March 29, 2007

MAWL Wines had a "high end"end "Cali Cab" tasting this evening. 8 wines and 9 people. I was only familiar with the Justin and the Cain. The rest were all new to me (which is not surprising).

David served a prime rib bruschetta, a grilled eggplant "pizza", stuffed mushrooms and a decadent chocolate cake for dessert. He is quite the "cook".

The wines served that evening were as follows:

2003 Kamen, Cabernet, Sonoma, $53
2004 Justin Isosceles, Paso Robles, $55
2004 Kolbalt, Cabernet, Napa. $95
2004 Arieta, Variation One, Hudson Vineyard, $100
2004 Kapcsandy Family Winery, State Lane Vineyard, Cab/Merlot, $120
2003 Cain Vineyard, Meritage, Spring Mountain, $105
2003 Pahlmeyer, Proprietary Red, 5 varietal Bordeaux Blend, $110
2002 Pride, Mountain Vineyard, Napa, Cabernet (this was brought by one of the attendees)

I was disappointed in the Justin. I liked the Kamen but was really impressed with the Kapcsandy. Deep rich color, dark fruit, a hint of chocolate and light toast, a tad of licorice. Extremely well balanced wine.

The nice thing about these high end tastings, is that I get to taste wines I would never have access to and cannot afford to buy, but I do get the very enjoyable experience of tasting them