2001 California Cabernets
EWS Blind Tasting - November 4, 2004

After a string of three uneven Cabernet vintages (1998 - 2000), California rebounded nicely with a superb group of 2001 Cabs. This vintage was distinguished by the incredibly high quality of the top wines as well as the sheer number of wineries that had success with this grape. A quick scan of any vintage chart will tell you all you need to know about 2001 California Cabernets.There was an aura of excitement in the room as we had been looking forward to this tasting since hearing the first reports about how terrific the 2001 Cabs were. While EWS has offered numerous California Cabernet tastings in the past, few if any had included so many highly rated wines as this 2001 Cabernet offering. In fact, the average rating for the wines in this tasting exceeded 95 points! Having tasted many 2001 Cabernets ourselves prior to the tasting, it was easy for us to understand why the wines earned such lofty scores. We were particularly impressed with their superb, sexy ripe fruit combined with the structure to age gracefully. There is no doubt that the best 2001 Cabs will provide much pleasure for both short term and long term drinking.As a group, the wines did not disappoint, although a few individual wines did. Generally, our scores were a little lower than those of the influential wine critics. Any "problems" could usually be attributed to a youthful tightness which can happen with three year old Cabs. Also, a few wines were a bit too sweet and/or alcoholic for our tastes. But make no mistake, the best wines of this tasting, particularly the two made by Bob Foley, were out of this world!The following are consensus tasting notes, written to share notes, commentary, and convey the overall impression the group had for each wine. Wines were poured from numbered bags (1 - 13) and are listed below in the order they were poured. Participants were asked to vote (by number) for their three favorite wines. We award three points for every first place vote, two for every second place vote, and one point for every third, allowing for ties. Price listed represents approximate current retail.

