Near Term Drinking Window?

Do any of these look like can't miss near term drinkers? In other words, no fear of infanticide.

2002 Marquis D' Angerville Clos des Ducs
2000 Carraudes de Lafite
1998 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon
2001 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnerhur Riesling Spatlese
1999 Dr. Fischer Ockferer Bockstein Riesling Auslese

Thanks

Do any of these look like can't miss near term drinkers? In other words, no fear of infanticide.

2002 Marquis D' Angerville Clos des Ducs
2000 Carraudes de Lafite
1998 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Rubicon Cabernet Sauvignon
2001 JJ Prum Wehlener Sonnerhur Riesling Spatlese
1999 Dr. Fischer Ockferer Bockstein Riesling Auslese

Thanks

The '02 Rubicon might be a candidate for not getting any better than it is today. OTOH, if I were choosing one, I'd probably take the last one because I'd enjoy it more than the Rubicon but YMMV.

Mark Lipton

I opened a bottle of Rubicon about a year or so ago. It certainly could develop further, but it was a beautful wine that all present thoroughly enjoyed. Unless it has closed down, I imagine it has only gotten better? (No detailed tasting notes, just vague memories.)

Edit: LOL. Mark Lipton and I agree.

I've got two of the '02 Rubicons, so maybe I will give on a go this summer. I the beginning of each year I update my wine inventory list as "drink" within the year, or "hold", but these wines all had question marks by them. Sounds like the Rudicon gets a "drink" designation.

Thanks,

I had a great experience with an old bottle of Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon; it was a 1973 vintage, which we drank in 2000 ... and it was stunningly good. Of course, in those days, they did not even bottle the wine until 1977. These days, in year four the wine has been on the retail shelf for at least a year.

Another thing to consider is the very weak 1998 vintage in California. For example, I recently had a bottle of 1998 Justin Isosceles that had lost much of its fruit, and was just mediocre. Similarly, I served a 5 or 6 bottle vertical of Viansa Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon at a party a few months back. The 1998 wine was easily the worst of the batch, followed by the 2000 bottle, another weak vintage.

Good luck -- Clark

Another thing to consider is the very weak 1998 vintage in California. For example, I recently had a bottle of 1998 Justin Isosceles that had lost much of its fruit, and was just mediocre. Similarly, I served a 5 or 6 bottle vertical of Viansa Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon at a party a few months back. The 1998 wine was easily the worst of the batch, followed by the 2000 bottle, another weak vintage.

I would be careful with a vintage generalization such as that. Some of the most appealing CalCabs of recent years that I've had have come from the '98 vintage. No doubt, there were many disappointing wines made in that year, but better producers can still make a fine wine in a year like '98. In the case of the Heitz Martha's '98, if you check the notes in Cellartracker, people uniformly refer to it as "backward," "tannic" and "big." That doesn't sound like a wine about to give up the ghost to me. Likewise, I have Cabs from Ridge, Phelps and Ch. Montelena from '98 that I have held off opening because of their potential to improve with age.

Mark Lipton

You make an excellent point, and you took the time to find some data on that 1998 Heitz. Thanks ... and well done.

-- Clark

I actually have the '99 Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Auslese, and plan on drinking nearterm. I haven't had a '99 German that I thought needed much more time, but if David B says hold, believe him.

The worse infanticide would be drinking the '02 Ducster,