WTN: Old Americans

Notes from a California theme dinner recently.

1996 Henriot Brut – now showing some colour, nice yeasty nose, sweet entry, crisp finish. Served with Read Island oysters.

2006 Claudia Springs Pinot Noir Anderson Valley Klindt Vineyard – chard from a Zin producer! Good colour, a fruit driven obviously pinot nose, mostly blueberries, then a sweet fruit entry, good balance, medium long, a not overly complex but very enjoyable ready to drink Pinot. Served with seared foie gras and truffle crisps.

1991 Dominus – cocoa and spice in the nose of this garnet wine, with a decided dill component, mellow with medium body, good length, elegant and drinking at peak. This would make an excellent claret imposter in a blind tatsing.

1996 Dominus – rubber and plum in this nose, sweet entry, lots of stuffing here and really excellent length. No rush, sweeter than the 91 and this was one of the few that wouldn’t have much success posing as Bordeaux. No rush on this one.

Two excellent wines, served with duck breast with port wine reduction.

1987 Opus One – funky at first although it did clean up its act after much swirling and showed pretty good fruit and significant tannins, but it never had a chance against the next wine.

1987 Mondavi Reserve – Not quite as dark as the Opus, to my surprise, but added facets of the nose included spice, vanilla and cocoa. Very tasty with a long interesting finish with espresso bean and plum. Lovely.

With lamb shanks and garlic mash.

2003 Taylors LBV Port – popped so we’d have something with the cheese. Dark, chocolately notes, good stuffing, a good LBV.

nice notes, nice wines, nice food..I see you got to enjoy 2 of my favs, the 87 Mondavi Reserve..regrettably none left, and 91 Dominus..fortunately still have some in cellar

I still have 4 of the 87 Mondavi and a couple of the 91 Dominus.

Also a couple of bottles of the 1990 Dominus, a vintage I love (which is why have less of it). May try and get a vertical going some time.

I started buying Dominus with the 84 vintage which came out before the 83 did, ended my vertical with the 94 vintge as price started getting beyond my pain threshhold, still have some 91, 92 and 94 left as well as some 91,92,93 and 94 Mondavi Reserves., that vertical was also stopped due to price escalation

Thanks for those notes. I get very little opportunities to taste Californian wines but two of my most celestial Californian experiences, namely Dominus and Mondavi Reserve, are in that line-up, albeit in different vintages (mine were 92 and 91 respectively). I would put a couple of Ridge Montebellos on a similar level.

Judging by what I read I doubt whether I would find most more recent "cult" Californians anything like so good.

If I were establishing a hierarchy of 'growths' a la Bordeaux, the Montebello and Ch. Montelena would be first growths, the Mondavi Reserve and Dominus would be super seconds (with Dominus pushing for first - a Las Cases, if you will (only in the last 20 years, before someone with a long memory points out that Las Cases wasn't all that good in the earlier decades).

It can be an interesting, though ultimately inconclusive discussion. Should Heitz Martha's be a frirst or second. What about the darlings of the yuppie puppy brigade - Araujo, Harlan etc.?

PS - I don't think Mouton should have been made a first growth based on quality and history - it should have remained a super second - but that's another argument/discussion.