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Brian Pasch Expert Wine Reviews

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The Ultimate 1997 California Cabernet Tasting

Yesterday eight people converged at the Old Homestead Steak House in Manhattan for a memorable night of food and wine. The dinner and wine was an auction package won by Greg and Karen Matzel that was donated by Old Homestead owner Mark Sherry and the wines were from my cellar collection.

The night could be on of the most amazing wine and food experiences in past memory. Here is the lineup of 1997 California Cabernet based wines that were shared, in the order that they were tasted:

• 1997 BV Clone 6
• 1997 Silver Oak Napa RP-94
• 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain RP-95
• 1997 Peter Michael - Les Pavots RP-96
• 1997 Phelps Insignia RP-96
• 1997 Pride Mountain Reserve RP-97
• 1997 Dalla Valle Maya RP-99
• 1997 David Abreu RP-100
• 1997 Bryant Family RP-100
• 1997 Harlan Estate RP-100
• 1997 Screaming Eagle RP-100

The line-up was amazing which included four perfect 100 point wines as reviewed by Robert Parker in his Wine Advocate Newsletter. The menu included five amazing dishes from the Old Homestead with the Seafood Sampler being the single most satisfying selection of fresh gigantic shrimp, clams, oysters, crab, king crab legs and more.

Before the meal started we tasted some wonderful Kistler Chardonnays and a great Pinot Noir from Sine Qua Non called "Hollerin' M" from the Shea Vineyard in Oregon. With this good of a start the night was destined to be a winner!

At the end of the night, I was tied on the best wine of the night: Bryant Family and Screaming Eagle. My perennial favorite the "Maya" was not showing well on this evening and my notes indicated that the 1997 Maya needs much more time to evolve.

The surprise of the night was the 1997 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet which was decanted 4 hours prior to the dinner and was amazingly drinkable. In my past experiences Dunn wines need 15+ years to evolve but the 1997 Howell Mountain Cabernet was a pleasure to drink at this meal.

The youngest wine of the night and the one that I regretted opening was the 1997 Harlan. This wine will need another 5 years at least to start to be enjoyable in the glass. This is a great sign for this wine because while all the fruit and structure was there in the glass, there was a tannic finish showing that this wine has yet to evolve with the integrated tannins.

The night was a celebration of great wines, all the wine showed very well with a surprisingly strong showing for the 1997 BV Clone 6 Cabernet, which is a rare bottling that I would suggest readers try to find for their cellars. As always the Phelps Insignia was a joy to drink and this wine will be getting better in years to come. I would re-taste the Insignia in 3-5 years. The Insignia has a long life ahead of itself and this bottling is a fine addition to the long track record of great wines produced under this label.

Brian Pasch - April 3, 2006

 

Harlan Estate Winery

PO Box 352
Oakville, CA 94562
phone: 707-944-1441
fax: 707-944-1444
info@harlanestate.com