It’s hard not to be when I have been drinking a few terrific examples of the world’s most famous red grape variety. And it’s certainly interesting to taste through a variation of styles from the same grape variety as dictated by origin, style, and bottle age.
We started the afternoon with the complex and mature 1996 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet. This wine was definitely showing maturity with the eucalyptus, spice, dried tobacco and a core of sweet black fruit all culminating in one harmonious and nuanced wine. In the mouth, there was an intensity and concentration to the wine even in the presence of soft, plush, and resolved tannins. Seamless mouthfeel and persistent finish. This is clearly aging nicely and in a great drinking window. I enjoy drinking these wines at this stage when they start showing some of the secondary characteristics reminiscent of tobacco, spice, and earth yet the core of sweet fruit nicely lingers in the background.
Next on the tasting line-up was the youthful but complex 2007 Dominus Estate. The nose showed some cassis, plums, toasty oak, and cedar undertones. Tannins are full but very well-integrated creating this smooth, rounded and rich texture then finishes with hints of espresso. In the palate, it is nicely layered with the wave of sweet cassis, plums, and blackberry unfolding first then toasty vanilla and coffee notes. The nice fruit, smooth tannins, and harmony make this wine easy and enjoyable to drink now. But this will definitely hold up in the cellar and age nicely.
A bottle of 2001 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow was tasted next. This was really youthful with primary aromatics. Intense aromas of blackcurrant, black cherry, cassis, cedar, and tobacco leaf. An undercurrent of minerality is more prominent in the palate; minerality and spice keep this wine vibrant. The palate is full-bodied with noticeable tannins that lend this wine a firmer and more muscular structure. Structurally, everything is there and in balance, the wine just needs time to fully hit its stride.
We tasted the fully mature 1982 La Dominique from St-Emilion; La Dominique’s blend is always dominated by Merlot. This has a stunning bouquet of cherries, plums, licorice, and sweet herbaceous undertones. In the mouth, it’s really seductive and impresses with its elegant structure, silky-texture, and persistent length marked by more sweet red fruits.