Reported by Natale Lofaro

This tasting was inspired, in part, by the 30th anniversary rematch tasting of the famous 1976 Paris Tasting. Unknown to the participants, I had thrown in a non-California wine in each flight, just to make things interesting.

Flight one. I can’t bring myself to write it. The Australian wine took flight one. Receiving a third of the votes was the Yalumba. Parker gave the wine 95! It exuded lots of dark chocolate and vanilla and crisp acidity, with many commenting on how well it would pair with food. Runner up was the Raymond Reserve (90% Cabernet) with lots of cassis, spice and cedar and beautiful balance between fruit and acidity. (PS. It was my favourite.)

Flight two. All big wines and all very close to each other in terms of ratings. The favourite was Shafer. This was big, 14.8% alcohol with loads of black fruit, spice, toasty oak, and very rich on the palate. Tied for second were the Duckhorn (my favourite) and the SuperTuscan Frescobaldi Mormoreto (interestingly again only 60% Cabernet).

The final flight evoked the most discussion. Although significantly less expensive than the rest of the flight, the favourite was the Napanook, second wine of Dominus. Three to one the crowd preferred NapaNook to Dominus. The wine was ripe, almost jammy, with loads of spice and cedar notes. Second place went to Ridge Montebello (my fav). To me this wine was all class—refined, elegant, with beautiful ripe berry, vanilla, and spice notes. It also had polished tannins and acidity that matched well to the fruit. That said, I liked the Napabook almost as much and what a great buy.

The Cheeses

Cracker Barrel old (cow) $7.99/540g CDA (Yup! Cracker Barrel!)
Woolwich goat cheese $6.99/454g CDA
Kerrygold Dunliner $7.49/400g IRE
Kaltbach Cave-Aged Gruyere $11.89/450g SWI
Grana Padano (cow) $16.99/kg ITA
Pecorino Crotonese (sheep) $27.99/kg ITA
Balderson 5 year old (cow) $16.99/500g CDA
Sardo Argentino (cow) $18.99/kg ARG
Manchego (sheep) $34.99/kg SPA

The Wines

Flight 1
Chateau Souverian, 2002, Alexander Valley (98% CS, 2% CF) $36.95
Raymond Reserve, 2001, Rutherford (90% CS, 8% CF, 2% M) (90 RP) $41.95
Yalumba, 2001, Barossa Valley (60% CS, 40% Shiraz) (95 RP) $44.95
Chimney Rock, 2001, Stags Leap District (M/CS/PV/CF) (91 WS) $79.00

Flight 2
Gallo Estate, 1997, Dry Creek Valley (100% CS) (94 WS) $89.95
Laurel Glen, 2000, Sonoma Mountain (100% CS) $78.95
Frescobaldi, 2001, IGT Tuscany (60% CS, 25% M, 15% CF) (90 RP) $59.95
Duckhorn, 2002, Napa Valley (84% CS, 16% M) (94 WS) 84.95
Shafer, 2002, Napa Valley (97% CS, 1% PV, 1% CF, 1% M) (91 RP) 78.95

Flight 3
Ridge Montebello, 2002, Santa Cruz Mountains (74% CS, 18% M, 8% PV) (94 RP) $175.00
NapaNook, 2002, Napa Valley (68% CS, 13% CF, 11% M, 7% PV, 1% Ma) (92 RP) $49.95
Chateau D’Issan, 2001, Margaux (70% CS, 30% M) (90 WS) $61.95
Dominus, 2002, Napa Valley (85% CS, 8% CF, 4% PV, 3% M) (96 RP) $108.95
Caymus Special Select, 2002, Napa Valley (100% CS) (96 RP) $159.95