A very good friend of mine came for dinner last night:
Where to start? Drank in order from left to right.
1999 Veuve Clicquot Gold Label
Champagne, France
Varietal: Blend- Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay
Cost: $65-80 according to the internet
Nose- lemon peel, baked bread,
Taste- brioche, lemon
Points: 88- not a huge fan, but it wasn't terrible
2001 Dominus Napanook
Napa Valley, CA
Champagne, France
Varietal: Bordeaux Blend- 71% Cabernet Sauvignon 18% Cabernet Franc 7% Merlot 3% Petit Verdot 1% Malbec
Cost: $45 at purchase around $80 now
Nose- At opening this filled the room with raspberries, after decanting it mellowed out with a great nose of ripe cherries, leather, tobacco, black tea
Taste- Super smooth, great finish, lots of red fruits, some black tea, tobacco
Points: 90- I bought this in 04 as my first "collectable" bottle, well worth the wait- Decanted for 4 hours
2005 Caldwell Rocket Science
Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Red Blend-33% Syrah 33% Cabernet Sauvignon 25% Merlot 9% Cabernet Franc 9% Petit Verdot 9% Tannat
Cost: $45
Nose- dark chocolate , cola, cherries, coffee
Taste- This is a HUGE wine- lots of dark chocolate and cherries, really long finish (45 seconds?)
Points: 93- Huge CA cab- if you like the style you will love this-friends Wine of the night- opened about an hour before, no decant
2004 Seavey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost: $115
Nose- Lots of eucalyptus, barnyard, cherry
Taste- Tannic -but smooth at the same time, cherry, menthol, red meat- this tasted similar to a newer Bordeaux
Points: 93- Decanted for an hour- if this had another 2 hours to open up this would be a 95, really interesting wine- tons of sediment left in the decanter
2005 Volta Cabernet Sauvignon
Howell Mountain, Napa Valley, CA
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Cost: $60
Nose: huge fruit, black cherry,raspberry, little vanilla
Taste: black cherry, dark chocolate, black tea, raspberry
Points: 93- I can't wait to see how this ages, awesome wine- my wine of the night, popped and poured If anyone wants a bottle of this let me know ASAP- Im leaning towards ordering a few more (i'll cover the shipping)
An awesome night, the Seavey was served with Grilled lamb, roasted potatoes with rosemary butter, and mushrooms baked in garlic and butter. Last glass and a half of Volta was paired with a CAO Lx2- it stood up quite well. I usually don't enjoy cigars with wine- but they went well together.