With all of the debate I've been in, and talk about the top 100, I decided to pop this open and see if it lives up to it's new #2 seat....

Dark purple color. Strong nose of wood, dark cherry, and lavender eminate from the glass. This has a powerful bouquet, and smells tight. Firm dark fruit flavors on the palate...dark plum and dark dirty cherry, heavy on the oak, firm but well integrated tannins, moderate to strong acid, and a bit of a eucalyptus taste that has seemed to burn off after a couple hours of decanting. Tastes more like a Bordeaux than a CA meritage, but with a touch more glycerin than Bordeaux's typically have. Nice long finish. Very compelling wine. Not my favorite, but it's very well made for this high of production. This and the Insignia amaze me when it comes to quality and quantity. I'd give it 94 pts. solid....maybe 95 later on down the road with some age. This doesn't have the Chocolaty flavors I loved so much with the '97, but I think it has a better aging potential.

Happy tasting...

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

Have you ever had a wine "with some age?"

Just one more sip.

B-O...

You were doing good there for a while, but I suspected you couldn't go long without saying something....

To answer your question....yes, many times....

'74 Ridge Monte Bello a few times
'88 Ridge Monte Bello a couple times
'67 Petrus twice
'79 Petrus twice
'76 BV GDL once
'80 BV GDL twice
'88 BV GDL once
'67 Pio Cesare Barolo once
'76 Los Alamos Cabernet twice
'91 Staglin Family
'91 Caymus 3 times
'92 Caymus 3 times
'94 Caymus twice
'86 Dunn Napa
'etc.
'etc.
'etc.

I personally like to taste wine at all stages. You cannot learn how wines will develop without tasting them young, middleaged, and mature. This is how you learn. I take it that you simply take the critics word for it and drink it however many years down the road without ever having tried one in it's beginning stages? Exactly how do you purchase your wine? Do you ever taste it first, or do you simply take others word's as well enough for you to buy now and drink later?

And...once again...why do you care so much, about how I drink my wines? I'm really not doing anything all that novel. All of the wine critics taste wines on release, and as they progress. I simply agree with the way they do it. I personally don't like to stock my cellar with wine that I have never tried.

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

Would it be safe to assume you have been drinking Monte Bello since 1976 and Petrus since 1969?

--------------------
"One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."

Marcel Ayme`

Would it be safe to assume that you two are very strangely interested in me and what I do with my wine?

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

We're not interested in you. We just think you're funny. How was that '74 Montebello in '76?

Just one more sip.

B-O...

I answered your question, but you never answered mine. I truly am curious....

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

DRAB

Thanks for your tasting notes. I appreciate them. As a "lurker" and a newbie who has yet to post a tasting note, I appreciate people like you who will taste a wine and give a recommendation either "pro" or "con."

I have no idea what any of the conversation between you and Board-o and the other guy is about, but I do want you to know that other people are reading those comments and I, for one, do not enjoy them. I think they are juvenille at best.

BUT--I do appreciate your post, and wanted you to know it. Sometimes I think people carry on these little snide side conversations because they think this is some sort of private chat room instead of a very public message board. Anyway--just my thoughts. As I said, I appreciated your post, especially given the new status of this wine. I would buy some, but I doubt I can find it and/or afford it.

Who is this "Dummies" guy and why are all these books written for him?

You know, I was 10 or 11 when 74 Ridge Monte Bello came out. And we had it all the time.

Dad had this big dodge van, and he was friends with someone who worked at Ridge. He'd drive up there and pick up a bunch of cases and drive them around to local liquer stores and restraunts. He didn't do it all the time, just when they had more orders than would fit in the trunk of the old toyota they usually delivered in.

They'd throw in a case for him, and he also got to keep any returns or over stock he wanted. The only tasting note I can remember from the wine young, was I liked it better than moms jug Almaden.

Paul paul@hockeyguy.com

Wow! My dad was a supervisor for the United States Post Office, back in the days the system was reliable and reasonably priced. All he delivered was mail.

Cheers!
And remember: Life's too short to drink bad wine.

So is this wine a buy at $60.00. Sounds like it is to me.

Good point LG. Back on track here I hope.

themoc25 - Thank you for the kind words. I enjoy both reading others TN's and posting my own. I don't plan on stopping either. I think it's a helpful thing for all of us to have TN's out there. This is relatively peaceful conversation compared to other threads/TN's. I won't get in to it for sake of not starting any more negative commentary.

Lakersguy - Yes...it's a buy at $60

Riddler - Yes...I think we are back on track here...

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

Dear themoc,

Since you admittedly do not know what the other guy is talking about, I too consider it juvenile for you to judge what is obviously a post that is poking a little fun at DRAB. I think even he understands it was not an attack. It is merely a comment from me on DRAB's obvious and repeated statements of his preference for drinking wines without what many would consider proper aging. Perhaps you should not comment on what others say if you do not know the history of the posters involved.

I am also very aware this is a public board. Perhaps more than you.

I trust my comments were not too snide for you.

It is a shame that you do not enjoy them.

It's also too bad.

