David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.3

Happy 50th birthday! I always ask what were you doing when you drink a wine this old.

I am told by my Somm buddy who brought this bottle, this is To Kalon fruit even though it is not listed on the label. Excellent fill line. 12% ABV. 👏👏👏

Color is brickish on the edges but the color inside is still beautiful & solid.

This is a wine not to decant or a short one and pour it out w/ 6 people. It does get better in the glass.

The fruit is old but still ripe; blackberries, black raspberries, baked strawberries, stewed plum/cranberries, baked rhubarb, almost watermelon notes, mid berry cola, steeped tea, dry crushed rocks, dry twig, dry tobacco, sandalwood to some cedar, light dark spice notes, dry herbaceous notes, pine bar, some tarriness, anise, dark forest, dry leaves, some v/a-bandaid, dry river stone, decade red, dark, florals, excellent acidity, great evolution, balance, still has tension, with elegance & smart polish that lasts a minute.

Bottle acquired recently from the winery. — 3 months ago

Val Mel

8.9

Enjoyed this cab with a friend. — 3 years ago

P A

8.9

A wonderful surprise on the scheduled closing of our slopes.
From a snow covered Fernie. Cheers 🥂⛷ — 4 years ago

Ira Schwartz

9.3

One more example of why I obsess over 1991 California cabs. Your nose is greeted with the whiff of an antique furniture store that soon gives way to red fruit, cedar and earth. The first thing you notice when you start to drink this gem is the vibrant acidity. The palate follows the nose only to be joined by slow resolving tannins. You cannot ask for a more graceful package. — 8 months ago

Val Mel

8.9

First time trying this red blend and I enjoyed it. Drank it chilled. — 3 years ago

Michelle Mondonedo

9.0

By itself, notes of cherry. Went well with the “holy shiitake” pizza from Mellow Mushroom, + rosemary lamb. — 5 years ago

Brandon Boesch

9.3

Tasting really nice. Side by side with the frogs leap. This was big fruit, cedar, leather, cocoa, and long finish. More fruit than the other. Tasting pretty good. — 9 months ago

Osasumwen omoruyi

9.6

Full body with refreshing notes. Lingering , smooth finish . — 9 months ago

DebTruskey

9.6

Very nice! I don’t usually enjoy white wines. But I did enjoy this one! — 3 years ago

Connor Smith

9.3

The first European grapes were planted in what is now the U.S. in the 1600s, where Spanish missionaries in New Mexico needed sacramental wine. But Phylloxera was ever-present near the eastern population centers, so the earliest American wine industries were built on hybrid grapes. Cincinnati's sparkling Catawba was America's first cult wine, followed by cultivars like Norton, Isabella, and Concord in Missouri and Virginia. The sleeping giant began to awaken in the 1850s, when Agoston Haraszthy began importing high-quality vine material to California.

It all came crashing down with Prohibition in 1920. Not only were vineyards ripped up and knowledge lost, but the American palate became soft and sweet. Low-quality fortified wine from whatever grapes were available became the standard of the American wine industry.

Things began to shift in the 1960s. Robert Mondavi brought dry table wine, varietally labeled, back to the forefront. Boutique producers like Ridge began to creep toward European quality standards. The 1976 Judgement of Paris blind tasting, a sweeping victory for the Americans, proved that the New World wine was here to stay.

(This is adapted from notes for Le Dû's Wines 'History of Wine 1453AD-Present' seminar, where this wine was poured) — 5 years ago