Last nights meeting of our Denver wine group was held at the residence of Mr an Mrs Ben the Wine Berg. Thank you for the generous serving of wines and for graciously hosting the event.

Ben started the evening with a group of Rieslings. Among them were a 2001 JJ Prum Spatlese and a 1999 Trimbach Alsace Riesling. I forgot to write down the specifics on these wines and on a few others Ben put out. Please help if any others have the info. The Trimbach had a steely character with wonderful mineral and crisp fruit. The Prum was incredible with huge fruit, ample sweetness, subtle stone and a grand lengthy finish.

The main event was our tasting of ‘97 Cal Cabs. Nine wines were tasted, seven were ‘97 Cal Cabs with two ringers thrown in. In general, the collective palate awarded wines displaying generous oak. The top three always seem to inspire controversy among winos, but had a good show of things on this evening. From last to first the wines follow.


1999 L’Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This was one of the two ringers, simply out done by the ‘97 monsters. It displayed good fruit of currants, cherry, also with bits of licorice. One of the tasters made note of a metallic finish.

1997 Merryvale Beckstoffer Vineyard Selection

The Beckstoffer garnered one first place vote. The nose was huge showing fruit and herbal qualities. Well balanced and perhaps the most prominent fruit of the evening. Berries came in waves clear through to the lengthy finish. Some complained of excessive tannins.

1997 Cab Franc (sorry I didn’t get the label)

The second ringer found one first place vote. Good spice at the attack, but followed with a soft middle before finding oak on the finish.

1997Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Generations

Candied apple, raspberry fruit picking up wood into a lengthy finish. A solid wine but did not inspire enough to attract a first place vote.

1997 Arrowood Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Réserve Spéciale

Complex and vibrant with mocha, coffee, hazelnut, vanilla cinnamon and black cherry fruit. Freethegrapes had this as his clear cut favorite of the evening.

1997 Elan Cabernet Sauvignon Atlas Peak

This wine found either great favor or great dislike. I was in the latter category. I found the middle thin, with diminished fruit and a bit of rubber in the taste. Others found a delectable earthy quality with mushrooms and great viscosity.

1997 Silver Oak Napa Valley

This wine finished third for the evening capturing one WOTN vote. The American oak is special in this wine. Espresso, mocha, chocolate with brooding dark fruit. One taster even picked up a hint of pineapple. Nicely complex, this was my runner up WOTN.

1997 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville

Two first place votes, including mine. The strong showing here was the surprise of the evening. This is a very large wine with mint, menthol, dark fruit, chocolate and distinctive spice. A beauty and I’m darned glad I have a few in the cellar.

1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve (WOTN)

Three first place votes. Accolades for this wine reached far beyond the normal wine descriptors. Dark fruit, herbs, raspberries, tobacco, mocha, caramel, and vanilla hedonistically engulf the palate prior to the long finish. One detractor thought it gratuitously oaked. But most found it just fine.

[This message was edited by Sideshow on Feb 23, 2003 at 05:06 PM.]

[This message was edited by Sideshow on Feb 23, 2003 at 05:08 PM.]

I almost forgot the unveiling of the Arbor Mist Strawberry White Zinfandel with "Born On" date of January 17, 2003.

Many were critical of this fine piece of marketing wonder, using descriptors like puke and poison.

I found a wonderful scent of Bazooka bubble gum. The wine carried a bit of magic as well, transporting me back to the mid sixties with AM radio playing a tune by the Archies. "Sugar!, du du du du du.. Oh honey, honey".

It brought a tear in the eye, a wee bit of nostalgia and now, greatly showing my age.

OK, so it was late and I had consumed plenty.

Thanks again to Mr and Mrs Ben for hosting the event, and pouring so many wines. Like sideshow I neglected to take notes early in the evening (a chronic shortcoming), and am blanking on the vineyard that produced the Napa Sangiovese we also enjoyed courtesy of mbansek before the "Main Event."

Any additions to sideshow's notes are probably pointless since by the end of the evening when the wines were revealed, I know I put one of two wrong wine names beneath my blind notes. I can fill in the blank on the Cab Franc however, which was a Santa Ynez Winery product that I placed along with the group as #7 of the nine.

Added thanks to Ben for breaking out an assortment of grappas at the end of the evening. He offered an interesting tasting of grappas from several different grapes but again, without the names, I'll allow our host to comment on them directly. A typically wonderful evening!!

Thanks again to the Mr & Mrs Ben The Wine Berg for being such gracious hosts. Ben The Wine Berg is a dangerous man, running about and opening everything in sight! We sampled nine wines formally, but I am fairly certain that he opened twice that just for the hell of it!

Sideshow, thanks for the notes. I only add a few things. I was surprised that the Arrowood didn't garner more votes, as I thought it one of the best cabs I've tasted in recent memory. Just a beautiful wine. I was somewhat surprised by the strong showing by the Silver Oak, as it is a favorite punching bag on these forums. Finally, I was surprised by the BV finishing first. I couldn't get past the wood on this one, but maybe I tasted it at a different point in its evolution that night.

Ultimately they were all overshadowed by the beautifully complex Strawberry Arbor Mist. Thanks to mbansek for sharing such a cellar treasure!

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I can't sleep...the clowns will eat me!

I'll chime in with another thanks to Ben and his wife for hosting. Ben, I like your style but you are an evil, evil man. With all the fun Rieslings and whites to start, the nine main course wines and the jet fuel masquerading as Grappa to end, I had a great time. I did, however, miss the best snowboarding day of the year Sunday (since I couldn't quite get myself out of bed in time). Two feet of fresh powder.

Indeed a great evening, and Yael and I feel so welcomed by the group (only our second event). I had no idea there were so many wine studs in Denver.

I'd like to fill in the gaps in the wine inventory, especially on the Rieslings and one Gewurtz:

1989 Domaine Schlumberger Gewurtztraminer Cuvee Christine (WS87)
1995 Trimbach Riesling Cuvee Frederick Emile (WS93)
1996 Dr. H. Thanisch (VDP) Riesling Auslese M-S-R Berncasteler Doctor (WS92)
2001 J & HA Strub Riesling Spatlese Niersteiner Paterberg (RP92)
2001 JJ Prum Riesling Spatlese Wehlenuhr Sonnenuhr (WS96)

Everyone thought the JJ Prum was spectacular. I think '01 is a great year for German Riesling, and both varieties we tried were outstanding, but the JJ Prum was special, steely and sweet, firm and unctuous all at the same time, just breathtaking. I can't wait to taste it in ten years, if I can stop myself from drinking all my bottles by August. I also very much liked the sole Auslese we tried, from another good year. The sole Gewurtz was fun but intensely tropical to my taste, spicy and redolent with papaya.

After the whites and the reds (the one thing I remember about the Cabs was that every one fairly glistened with glycerin. All of them were good, some were great), we finished with some Yalumba Muscat Rutherglen Museum Release (WS94) and four varieties of Germain-Robin whole-fruit grappas, what I think are the finest grappas in the world, made in Ukiah, California by an obsessed group of small-batch distillers.

Can't wait for the next one, I'll try to limit myself to bringing one wine. Maybe.

A day without wine is like a year in the desert sucking on my own toes so as not to die from thirst.