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1999 NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON VINTAGE RATES GOOD TO EXCELLENT The 1999 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon vintage rates good to excellent based on my tasting of more than two-dozen wines provided by the Rutherford Dust Society at their annual meeting on July 31, 2002, and tasting other Napa Valley Cabernet-based wines on their release. The Rutherford Appellation (Napa Valley) was established in 1993. The Rutherford Dust Society was formed in 1994 “…to encourage and promote the highest quality standards in grape growing and winemaking in the Rutherford Viticultural Areas, and gain recognition for these grape and wine qualities through education of our membership and the general public.” The appellation is 6.6 square miles with 3,298 planted acres. The membership includes 31 wineries and 75 growers. Overall, 1999 is a moderately tannic vintage in which the wines possess good concentration of fruit and should soften with a few years of bottle age to yield smoother, more complex wines showcasing the fruit. This is a wonderful vintage for the consumer to search out those wines that are most agreeable to their palate since there is a large range of very good wines to choose from. Although it may be premature to compare the 1999 vintage to others of that decade, one can say with certainty that it's not in the same league with 1991, 1994 and 1997, the three best vintages of the 1990’s. However, it is definitely better than 1998, and may eclipse 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1995, although it may take two or three years to make a final judgment on the vintage. The following are my favorite wines of the tasting. Some are reviewed in detail under Wine Reviews. All are 1999 vintage and Rutherford Appellation. Some will not be released until September /October 2002. (*My favorites of the favorites.) Sequoia Grove Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $55 *Galleron Cabernet Sauvignon, Morisoli Vineyard, $100 Neibaum-Coppola Cask Cabernet, $65 *Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $100 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Clone 6, $130 Frank Family Vineyards Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, $65 Trinchero Mario’s Reserve Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, $30 Quintessa, $100 (75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc) Frog’s Leap, Rutherford, $65 (65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Cabernet Franc) Flora Springs Winery & Vineyards Trilogy, $60 (48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec) Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, $33 Livingston-Moffett Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Moffett Vineyard, $55 Tuck Beckstoffer Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford) 8/6/02 |
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