California Cabernets
WHENEVER A California Cabernet scores well in a tasting, East Coast wine pundits dismiss the results as a fluke. Bordeaux wines, of course, are the best, they say. Such snobbery was evident in a 1976 incident. In the Spurrier Paris tasting that year, Stag’s Leap 1973 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon triumphed over Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion, both of Bordeaux. Gallic champions made all kinds of excuses, but when the competition was restaged 10 years later, California still prevailed. Yet, prejudiced naysayers continue to doubt the ability of California Cabernets to age gracefully.
But a recent tasting in Glendora of 41 Cabernets from the ’75 vintage, plus one from Washington state and another from Bordeaux, confirmed the mettle of California Cabernets. Sixteen of the wines averaged scores of 17 out of a possible 20 or better, all well beyond the 13.6 score of the highly acclaimed Mouton-Rothschild 1975.
The big winner? Sonoma Valley’s Chateau St. Jean 1975 Glen Ellen Vineyard, an absolutely glorious wine, scoring 19.5, with beguiling scents of roses and violets rising from a tapestry of tastes suggesting luscious black currants. On release in 1979, it sold for $7.50. Wine merchants who still have some sell it for $40 or more. Richard Arrowood’s Chateau St. Jean 1975 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon also scored high, along with Caymus, a trio from Diamond Creek, Burgess Cellars, Ridge York Creek, Villa Mt. Eden, Veedercrest, St. Clement, Stag’s Leap and Spring Mountain’s Les Trois Cuvee. All now sell for at least five times their original price.
Today’s Cabernet market has equally good options for collectors. My wine-appreciation classes recently gave top ranking to Arrowood’s Chateau St. Jean 1986 Alexander Valley Cabernet ($20). They also favored the Benziger Glen Ellen 1986 Cabernet ($17.50). Another--the 1986 Arrowood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon ($20)--would grace your shopping list. Arrowood, a former wine maker at Chateau St. Jean, is now devoting nearly all his time to his own winery, just a hoot ‘n a holler from Chateau St. Jean, where he will continue to be a consultant.