We assembled a small, professional but edgy, group last night to break out of our pandemic torpor. Sort of the equivalent of kissing a slumbering princess who has been in a coma for 2+ years, but in the case of our dinner, it was the simple opening and aeration of 10 wines that shocked us awake… and the eight of us were instantly reinvigorated back to lively, pre-pandemic times!
Our dinner guests included two sommeliers and four winemakers, each recognizable for a lifetime of labels that you know, many which have garnered 100 points by Parker, Galloni, Suckling, or hey, even napaman!
For our guests, I grilled five New York strip steaks, each about the size of Manhattan, hence their geographic nomenclature, and for the one, non-bovine-ista in the group, Carol made her spectacular roasted, farmhouse chicken. Proteins were served with asparagus, roasted fingerling potatoes, Carol’s most-ever-requested dish, Tuscan beans, as well as her sensational roasted red onions.
On the wine side, I chose to serve six older reds, mostly Cabs and most from Napa Valley, but not all.
These are the wines I put before the group:
1976 Robert Mondavi Reserve
This wine, at 46-years of age, is older than our son! I chose this wine out of reverence for Bob Mondavi, who introduced me to Napa Valley.
I actually sat with him in May 1980 after a large dinner at his winery and we drank this ’76 Reserve together.
The wine did not disappoint last night. There is still a pronounced vivacity. Tertiary notes of tea, camphor, and sandalwood dominate any hues of fruit, sure. Even so, this impressive, older wine still has a strong pulse.
93 points.
1988 Dunn, Howell Mountain
It generally takes 20 years for Dunn’s Howell Mountain Cabs to start to calm down and open up. This wine, at 34 years of age, is still bright red with only the slightest fading at the rim.
Still tightly wound with with loads of red fruit notes and lip-smacking acidity. Well balanced.
This venerable Cab could never be mistaken for an older Bordeaux — there is just too much fruit and levity in each sip. 94 points.
1996 Ridge Montebello
Ridge Montebello is one of the great wines of California, but this bottle has suffered from a flawed cork and there is a whiff of wet basement that makes one grimace.
1991 Clos Du Val
A pretty wine from the 19th vintage of this Stag’s Leap District winery but there is an off-putting, sour cherry note at the finish that diminishes the experience. Like Marlon Brando in Streetcar Named Desire, this wine "coulda been a contender"…. as is, 91 points.
2002 Blankiet Merlot
I only discovered Blankiet’s extraordinary wines a few years ago at a Coravin tasting. Might this be Napa Valley’s best kept secret?
Situated in the Yountville hills above Dominus, Blankiet makes a slap-your-forehead-why-haven’t-I-tasted-this-before? Merlot.
Tonight’s version was one of the evening’s highlights. A standout in suppleness and weight in the mouth; gobs of glycerin and an underlying natural sweetness of ripe fruit.
The wine shows impeccable curation in the cellar — bravo to the team that made this! 97 points.
2007 Araujo, Eisele Vineyard
As long as I can remember, everyone I know in the wine industry LOVES wine from this house, this vineyard. And tonight’s bottle explains why.
This is the youngest of the wines I served, so, of course, it is the darkest, brooding, Plantagenet kingly red of any wine on the table.
The wine exhibits elegance, puissance, yet balance. 96 points.
2003 Chateau d’Y’Quem
Even though Carol made one of her memorable blueberry crumbles for dessert, I thought the special evening needed to be capped with a special dessert wine. Nothing says, “Dinner’s done!” better than the world’s most coveted golden elixir, Y’Quem. The 2003 is at its prime, showing loads of apricot and honey. Still a good core of acidity to balance the sweet finish. 95 points.
This is what our guests brought to dinner:
1977 Beaulieu Vineyard, Rutherford
Whoa! This is royal blood in Napa Valley, one of the heralded wine estates. The second-oldest wine on the table, it still has verve, focus and flavors that you would never associate with a 45-year-old Cabernet.
Lovely, subtle fruit, and a gentle finish. 94 points.
1988 Pahlmeyer
How wonderful to have THIS wine experience — the 1988 Pahlmeyer was made by Randy Dunn, who also made his own wine that year - the Dunn Howell Mountain noted above.
I think his Pahlmeyer version is the better of the two ’88 wines; this bottle sung in perfect pitch, a melody of sweet juice. I’d say the 1988 Pahlmeyer and the 2002 Blankiet were my two favorite wines of the evening.
97 points.
1991 Pahlmeyer (not shown above)
Another standout wine, though not in the same league as the ’88. But it was head and shoulders better than the other 1991 on the table, the Clos du Val with the sour cherry middle notes. 94 points.
1997 Steltzner
’97 was a year that produced bruiser wines in Napa Valley, big, blowsy, beautiful. There was less of the Steltzner here than I expected and upon reflection, I recall being disappointed by several Steltzner bottlings over the years. This might have been one of them. Mostly a meh experience. 90 points.
This was the line-up at the end of the evening:
In sum... just another Sunday night in Napa Valley....
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