K&L Saturday Tasting: California Cabernet 2008/09/13

Year	Wine	Price	Rating
2005	Castle Rock Reserve Cabernet, Napa Valley ripe, plum, tea leaf, simple, slight bitter tar finish - so - ws	15.99	**
2005	Tenacity SWRA Red, Oakville oak, chalky, plum, blackberry, chocolate, hint of licorice, pleasant, proceeds go to fund a campagne to allow wine retailers to freely ship wines across state borderlines. - so - ws	19.99	***
1993	Burgess Vintage Selection Cabernet, Napa Valley bbq smoke, hint of mushroom, blackberr, thin med body, med finish, reasonably well aged - so - ws	29.99	***½
2001	Mayacamus Cabernet, Mount Veeder-Napa Valley blueberry, chalky, sour plum, med body, long finish - so - ws	64.99	***½
2005	Ridge Cabernet, Santa Cruz Mountains blackberry, hint of meat in herbs, tight, elegant nose, tea leaves, full body, long long finish. One of the best non-Montebello Ridge cabs. Supposedly larger proportions of Montebello fruit was used in this blend. - so - ws	34.99	****
2005	Lancaster Estate Cabernet, Alexander Valley smoky grilled bell pepper, nutty, licorice, super long finis but with a slight hollow feeling - so - ws	59.99	****½
2004	Petit Batard Cabernet, Napa Valley old room dusty aroma, dark plum, dark chocolate, jammy sweet in the palate - so - ws	27.99	***½
2005	Wolf Family Phaedrus, Napa Valley pomegranate, guava, jammy, concentrated, herbs, long finish, different - so - ws	3.5	n/a
2005	Nickel & Nickel Sullenger Vineyard Cabernet, Oakville Eucalyptus, blackberry, very chalky, astringent, hint of earth, med to full body, long finish, closed - so - ws	79.99	****
2005	Continuum, Oakville 58% cabernet, 23% cab franc, 19% petit verdot. Tim Mondavi's new wine brand after leaving Robert Mondavi. Chocolate, violet, pencil lead, plum, chalky, very well balanced, elegant, have an almost Stags Leap like silky-ness. Lacking a strong finish, a 5-star wine otherwise. - so - ws	129.00	****½