Sept. 20, 2007 - Napa Valley Sub-Appellation Cabernet Sauvignon Taste-Off

The September cabernet taste-off of Napa Valley sub-appellations proved quite interesting, with some expected and some unexpected results. Those of us who are Stags Leap District (SLD) fans weren't surprised that the top two wines were from that sub-appellation. However, to most people's surprise, most of the mountain wines faired poorly - perhaps because of their youth. The winner by a wide margin was the 2004 Shafer One Point Five, SLD, followed by the 2003 Hartwell, SLD. While the sub-appellation comparisons were interesting, some of the variations were undoubtedly the result of wineries' stylistic differences. The complete results:

1. 2004 Shafer, One Point Five, SLD (6 firsts, 1 second, 0 thirds, 1 fourth, 28 points)
2. 2003 Hartwell, SLD (3/1/3/0, 21 points)
3. 2004 Revana, St. Helena (1/3/0/5, 18 points)
4. 2004 Von Strasser, Diamond Mountain (1/2/1/1, 13 points)
5. 2003 Flora Springs, Rutherford Hillside Reserve, Rutherford (0/1/2/1, 8 points)
6. 2004 Ehlers Estate, 1886, St. Helena (0/0/2/3, 7 points)
7. 2003 Sherwin Family, Spring Mountain (0/2/0/0, 6 points)
8. 2004 St. Clement, Steinhauer Ranch, Howell Mountain (0/0/3/0, 6 points)
9. 2004 Piedra Hill, Purple Label, Howell Mountain (0/1/0/0, 3 points)
10. (Tie) 2003 Hess Collection, Mount Veeder, and
2002 Pine Ridge, Oakville (0/0/0/0, 0 points)