Jojo and I were invited to participate in the Grape Apes Blind Napa Challenge. The challenge was divided into 2 categories. Red and white. Fortunately I was asked to participate in the red challenge as I don't have any Napa whites. As is our usual practice, we vote for the top 3 wines with 3 points for 1st place etc. Winner gets a free dinner. To make things interesting, Bodjie, who organized the dinner, also announced a special prize for the one who brings the oldest wine.
Whites:
Wine A - White gold. Eggy, sulfur scents which blew off in time. Good fruit and balance but rather bitter on the finish. Not too oaky. Merryvale Starmont Chardonnay 2004 . My #3. Tied with Wine D for group #3.
Wine B - Light, earthy. Very interesting wine. Newton Chardonnay 2006. My #2. Group #1.
Wine C - Oaky, woody, very dry. Long finish but I found it unpleasant. Kistler Durrell Vineyard Chardonnay 2007. No votes from me. Group #2.
Wine D - Burnt wood. Obvious but not overpowering oak. Good fruit and balance. Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage Chardonnay 2005. My #1. Tied with Wine A for Group #3.
Thankfully there were only 4 Chardonnays to taste. It was pretty monotonous and boring for me. Good thing there were no real oak monsters in the group.
Reds:
Wine A - Corked, unfortunately. Cosentino Cabernet Sauvignon 2001.
Wine B - Dark, quite young. Some wet rag. Just a little jammy. Hollow at first and took a long time to come around. Much later, sweet fruit. My wine. No vote from me. Joint Group #4 with Wine C. Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1995. I'm surprised at how young this seemed.
Wine C - Very meaty nose. Lovely ripe fruit. Nice and sweet. Easy, young. Needs time to develop but very nice. Coffee finish. Got more oaky with time. No vote from me. Joint Group #4 with Wine B. Manzanta Creek Zinfandel 2002. The only non-Cabernet in the lineup.
Wine D - A bit of age on it. Dry. Dried herbs. Long and elegant. Streak of acidity on the finish. Fruit already starting to fade but I sense this still has a little more improvement possible as the tannins are still a little strong. Unfortunately the cork was pushed in when the staff tried to open it. It needed to be decanted as a result of the cork in the bottle. My #1 and Group #1. Dominus 1995.
Wine E - Stinky, barnyard. Smells like Beaucastel Quite rich. A good wine but just a little too stinky for me. No votes from me. Group #5. Dominus 1997.
Wine F - Sweet nose. Young, tannic. Good structure and a little spicy. Definitely needs time but very good now and with a lot of potential. My #2. Tied with Wine G as Group #2. Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2002.
Wine G - A little minty. Very sweet but not in an overripe or jammy way. Some tobacco. Needs more time but very good. My #3. Tied with Wine F as Group #2. Jocelyn Lonen Cabernet Sauvignon 2006.
Congratulations to Ariel who won the White Challenge and Nelson who won the Red Challenge.
We had a couple of bonus bottles after the contest:
Chateau Leoville Las Cases 1990 - Courtesy of Jojo. Quite rich for its age. Sweet as well. I've had a couple of LLCs, mostly from the 90s and late 80s and have generally found them to be quite austere. This is the ripest one I've tried. Leather. Soft. Dryish finish. Maybe just past peak but still excellent.
Navarro Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2006 - Classic lychee. Very nice and easy. Some candied citrus rind on the finish. Refreshing after the heavy reds.