A group of local wine enthusiasts got together last month to taste through a line-up of 2007 Napa Valley Cabernets (and some meritage wines) at one of our favorite restaurants. We knew the wines to be poured but not the order, so it was single blind.
2007 Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards Right Bank Napa Valley. This is actually 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc, so was an outlier right off the bat. That may help explain why this comes across as a lighter-styled wine than most on the nose, opening with obvious signs of oak but then folding in notes of menthol, fireplace ashes, red currants and pencil shavings. In the mouth, it is all sweet cherry and raspberry paste—primary, direct and fruity, with a twang of acidity carrying it along to a slightly more sour cherry finish. The structure is on the light side, and so too are the tannins. It is a bit uncomplicated, but pure, sweet and easy-flowing—and perhaps a good choice for those looking for early accessibility.
2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley. Initially, this wine opens up with lots of sexy spices and oaky char, but I have to say that it settles down significantly after about 20-30 minutes in the glass—allowing more black currant, dark cherry, nettles and smoke notes to emerge and the whole bouquet to find greater centering. In the mouth, it is considerably more structured, masculine and darkly-fruited than the previous wine. It also exhibits copious amount of youthful tannin to support the tongue-coating flavors of dark chocolate, black beans, earth and dark red fruit. The texture is a tad pasty, perhaps even resinous right now, but this has a ton of fruit concentration, a good thrust of intensity and is built for the long haul. I wouldn’t touch it for a decade at least.
2007 Roots Run Deep Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Educated Guess Napa Valley. This wine is very plummy on the nose, slowly bringing in additional notes of menthol, gingerbread, warm dates, raisins and a ton of coffee aromas over time. It leads in the mouth with toasted grape stem sorts of flavors, all kinds of raw oak notes, stinging menthol and a bit of cocoa powder, slowly evolving to bring in more of those raisin and spiced plum sorts of flavors. Even worse, it is one of the few wines on the night that is showing obvious signs of prickly alcohol. The texture, at least, is kind of interesting in a milky, sort of chocolate paste fashion, but overall the wine is disjointed, out of balance and not of a flavor profile I much care for.
2007 Dominus Estate Napa Valley. Ah, now we’re finally getting somewhere. This excellent wine offers up a lovely set of cool and dark aromas that show considerably more control, finesse and complexity than most of the wines in the line-up—exhbiting fine layers of tobacco leaf, leather, black cherry and mysterious earth tones. It has a seamless, classy texture that is immediately evident on the palate, supported by voluminous but pleasantly rounded flavors of red and black cherries, mixed currants, earth, leather and chocolate. Soft, pliant tannins just add to the plush yet elegant feel. The one distraction is a bit of bitter oak still showing on the finish, but otherwise this is just lovely and was my Wine of the Night (and the Group’s #3).
2007 Herb Lamb Cabernet Sauvignon Almost Howell Mountain Herb Lamb Vineyard Napa Valley. This wine displays by far the most overtly slutty and exotically-spiced nose of the night. Here, one can find full-blown aromas of spice cabinet, high-toned road tar, spiced blueberries, sweet plums, coconut shavings, vanilla bean, chocolate bar and musky earth. Even though it is kind of over the top, I do appreciate its unique and fun character a good deal. In the mouth, it is chock-a-block with mixed blue and purple bramble berry fruit, vanilla and chocolate flavors galore and a good deal of sweet oak influence. It is rich, thick, totally creamy and plump—with an expansive and fleshy coating of glycerin making it feel like a low-acid, chubby harlot kind of wine that is a lot of fun to drink but one I doubt I could stand to drink a whole lot of. Still, I could appreciate the consistency of its character and the fun factor that it so decidedly represents.
2007 Lewelling Cabernet Sauvignon Wight Vineyard Napa Valley. The bouquet of this wine is very odd--and not at all in a pleasant or interesting way. It begins by offending the nostrils with scents of dirty tire rubber and then mixes in some blackberry syrup and a confusing concoction of dried tropical fruit trailmix squares. I was not alone in feeling that it is totally confectionary and maybe even a bit artificial on the palate, as well—with in-your-face flavors of blue cotton candy and boysenberry syrup over-riding everything else. I really don’t know what to make of this, but it seems to be trying too hard and just failing badly--at least based on this bottle’s showing. I’m pretty sure everybody had this as one of their worst wines of the night.
