Cabernet Lovers of New
York City

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.northsquareny.com/#http://www.northsquareny.com/">North Square</a>

103 Waverly Place, New
York, NY 10011

Tel. +1 (212) 254-1200

Wine:

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 1995 &nbsp;
 </td>
 <td>
 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain
 </td>
 <td>
 ?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve
 </td>
 <td>
 88
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1994
 </td>
 <td>
 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1997
 </td>
 <td>
 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon
 </td>
 <td>
 98
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Verite La Joie
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001 
 </td>
 <td>
 BOND Vecina
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2001
 </td>
 <td>
 Abreu Madrona Ranch
 </td>
 <td>
 98
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2010 
 </td>
 <td>
 Maybach Cabernet Sauvignon Materium
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2007
 </td>
 <td>
 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2006
 </td>
 <td>
 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon T6
 </td>
 <td>
 97
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2007
 </td>
 <td>
 Schrader Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon T6
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2009
 </td>
 <td>
 Rivers-Marie Cabernet Sauvignon Roberto Corona Vineyard
 </td>
 <td>
 93</td></tr></tbody></table>Food: 

Lobster and Crab Cakes

Grilled Pork Rib Chop

Chocolate Mousse Cake

I was thrilled to join the Cabernet Lovers of New York City
earlier this year for a casual, informal dinner with some of our favorite Napa
Valley Cabernets. For the most part, the wines showed brilliantly, and highlighted
the diversity Napa Valley is capable of.

North Square, which is located in the Washington Square Hotel in
Greenwich Village, did a great job with our dinner, even though wine was the
clear focus. The menu was beautifully prepared, with simple yet pure flavors
that allowed the wines to shine.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1382712231205-CLONYCCover+-+vinous.jpg"> Staglin’s 1995 Cabernet
Sauvignon was the first memorable wine of the night. Totally graceful and
silky on the palate, it graced the palate with a super-classic if somewhat Left
Bank-inflected array of tobacco, cedar and graphite before brightening up a bit
in the glass with plum and raspberry notes. Overall, the 1995 delivered a great
performance for a wine that is close to being fully mature. The 1995 is a great
choice for drinking today.

Sadly, our bottle of Dunn’s 1995
Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain was corked. We had better luck with the 1995 Lewis Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, a wine built on serious depth,
concentration and textural richness. A showy pliant Cabernet, I have no doubt
the 1995 was more attractive when it was younger. I didn’t quite find the
subtlety or complexity I expect in an 18 year old Napa Valley Cabernet
Sauvignon, but the competition was pretty intense on this night.

Two Cabernets from Philip Togni, both from my cellar, were
simply extraordinary. The 1994 Cabernet
Sauvignon was a model of total finesse and class. Grilled herbs, smoke,
tobacco and new leather led to a core of richly layered, delineated fruit.
Togni’s 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon
presented a pretty similar profile, but with more textural richness and volume
and fewer of the savory notes found in the 1994. Most people preferred the
1997, and I have to agree. The 1994 would have been the best wine on the table
virtually in any other dinner, but then the 1997 arrived and conquered the
heart, intellect and palate with its superb balance and overall sense of
harmony. What a wine!

Verite’s 1999 La Joie,
a Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend mostly from Sonoma, showed well, especially
in this context, mostly for its textural silkiness and balance. Sweet tobacco
and expressive red fruits lingered on the close. The 2001 BOND Vecina was
totally vivid and alive, with a kaleidoscope of dark, earthy aromas and
flavors. Smoke, tar, licorice and dark red fruit all swirled around the glass
in a young, powerful wine that will drink well for another decade. Abreu’s 2001 Madrona Ranch took us into the
stratosphere with its super-expressive dark red fruit, floral aromatics and
stunning overall balance. There are few Napa Valley Cabernets I would rather drink
than those of David Abreu and Brad Grimes. I have been lucky to have the 2001 a
number of times. It has never been anything less than stellar.

I was very happy to have another chance to taste Maybach’s 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Materium, which
was impressive from barrel, but much less interesting in finished form, either
because it was still recovering from bottling or just the victim of a bad cork.
Regardless, on this night, the 2010 Materium impressed with an exciting melange
of dark, mineral-inflected fruit. Sweet spiced notes, lavender and pencil
shavings linger on the tense, pulsating finish. Sadly, we had an off bottle of
Celia Welch’s 2007 Corra Cabernet Sauvignon. It happens.

Schrader’s 2006 and 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To
Kalon T6, also from my cellar, were showstoppers. I preferred the 2006 for
its explosive, vibrant personality, sumptuous fruit and exceptional pedigree.
The 2006 was flat-out breathtaking. Wow. The 2007, on the other hand, was
voluptuous, racy and exotic, with seamless, silky tannins and fabulous balance.
I found it a bit heavy next to the 2006, but that is splitting hairs at this
level. I also adored the 2009 Rivers-Marie
Cabernet Sauvignon Roberto Corona
Vineyard, from Thomas Rivers Brown (who also makes Maybach and Schrader) a
wine that has been beautiful since the very beginning. It was once again
stellar on this night, with endless layers of fruit and a generous, resonant
personality that makes for great near and medium-term drinking.

I would like to thank the Cabernet Lovers of New York City and
Mike Pobega in particular for organizing this fabulous dinner. Wine can be such
a positive force of connectivity among people, as it was once again on this
evening.

-- Antonio Galloni

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