth of fruit suggest that the wine's potential is limitless. Much like its cellarmate, the 1994 Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon (also made by Helen Turley), the Bryant Family Vineyard's 1994 should evolve into one of California's legendary Cabernets. It will age effortlessly for 25-30 years.Robert Parker | 98 RPImmense, thick, deeply concentrated, loaded with chocolate, black cherry, spicy, nutmeg and vanilla-scented oak. Finishes with bold tannins and impeccable balance. Approachable now, but should last 20 years.--non-blind Bryant Family vertical. Drink now through 2014. 1,400 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WS(15.2% alcohol): Good deep red with ruby highlights. Game, truffle, currant and sweet oak on the iniviting nose. Plush and sweet on entry, then a bit green in the middle, with herb, truffle and tobacco leaf flavors dominating underlying redcurrant, plum, floral pastilles and spicecake. Round and ample but also has lift. In a very ripe style and delicious right now. The tannins are resolved but this wine still has plenty of fruit.Vinous Media | 92 VM

I believe the 1995 is the finest produced under the Araujo regime. It is close to perfection. The wine combines extraordinary power and richness with remarkable complexity and finesse. The saturated purple/black color is followed by aromas of sweet vanillin intermixed with riveting scents of black currants, minerals, exotic spices, coffee, and toast. There is nothing garish about this subtle yet powerful giant of a wine. A Napa Valley classic, it is full-bodied and extremely rich, yet retains its sense of balance and symmetry. This fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon should age effortlessly for 30 or more years. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.Robert Parker | 98 RPHealthy dark red. Musky, soil-inflected aromas of dark raspberry, strawberry, minerals, tobacco, underbrush, cedar and dried herbs. Wonderfully silky and concentrated, displaying outstanding spicy lift to the vibrant, sharply delineated flavors of berries, coffee, anise and tobacco. Like a hypothetical blend of St. Julien and Graves. This beauty has only gained in clarity through the years as it has absorbed its baby fat. The tannins are firm but suave, in perfect balance with the wine's acidity and fruit. Juicy and subtly long on the aftertaste.Vinous Media | 95 VMA delightfully rich, vibrant and complex wine that is aging very gracefully. The core flavors are well-focused and offer a mix of mature red currant, plum and floral scents, with a touch of anise and mineral on the finish. Ripe tannins let the flavors glide through the finish, where mocha adds a nice added dimension.--1995 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now through 2015. 2,500 cases made. — JLWine Spectator | 94 WS

The 1996 Dominus, a blend of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 4% Petit Verdot, tips the scales at 14.2% alcohol. Although this offering lacks the power, intensity, and compelling characteristics of the 1991 and 1994, it is not far off the pace of those two monumental wines. A super nose of roasted coffee, chocolate, dried herbs, black fruits and kirsch is both intense and persuasive. The wine displays terrific richness, medium to full body, low acidity, a succulent, opulent texture, and superb purity. This beautifully made 1996 is one of the few wines that has successfully tamed the vintage's elevated tannin level. It should be relatively drinkable upon its release, yet evolve nicely for two decades. Impressive!Dominus's production has grown to approximately 8,000 cases of their flagship wine, Dominus.Robert Parker | 95 RPReally impressed how balanced and refined the wine is. The texture is so silky and beautiful, and the fruit pure, even more satisfying. Perfect to drink now.James Suckling | 94 JSFull, saturated red-ruby. Dusty black cherry, plum, game, woodsmoke, herbs and a suggestion of leafy cabernet franc on the nose. Thick and lush in the mouth, with the extravagant sweetness of the best '96s. This has good structure and grip, but there plenty of deep fruit to buffer the substantial tannins. This wine and the '97 were both vinified by David Ramey before he moved on to Rudd Estate.Vinous Media | 93 VMThis is the first release of Napanook, the second wine from Dominus. It has lovely, approachable fruit in the red-cherry, red-plum spectrum; the finish is medium length and silky. It's tasting very good now, and should improve in bottle over the next three to five years. The blend is 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 13% Petit Verdot.Wine Enthusiast | 91 WEComplex, with mature herb, currant, anise and sage notes that are reminiscent of an aged Bordeaux. Ends with a supple texture, fine-grained tannins and good length.--1996 California Cabernet retrospective. Drink now.Wine Spectator | 90 WS

