I attended a cabernet and steak dinner at Bobby Van's in NYC on Friday night. Many of the cabs were too young to truly enjoy, but it was fun to try them. The food was delicious.
Our starter wines were
2005 Rochioli Chardonnay - pale color. On the huge nose was oak and butter. A minerally palate that softened as it warmed up. I appreciated tasting this, but this type of wine is the reason I drink very little Cali Chard.
2003 Kistler Chardonnay Hudson Vineyard - Kistler and Kongsgaard are the only California Chards that I seem to favor, but this one didn't thrill me. When first opened, there was a slight nose of minerals. There was more oak present than I care for, but this usually integrates better with more age. My supply of older Kistlers was depleted, so I took a chance with this one. The finish was long with burnt almond.
Both Chards opened up with air and I thought they might show better with my crabcake appetizer. It was not to be.
Next up were cabs and steaks.
1994 Beringer Private Reserve - many people found raspberries emanating from the glass, but for me, it was cherry cough drops. I don't usually like that, but it was toned down, full bodied, mouth coating, and just delicious.
1994 Mondavi Reserve - this is where I got beautiful raspberry aromas. Too bad the nose was better than the palate with the fruit fading in the mouth. While not a bad wine, it paled in comparison to the Beringer.
1994 Harrison - I never heard of this producer, but I liked it. An earthy nose with good fruit peaking through. The palate matched.
1997 Insignia - the last time I had the 1997 was about 3 years ago, and it was shut down. This one was a whole lot better showing dark plums, with mouth filling flavors leading to a beautiful lingering finish.
1997 Pride - More acidity and less big fruit than I am used to in a Pride. Still some tannins present.
1999 Quilceda Creek - sweet fruit on the nose. Some blueberry flavors intertwined with other dark fruit. It's drinking nicely now, although could use more time to, hopefully, integrate the tannins.
2001 Quilceda Creek - I knew this was too young, but it was an opportunity to check on it. I called John at QC a few weeks ago to get his best guess on its drinkability, and he suggested a 3 hour decant. I only had time to give it a 1 1/2 hour decant, before pouring it back in the bottle and make, with ugly traffic, what turned into a 1 3/4 hour drive into the city. When first opened, I took a small sip and was assaulted with acidity and tannins. I hoped it would improve with air. At the restaurant, it showed milk chocolate and huge tannins, but with great structure. I'm very optimistic about its future.
2001 Delectus Sacrasche - big nose of black cherries. Big tannins and a finish that didn't end.
2004 Schrader Beckstoffer To Kalon - there was talk at the other end of the table of the possibility of this being corked. I didn't detect any TCA, but found it to have a port like nose with searing alcohol and tannins that get you on the end.
2004 Rivers-Marie - tough to judge this one. Initially served too cold. As it warmed it showed a pretty, light fruity nose. Attack was good, but missing a mid palate, and showed nicely on the finish. It came across as a little disjointed at this point.
A couple of dessert wines
1999 Freemark Abby Riesling - a nice richness and not cloyingly sweet as many California stickies can be. It was good, but the next one impressed me more.
1996 Valckenberg Chardonnay Eiswein - from Rheinhessen. At first, a funky nose that showed thick honey after it warmed a bit. Flavors of lemon meringue complemented the lovely nose making this a most interesting and satisfying finish....to the wine and to dinner.
