Cult/Near-Cult Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux-Style Blends, January 15, 2009

The 2001 Shafer Hillside Select was the clear winner of our January 15 tasting of cult and near-cult California cabernet sauvignons and blends. The wines, in general, lived up to their reputations and were outstanding across the board, with every wine getting at least one vote. The tasting turned up one outstanding value - the 2006 Honig, a ringer which finished fourth despite being priced well below the other wines at $32. Interestingly, the three oldest wines in the group finished at the bottom of the rankings. The complete results, along with the critics' scores, are listed below.

1. 2001 Shafer, Hillside Select (WS 95, WA 99) (4 firsts, 1 second, 0 thirds, 1 fourth, 20 points)
2. 2003 Robert Foley, Claret (WS 95, WA 96) (2/1/2/2, 17 points)
3. 2002 Spottswoode (WS 90, WA 97) (1/2/1/0, 12 points)
4. 2006 Honig (ringer, WS NR, WA NR) (1/1/1/2, 11 points)
5. 2004 Harlan, The Maiden (WS NR, WA 95) (1/1/1/1, 10 points)
6. 2001 Hourglass (WS NR, WA 95) (0/2/0/1, 7 points)
7. 2002 Vineyard 29, Aida (WS NR, WA 95) (0/1/1/0, 5 points)
8. 1999 Araujo (WS 97, WA 95) (0/0/2/0, 4 points)
9. 1999 Colgin, Cariad (WS 92, WA 91) (0/0/1/1, 3 points)
10. 1995 Lokoya, Rutherford (WS 97, WA 94) (0/0/0/1, 1 point)