The first release from the 20-acre Thorevilos Vineyard (co-owned by David Abreu and Ric Forman) is the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Thorevilos, a blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. It is a dense, sweet, black currant-flavored effort with hints of scorched earth, cedar, and flowers in the background. Fruit-driven (mostly blue and black fruits), with a Pomerol-like succulence/lushness, it should drink well young, and evolve for 15+ years.Napa Valley’s most gifted vineyard manager, and certainly a must-hire for those looking to develop great vineyards and produce top quality wines, David Abreu continues to fine tune his own estate, producing some of the most prodigious Cabernet Sauvignons in the world.Robert Parker | 92 RP

A stupendous wine that epitomizes the Harlan style of grace and power. Shows how the most elaborate vineyard and winery practices can contribute to a near-perfect wine, even in a less heralded vintage. The flavors cascade in endless tiers, black currant, cherry, mocha, Indian pudding, oak and spice, all coming together in a minute-long finish. Magnificent.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEThe 2000 Harlan Estate, a wine uncannily reminiscent of a 1990 Médoc, is at what seems to be a peak - or a plateau - of maturity. A projected bouquet includes notes of ripe plums, black cherry, wood smoke and cigar box. On the palate the tannins have begun to melt, making for a wine of immense drinkability and seductiveness. A Harlan Estate with a Bordelais sensibility. Drinking Window 2017 - 2025.Decanter | 94 DECThe 2000 Harlan Estate is in a beautiful place today. Soft, open-knit and nicely mellowed by age, the 2000 is absolutely gorgeous, with soft contours to match is engaging personality. Mocha, black cherries, leather and spice are all quite forward in this succulent Harlan Estate. The 2000 might not be a profound Harlan Estate, but it is a striking wine that is peaking today and that should continue to drink well for at least another few years.Vinous Media | 93 VMTight, concentrated and compact, showing dried currant, berry and mineral character, with tannins that frame the flavors. Ends with a black cherry and blackberry fruitiness. This was a cool, drawn-out year.--Non-blind Harlan retrospective (2010). Drink now through 2016. 1,800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSI have never been totally convinced by the 2000 Harlan Estate, but now that it’s in bottle, it is a very fine offering. The problem is that it must be compared with the other Harlan Estate wines made to date. A Graves-like perfume of roasted coffee, scorched earth, black currants, cedar, and a hint of menthol emerge from this dense dark ruby/purple-colored 2000. Lighter than normal, but medium to full-bodied and elegant, with soft tannin as well as a silky, precocious personality and texture, it can be drunk now and over the next 12 years.Robert Parker | 91 RP

The 2001 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Hillside Select is the first of these back-to-back perfect wines from Shafer that, at age 13, is still a baby, but, wow, what an amazing wine. A fabulous growing season produced a wine with inky/purple black color, stunning crème de cassis notes, with additional hints of lead pencil shavings, spring flowers, cedar wood and forest floor. It is full-bodied, sensationally concentrated, with a seamless integration of acidity, tannin, wood and alcohol. This is a great, monumental Napa Cabernet Sauvignon that is still an infant, at age 13, going on 14. This has got at least three decades of life left in it, and probably won’t hit its peak for another 5-7 years.Robert Parker | 100 RPNo Cabernet smells better. This is an enormously attractive, well-oaked wine constituted from the best possible fruit. In the mouth, it immediately seduces. Shafer knows it has to rise to expectations with this wine, and the 2001 does not disappoint. The fruit is spectacular, all cassis. The oak is rich, flamboyant and delicious. Structurally, the wine has the best tannin-acid structure Napa is capable of. Immediately delicious now, this wine should develop over the next 10 years.Wine Enthusiast | 98 WEAmazing for its richness, depth and concentration, with a wealth of flavors extending to espresso bean, mocha, dark berry, raspberry and cedar, intense and persistent on the long, detailed finish. An immense wine that’s gracefully balanced.—2001 California Cabernet blind retrospective (June 2011). Drink now through 2020. 2,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WSImpressive bright ruby-red to the rim. Sexy, complex nose melds scents of plum, currant, dried herbs, game, coffee bean, Baker’s chocolate and tobacco; smells sweet! Plush, sweet and broad from entry through to powerful, building finish. Strong plum, currant, tar, graphite, chocolate and spice flavors are complicated by soil and mineral nuances. Quite generous and thick without going over the top. This has reached its peak but should hold for at least another 10 to 15 years owing to its firm, claret-like spine of fully ripe, broad tannins. Actually less sweet on the palate than the nose suggests--and an answer to those tasters who consider Shafer’s flagship wine to be a bit too sweet and exotic. This is downright classic.Vinous Media | 95 VMFrom vines the Shafers planted in the early 1970s, these volcanic knolls at the foot of Stags Leap offer the family’s best wine, distinctive both for its texture and the grace with which it ages. It’s hard to find a better example of SLD tannins, a combination of dusty earth and chocolate richness so refined that it’s hard to tell where the fruit tannins end and the oak begins. The wine is neither overtly fruity nor in any way super-ripe. The power seems to come right out of the ground. This is a great vintage of Hillside Select that will need years to reach its peak, perhaps from 2010 through ’15 or later.Wine & Spirits | 94 W&S