--------------------
"One may dislike carrots, spinach, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes, since each is equally indispensable."

Marcel Ayme`

I'm probably in the minority who have enjoyed these wines when they were 89-91 pt range $25-30 wines (94-95), and when they became $60-70 92-94 pt range wines. But the 99, well lauded by Laube, is $80.00 here and I just can't pull the trigger.

Dr. DRAB may be right. I might try a stab at one.

Problem is the 99 Krachers are arriving this weekend and I haven't paid for them yet.Decisions. Decisions.

Dr. T....

If you have to fork out $80, I'd say put your money elsewhere. It's a very nice wine...like I said 94-95 pts., and for $56-60. Anymore than that is pushing the limit for me. I'm not a huge fan of CSJ in the first place. I do like this wine, but there are many of others I think I would rather have in my cellar. That is just my personal opinion. Good luck....

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

FYI...

I finished the bottle off tonight (1 day later) and it tastes virtually identical to last night. No change at all! Very weird. Still young, tight, rich, and good.

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

DRAB: I may have missed something, but do you think this wine is worthy of the #2 ranking?

Just two years ago the '96 CSJCC was WOTY and went for $28.00. Two years later the '99 is #2 and goes for $70.00, more than twice what it was just two short years ago. I'm all for capitalism, but this is rediculous, especially considering that CSJ's production costs were probably flat between then and now. At some point pricing becomes predatory. To me, CSJ's pricing reflects poorly on their character. But, at bottom, I believe in free choice and capitalism and, so, choose both to speak my mind and to pass.

Cheers!

MG

Just curious...how does the '99 compare to the '96 and '97? Those were both exceptional vintages.

Praise the Lord, pass the ammunition.

GMTinJAPAN.....

I don't know...If you think a 94-95 pt. wine at $60 is worth the #2 ranking, then it wins! I personally don't feel like it should be in the top 5, but that's just me. I think this CSJ is a very good wine, but considering what else was released this year?? And with WS heralding '97 Brunello as the "BEST EVER", and giving a 96 pt. rating to CA cab.? I think there are more worthy choices for the coveted #1-5, but I suppose this wine could very well be justified considering it's price and production.....

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

DRAB-No offense, I'm just confused. You're not a CSJ fan but you loved the '97, paid $60+/- for the '99. Why are you buying these if not a fan & how many do you own??

I take full credit for relieving the tension in this thread with my stupid story, on topic or not :-)

I'm curious though DRAB, I know you taste a lot of Cali Cabs, What would your top 5 for the year be and how would the CSJ CC fit in?

Paul paul@hockeyguy.com

Here's how I see it.....

BobbyJ-

There is no doubt it is a well made wine, and worthy of a high score. I wouldn't say I loved the '97 (If I did earlier...correction...I liked it a lot). I like the '97 better than the '99 for drinking now/short term, and I think the '99 is much more worthy of long term cellaring. However...while I realize this is a very good wine, I'm still not a big fan. It's like saying that Mercedes is an icredibly well made car, but I just don't see myself buying one....not my style. I can see why others like Mercedes, and I would personally rate it one of the best cars in the world...I'm just not a personal fan. Does that make sense? As far as my own collection of CSJ...I don't have any. I bought 2 '97's on release and drank both. I skipped '98 and bought one '99 to see if I might want to cellar some of those. Buying one or two is like taking a test drive of this year's new 500SL...buying a 6 pack or case, is like purchasing the 500SL. I don't mind a test drive now and then, I'm just not ready to purchase. It just hasn't pushed me to the point where I'm racing out the door to grab them while they are there....there's other stuff I'm looking for right now.

Tlily...as far as me saying what I think should be in the top 10...?????....I don't know. I know what I've tried, but I suspect many of the years best are attainable only for a high price. I can't speculate without trying everything...but I know that I've had most of the published top ten, and certainly don't think they exhibit/warrant the "most exciting" wines of '02. The Brunellos should be there. They all definitely warrant the most bang for the buck for '02, but not an overall best, or most exciting. Unless price really tosses your salad! I still think the argument some are posting, saying..."Well...if you want the best wines, just line up the best scores", is pretty lame. I don't think any of us that were unhappy with this year's list want a mindless print out of the highest scores. I'd want an editorial menagiare of what the best wines really are. Within similar scores...separate out the best wines, and even let the "wow" factor have a proper say. If Guigals CDP really was a mindblowing thing for that kind of production and for that region, and to offer it at that price...fine...rank it high on the list regardless if it's numerical score. This is the kind of list I would want to see. Not a spin on the 100 best QPR wines. Like some others have said...Phelps Insignia (94 pts. $86), Paul Hobbs (93 pts. $55), etc...didn't even make the list!!!

-DRAB

So much wine.....so little time!!!

DRAB,

Actually I was just after your personal top 5 list, whatever criteria. Figured you taste about 10x the Cab I do.

I can promise that if I put $100 bottle of cab in my cart next time at the Wine Club, "DRAB said it's good", will go over a whole lot better than "WS gave it a 94", with Stef.

Paul paul@hockeyguy.com