2007 Beau Vigne Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Napa Valley. In sharp contrast, this is a delightful wine. It features aromas of jalapeno pepper, fine espresso roast, black currants and a lovely kiss of soft oak. In the mouth, it is more medium-weighted and less top-heavy than most and features fine flavors of briary berries, toasted bread and complex spices that are taut and toned but also giving and juicy. The oak gets a touch tiresome on the less elegant finish, but otherwise this just comes across as well-proportioned and fine-drinking. I had it as my #2 wine of the night, though I think in looking back over my notes I probably should have had it just behind the Spottswoode at #3. Still, for a producer I had never heard of before this evening, this was in impressive showing.
2007 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Napa Valley. This wine exhibits a soft and creamy bouquet of rich chocolate, blueberries, cream, chalk and faint mint leaf that is quite nice. On the palate, though, it seems a bit unfocused right now. There are solid component parts of chocolate-covered cherry and tingly spice flavors, a plush texture, solid but not rough-hewn tannins and a solid backbone--but for some reason it just hasn’t all meshed together quite yet. The acidity could stand to be more driven or lifting, I guess, but it is not like this is blowsy or anything, either. I do think this has what it takes to be excellent down the road, but sandwiched here between the Beau Vigne and the Spottswoode, I think this just comes across as a bit youthfully awkward right now.
2007 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Napa Valley. The Spottswoode exhibits a real purity and concentration of aroma on the nose—sporting all kinds of sweet cherry, mixed currant, tobacco leaf and pencil shaving scents that for all their depth still come across as rather classy and focused. In the mouth, it continues to show fine breeding in the smooth, sort of slinky texture that in many ways defines this wine for me. Along for the ride are fruit-driven flavors of sweet cherries and currants that are intensely deep and rich—providing a sense of depth to go with the fine balance and very smooth and flowing texture. This is a wine that is giving a lot of pleasure already.
2007 Forman Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley. This wine is a whole lot more old-fashioned and rustic all around—needing a lot of time in the cellar. First off, the nose features cool black fruits, charcoal, tar oil, mossy earth, limestone, green pepper and pencil shaving aromas that are pretty masculine and earthy. In the mouth, it has a solid—but perhaps a bit aggressive—streak of acidity in play right from the start that carries along rustic earth and dark fruit flavors. The tannins are definitely a factor and have a chewy, chalky intensity right now. And even though it shows a tickle of alcoholic heat for me right now, it is easy to sense that this will be a long-lived wine that will require patience.
2007 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection Napa Valley. The nose here is complex, layered and inviting, but some may find it to be a bid candied or confectionary at this early stage of its development. For me, I sense notes of red candies, spiced blueberries, plums, heavy cream, nutmeg and graphite, along with plenty of soft oak. In the mouth, it is creamy and very smooth in texture, with lots of soft spice character and an abundance of blue fruit. It exhibits very nice flow, a certain classiness to the spices and soft wood aspects, and plenty of length. It is simply a very nice Cabernet—solid, tasty, and well-made.
At the end of the evening, it was easy to pick a top 3 and a top 5, as well as a bottom 2. As I noted, I think the Dominus and Spottswoode are no-brainers and show the best overall combination of drinkability, class, distinction and balance. The Beau Vigne and Caymus SS are also outstanding in this vintage and are easily recommended. And the Herb Lamb Almost Howell Mtn is just a hoot to drink right now, though I would take the other 4 (and a few others) over it for longer term storage and for drinking with food. The only wines I would absolutely steer away from are the Lewelling and the Educated Guess.
My final ranking:
2007 Dominus (Group #3 ranking)
2007 Beau Vigne Reserve (Group #1 ranking)
2007 Spottswoode (Group #2 ranking)
2007 Herb Lamb Vineyards Almost Howell Mtn
2007 Caymus Special Selection
2007 Insignia
2007 Beringer Private Reserve
2007 Anderson's Conn Valley Right Bank
2007 Forman
2007 Educated Guess
2007 Lewelling Wight
-Michael
Economics 101. Some price adjustments downward are taking place but nothing on the scale of returning to the 80s.