Tuesday evening our tasting group met for a double blind tasting that turned out to be '94 Cal Cab/blends and '02 Girardin Burgs. I will present the Burgs in the separate thread.
Wine 1: Lots of fruit, slight touch of VA, smoky element also on the nose. Plenty of fruit on the palate with good persistence and subtle structure. Very nice wine. 1994 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Wine 2: More closed on the nose than wine 1, but over time opens up and shows lots of ripe cherry fruit and none of the VA in wine 1. Also quite long on the finish & well balanced. Excellent. 1994 Beaulieu Vineyards Tapestry Reserve
Wine 3: Perhaps even tighter than 1 and 2, but also brighter acids. This is very bright, lively, and the fruit really stands up to the acid and tannin structure. Excellent again. 1994 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
Wine 4: Ramp up the acid structure one more notch but present even more youthful fruit. This seemed almost like a new release except for some leathery elements and soft, evolved tannins. My wine of the night. 1994 Bernardus Marinus
Wine 5: Back to a touch of VA, and initially very tight, but it rallied very well with air, becoming the most complex of all the wines with cedar, tobacco & leather added to red and black fruit. Very suave, especially on the finish. The group's wine of the night. 1994 Beringer Alluvium
Wine 6: Probably the most acid of the Cab/Cab blends, and actually seems to initially be a bit disjointed, though it knitted itself together with air. Still plenty of fruit but not in the same league as a few of the earlier wines. Very good, but not excellent. 1994 Estancia Meritage
Wish they still made these wines the same way. I also wish I had bought a bunch when most of them were $25 or less (the Mondavi being the very notable exception).