A few years ago, this beloved label met its demise and huge amounts of them were dumped on the discount market. I tried basically all of them–the prices were unbelievable–and found most of them not aging gracefully. I recommended–to those of us who message each other about such findings–to purchase ONLY those with the highest amount of Cab you could find. This wine solidifies that advice, and at 22 years old–and 78%–it is gracious and believable. I should have bought more, but the disappointment many of its sisters and brothers reflected made me a bit gun-shy.
Brownish vermouth-rouge in the glass, the core an impenetrable ruddy maroon. Beautiful spicy berry fills the nose, the tertiary actually subdued around astonishing fresh cherry and chalky mineral. Still, bits of beautiful tobacco and leather churn out, petrichor and savory influences thick and heady around the ripe fruit.
Yes, it is probably at peak. Asking this wine–with its questionable provenance–to go much further would be a risk, however–as I often say–wines with good storage showing this kind of balance CAN prove nearly timeless. It’s thick and concentrated, gracing the tongue with piquantly sultry items only restrained–and well-made–Napa Cabernet can express. Bits of tar and eucalyptus–minty and decadent–flit across the palate, dusty theatre seat and curry-comb quantifying these expressions with umami’d, fourth-dimensional aplomb. Tannins are a slight bitter glimpse, and the finish reflects a definite fading of fruit, but still: this is fairly gorgeous stuff.
2000 YORK CREEK VINEYARDS Meritage Cab/ME/CF/PV 78/11/7/4 Spring Mt. District Napa Valley 13.5
Unbelievably, a visit shows the website still active with LOTS of bottles for sale (including this one)–ALL 40 bucks/pop. Not sure how accurate it is, but I will be swooping in on some of those single-vyd cabs.
Stephen McConnell 