TN: Interesting wines from the last few weeks

Caymus Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 1990. This is a good, aged California Cabernet. It is brick colored with slight signs of its age around the edge of the glbutt. It has a nose of red and black cherry, which follows through with a very fruity front and middle pallet. It is an elegantly styled wine, which still has good structure and hints of tannin on the finish. While this wine has aged very nicely, it lacks the complexity of a great Cabernet Sauvignon. My rating 85.

Ravenswood, Pebreaste Sirah, Sonoma, 2002 This is one of the most appealing young Pebreaste Sirahs I have tasted. It has gobs of forward concentrated fruit with flavors of black cherry, black berry, and oak. The nose has black cherry with hints of smoke and pepper. The wine is very well structured with a long astringent finish. I think this is a very good young Pebreaste Sirah, and considering the price, $18, and outstanding value. My rating 90. Note that this wine is currently available at $11.70 to members of the Ravenswood wine clubs, which is a really outstanding value.

1997 Hetszolo, Tokaji Aszu, 3 Puttonyos, This wine was medium golden color and had a nose of orange and apricots, with favors of orange, honey and apricots on the palette, medium acid and a long fruity finish. This is a nice desert wine, although initially it was a little lighter in style. I left it in the refrigerator for 4 or 5 days, and it seemed to develop more body, and take on flavors of honey apricots, suggesting that it would improve with aging. I bought this wine several years ago for around $10-500ml, which makes it a good value. My rating 85.

1990 Ridge Vineyards, California, Geyserville The color was dark purple with hints of brick around the edge. The nose was a little closed when first opened, but after a few minutes it showed rich aromas of raspberry and strawberry with a hint of oak. The palette had flavors of cherry, raspberry and strawberry with high acidity and a strong dose of tannins on the astringent finish. This wine is a blend of 64% Zinfandel, 18% Pettie Sirah, 18% Carignan. It still tastes surprisingly youthful for a 14 year old Zinfandel. I suspect the Pettie Sirah adds to the wine's backbone. This is a very nice aged Zinfandel. I still have 2 more bottles of this, which I think can easily keep for a number years, although I'm not sure it is really improving. My rating 90. ------------------------------------ Mike's Wine Blog