A wonderful tasting was held at Taverna Pelligrini in Orinda. Nearly all of the members turned out for this tasting of the acclaimed 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon vintage. The general consensus was that most of the wines were excellent as was the accompanying substantial antipasto appetizer and the separately served pasta and meat courses. Dessert was a chocolate brownie.
The top rated wine was bottle #6, the 2013 J. Davies Diamond Mountain District Cabernet Sauvignon (14.5% alc.).
Here’s what the professional critics had to say about this wine:
- 91 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Davies exhibits floral and black and red currant notes, background oak and earth, medium to full body, beautiful purity and a harmonious, well-balanced mouthfeel and length. Tannins are well integrated and the wine drinkable now as well as lasting and evolving for another 15 or more years. (RP). (12/2015).
- 93 points Vinous: “The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon J. Davies is soft, juicy and open-knit, with soft contours, juicy fruit and terrific overall balance. Raspberry jam, spices and wild flowers all flesh out in the glass. The addition of 11% Malbec and 4% Petit Verdot gives the J. Davies an extra kick of mid-palate juiciness and overall intensity. Here, too, the style is ripe and racy to the core, with all the elements in the right place. (AG)” (10/2015).
- 93 points Wine Spectator: “Combines a dense, intense core of loamy earth, black licorice, anise and savory blackberry with a measure of finesse and charm. Never loses focus or stops being chewy, ending with a long, full finish. (JL)” (11/2016) – K&L Wines – $90.00
For the complete rankings and wine descriptions, please view this link:
2017-02-11-2013-cabernet-sauvignon-tasting-results
Besides the main tasting wines, we had 6 excellent pretaste wines:
Co-hosts Indra & Diane:
Co-hosts Chris & Mignone (left) with other members
TASTING ANNOUNCEMENT
Indra, Diane, Chris and Mignone will be our hosts for a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon tasting in Orinda on Saturday, February 11th. Cabernet is a big, bold wine so bring your loved ones for a special Valentine’s Day tasting with good friends, good wine and good food. The tasting will start as usual at 6:00 at Taverna Pellegrini, 65 Moraga Way in Orinda with a fabulous pre tasting that will include some special wines from the private collections of our hosts. Pellegrini is a 4 minute walk from the Orinda BART station and there is free parking at the Theatre Square parking structure a block away if you are unable to find street parking.
The 2013 Napa Valley Cabernets are getting rave reviews by industry experts and has been described by many as “an epic vintage” so our focus will be Napa and Sonoma. One writer, in comparing this vintage to the much lauded 2012 Napa cabs, writes, “the 2013s, on the other hand, are racy, viscerally thrilling wines of the highest level. Interestingly, despite a second year of drought conditions, yields were normal to high, but the flavor and structure profile vis-à-vis 2012 is very different. The 2013s boast deep, inky, Petite Sirah-like color and intense blue/purple/black fruit along with exotic citrus and spice overtones. Quite surprisingly, yields were pretty much in line with 2012 for most properties. But the composition of the bunches was completely different. In 2012, we saw bunches with fewer but larger berries, one of the factors that, along with high yields, explains why some wines show signs of dilution. In 2013 clusters tended to have more berries, but smaller berries.”
The menu will be buffet style in Pellegrini’s warm and lovely dining room with fritto misto, chicken involtini, roast leg of lamb and grilled salmon as highlight. The food will not take second billing to the grape juice on this night. The cost of the dinner is set at $50/pp and the tasting fee still TBD, in the usual $45 range. The restaurant has capacity for 30 of us and this will be a single pour, limited to 24 tastings inclusive of guests so you should RSVP ASAP!
Cellar Society of San Francisco 