I was also able to taste a barrel sample of the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, and it’s clearly one of the deeper hued 2022s I was able to taste for this report. Darker currants, hints of cassis, scorched earth, and tobacco all emerge on the nose, and it’s medium to full-bodied, has a classic, elegant Spottswood texture, building tannins, and outstanding length.Jeb Dunnuck | 94-96 JDThe 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon, tasted as a barrel sample, is deep purple-black in color. Intense scents of plum preserves, blueberry pie, and creme de cassis give way to wafts of dried roses, star anise, and powdered cinnamon. The medium-bodied palate is velvety and lively, with bags of juicy black and blue fruit preserves leading to a long and spicy finish on this impressive wine.The Wine Independent | 94-96+ TWIDark, layered and imposing, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon is a promising wine for the year. Dark red and purplish fruit, spice and rose petals open gradually, wrapped together by firm, large-grained tannins for this site. This core blend represents about 40% of the eventual final blend.Vinous Media | 92-95 VM

My favorite wine of this quartet is the 2003 Cariad, a proprietary blend (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 5% Cabernet Franc) that comes from David Abreu-owned vineyards, primarily the Madrona Ranch in St. Helena. Its dense color is accompanied by a big, sweet bouquet of charcoal, white chocolate, spring flowers, meaty, blueberry and blackberry fruit. This stunningly complex, rich, full-bodied 2003 is just entering its plateau of full maturity. Drink this beauty over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 97 RPA Bordeaux blend based on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, the grapes for this stunning wine came from David Abreu’s vineyard in the St. Helena foothills. It’s very complex, softer, more open and approachable than Colgin’s 100% Cabs, with a flamboyant spectrum of cherries, framboise, cocoa, violets, gingerbread and spices framed in supple, fine tannins. Beautiful, a feminine wine of great beauty. Drink now through 2015.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEGood deep ruby-red. Aromas of blackcurrant, licorice, mocha and menthol offer great lift. Then superripe and densely packed, with great sweetness and inner-mouth aromatic character. The flavors of black cherry and leather are given definition by a strong element of liquid stone. Finishes extremely long, with lush, suave tannins.Vinous Media | 94 VMRich and complete, yet shows the signs of the vintage with its austerity. Dense, with earthy currant, black cherry and wild berry fruit that’s tight and compact. Finishes with tight tannins and persistent flavors that return to the currant and earth themes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2007 through 2012. 500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 91 WS

From their 40+ acres of vineyard in the very northeasterly sector of Napa, just south of the quaint town of Calistoga, anywhere from 1,600 to 2,200 cases of Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard are produced. The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele (a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot) shows wonderfully sweet black currant notes intermixed with some licorice, incense, crushed rock, and floral characteristics. It is deep, medium to full-bodied, with beautiful purity, virtually perfect integration of tannins, and extraordinary length which lasts over 60 seconds. This is an exceptional, seamless Cabernet Sauvignon that is the vinous equivalent of haute couture. This sensationally pure wine (actually the first vintage of the estate Cabernet to have a little Merlot in it, but only 2%) borders on perfection. This is a gorgeously proportioned wine with beautiful floral and black fruit notes intermixed with some mineral and gentle background oak.One of California’s and the world&r