1) Lewelling "Wight Vineyard" (Napa) - $60 - 37 points (five 1st, nine 2nd, four 3rd) - 95 rating Fairly dark color. Lovely nose is sweet and rich with smoky, tobacco notes. There are also traces of alcohol fumes. Nicely structured on the palate; youthful, powerful, tannic, and complex; balanced with ripe blackberry fruit and notes of dark chocolate, earth, and spice. This is an extremely delicious Cab that will probably get even better with cellaring. The finish was particularly long and satisfying; we just wish it had a bit less alcohol. Still, this wine was outstanding, especially when price is factored in. 2) Paul Hobbs (Napa) - $60 - 0 points - 88 rating Dark color. Big, rich, brooding raspberry nose is nice but somewhat muted. In the mouth the wine is thick and heavy handed; right now this wine seems to be more about structure than fruit. It’s a powerful wine with depth and complexity. The tannins are noticeable and the acidity is very good. But there’s some roughness in the finish and the wine never comes together in a satisfying way. We’ve had more enjoyable bottles of this wine, so maybe it’s in a dumb phase. Give it a little time…and hope for the best.3) Peter Michael "Les Pavots" (Knight’s Valley) - $150 - 22 points (four 1st, three 2nd, four 3rd) - 93 rating Very deeply colored. Open, rich, expansive black cherry, blueberry nose; sweet, sexy, and gets better and better as it sits in the glass. The ripe, juicy, heavily extracted black berry fruit is supported by solid structure. It’s a big, powerful, complex wine with strong flavor impact, lots of grip, and plenty of tannin to suggest aging. Everything is in balance and the finish is long and consistent. This outstanding wine has the potential to improve with 3+ years of cellaring.4) Araujo "Eisele Vineyard" (Napa) - $150 - 12 points (one 1st, three 2nd, three 3rd) - 92 rating Deeply colored. The nose immediately suggests that this wine has seen lots of new oak, as the smoky, toasty quality dominates. But there’s also ripe, sexy black berry fruit underneath all that wood. Fairly big and weighty on the palate with the oak once again at the core. It’s a well-structured wine with plenty of tannin to shed and enough black currant fruit to balance, although this is hardly a fruit bomb. The finish was sweet, long, and quite delicious. While this wine was generally well received, those people who like oak would give it an even higher score. We can just hear Clive Coates in the back of our vinous conscience: "You Yanks are suckers for new oak."5) Robert Mondavi "Reserve" (Napa) - $100 - 7 points (one 1st, one 2nd, two 3rd) - 91 rating Fairly deeply colored. The nose is somewhat restrained except for a vegetal quality that was off-putting. Much better on the palate: big, juicy, chocolaty rich, quite tannic, concentrated, complex, heavily extracted, ripe cassis fruit, and excellent acidity. The finish is long, well integrated and satisfying. While the nose got this wine off to a poor start, it really came on in the end. It was one of the most youthful wines tasted and should be fabulous when fully mature. Please note that the 91 rating represents the way it was drinking this evening.6) Pride "Reserve" (Napa) - $300 - 92 points (twenty 1st, twelve 2nd, eight 3rd) - 99 rating Deeply saturated color. Rich, sweet, cassis, blueberry "fruit bomb" nose is open and expansive. The wine shows exceptional fruit on the palate, with notes of chocolate and mint as well. There are many other dimensions to this wine that serve to balance against the fruit. It’s dense and concentrated with real grip. There’s plenty of tannin and just the right amount of acidity. And the long, long finish once again showcases that incredible fruit. While obviously youthful, the Pride "Reserve" is amazingly sexy and delicious right now, the runaway winner of this tasting. If Helen Turley is the "Goddess of Chardonnay" then Bob Foley must surely be the "God of Cabernet!"7) Merus (Napa) - $150 - 10 points (one 1st, two 2nd, three 3rd) - 92 rating Extremely dark color. Youthfully closed nose at first, but it opens to reveal an exotic side of Cabernet featuring notes of earth, spice, coffee, mint, minerals, and barnyard aromatics. Impressive structure on the palate; multi-dimensional and complex. This wine is powerful, complex, and has terrific mouth feel. There’s plenty of tannin to shed while the fruit is currently playing a supporting role. Nice, long finish, except for some alcohol showing in the end. We’d give this wine 5+ years before drinking it again.8) Ramey "Jericho Canyon Vineyard" (Napa) - $100 - 10 points (one 1st, three 2nd, one 3rd) - 88 rating Deeply colored. Sweet, hi-toned raspberry nose is open and flamboyant but hardly distinguished. The same sweet, dark fruit character follows through on the palate, but this juicy wine is also fat, soft, and shapeless. Where is the spine and supporting structure? And the finish seems to feature alcohol more than anything else. A few tasters really liked the sweet, licorice, late harvest, fruity character of this wine, hence it received votes. But to us, there were much better Cabs in the tasting than this one.9) Robert Foley "Claret" (Napa) - $300 - 46 points (seven 1st, nine 2nd, seven 3rd) - 97 rating Deeply colored. Gorgeous bouquet features rich blackberry and raspberry fruit with copious amounts of oak. Follows through nicely on the palate with a beautiful combination of lush, sexy, ripe black fruits and penetrating depth of flavor. This wine has focus and palate persistence that’s hard to beat. There’s plenty of tannin and the acidity is excellent. The finish seems endless and thoroughly seductive. Maybe if we were picky, we’d say that a bit too much alcohol was showing, but this is still a nearly perfect Cab loved by everyone. Like we said, Foley is the "God of Cabernet" (see Pride Reserve.)10) Rudd "Oakville Estate" (Napa) - $125 - 7 points (one 1st, one 2nd, two 3rd) - 90 rating Fairly deep color. The nose is tight at first, but opens to reveal sweet, spicy, blueberry, and blackberry notes with noticeable alcohol showing. Rich, youthful, big, and tannic on the palate with very ripe black fruits. This wine is heavily extracted with high alcohol that actually leans toward Zinfandel character. It was a controversial wine. Those who liked it found it delicious and admired the wine’s sweet fruit, balance, complexity, and length. Others thought the wine was too frontal without enough depth to compete. Our 90 point rating represents a compromise score. We all agreed that this wine will benefit from a few years in the cellar.11) Joseph Phelps "Insignia" (Napa) - $100 - 41 points (six 1st, seven 2nd, nine 3rd) - 96 rating Deeply saturated color. Very rich nose that opens with aeration. There’s a smoky, tobacco character that leaps out of the glass; quite pleasing. Youthful, complex, balanced, juicy, and definitely delicious in the mouth. It’s got vibrancy and structure; the harmony between fruit, tannin, and acidity is virtually perfect. Notes of chocolate, mint, and lots of oak. The best part: a long, long, we do mean LONG finish. While 2001 Insignia has aging potential, it can’t taste much better than it did this evening. This wine would have been our winner if Bob Foley had chosen another profession.12) Lokoya "Diamond Mountain" (Napa) - $135 - 1 point (one 3rd) - 89 rating Fairly deep color. The nose holds back at first, but upon further review, the raspberry pudding aromas and bright cherry fruit make their appearance. This is a rich, complex, powerful wine on the palate that has a youthful tightness that it can’t shake. The black currant fruit is ripe and the influence of oak is obvious. Chunky and chewy with nice texture. Unfortunately, it fades in the finish. We have a feeling that this Lokoya was tasted at a weak moment in its lifecycle.13) Ridge "Monte Bello" (Santa Cruz Mountains) ) - $120 - 35 points (five 1st, seven 2nd, six 3rd) - 95 rating Medium-deep color; lighter than most others. Rich, attractive, sweet nose has great fruit with notes of black licorice and blackberry fruit. Terrific mouth feel on entry; a big, dense, complex Cab with delicious, ripe fruit. Very good acidity and silky tannins add to the package. The wine is balanced, except for a little heat from the alcohol and the finish is very long. This Monte Bello was deceptively drinkable right now, but will no doubt age gracefully. An outstanding effort.

Executive Wine Seminars, Inc.
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New York, NY 10113-1791 Tel: (800) 404-WINE (9463)
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Howard Kaplan and Robert Millman, Co-Directors
Reprinted with permission.