Vintage Retrospective: 1991 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
BY STEPHEN TANZER |
My tasting of the 1991 Napa Valley Cabernets this spring brought decidedly mixed results. A handful of wines were truly spectacular and full of life, but I was struck by the notion that, at just over a quarter-century old, there was very little middle ground: wines were either in full flower, capable of going on for years, or in decline.
Virtually every horizontal tasting of Napa Valley Cabernets that I’ve carried out in recent years has left me convinced that it’s a shame to drink most of these wines before they reach their tenth birthday. Only then are the wines beginning to mellow and to gain bottle bouquet, developing complex tertiary aromas while still retaining a full measure of their formidable California fruit. In fact, in many instances ten-year-old wines from the best producers seem barely beginning to unfold. On the other hand, my experience with a number of extensive vertical tastings of California Cabernets and Bordeaux blends has demonstrated that by the time these wines reach age 25 or so, tasting them can be an adventure, and a high percentage of them are in decline. There’s nothing magical about the 10-to-25-year window but I still recommend it as the optimum time frame for enjoying the overwhelming majority of serious California Cabernet-based wines. (For wines that last longer than that – and in some cases substantially longer – there tend to be some obvious explanations, such as superior terroir and viticultural practices, controlled yields and careful sorting of the fruit, and error-free vinification and élevage.)
Mayacamas Cellar
Decidedly Mixed Luck with the ‘91s
In the past few years I have published reports on the following vintages of Napa Valley Cabernet on Vinous: 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004, 1997, 1995 and 1994. But in none of these tastings were the wines more than 20 years of age. So my tasting of 1991s at Napa Valley Vintners in St. Helena in March, at age 26.5, represented the oldest batch of Napa Cabernets I have sampled en masse.
My tasting of the 1991 Napa Valley Cabernets this spring brought decidedly mixed results. A handful of wines were truly spectacular and full of life, but I was struck by the notion that, at just over a quarter-century old, there was very little middle ground: wines were either in full flower, capable of going on for years, or in decline.
