I always enjoy finding ‘88s as it’s my birth year, and while it wasn’t the greatest vintage in most places, there have been some surprises, like this one.
I’ve been fortunate to try many ‘88 Napa cabs, but I think this is my first Alexander Valley cab. 84 cab/16 cab franc. Opened alongside an ‘88 Diamond Creek RRT, this displayed darker and sweeter fruit. Great faded dark ruby color. Fruit was still very much alive (though I felt like it faded an hour later)…mostly brambly black cherry, pipe tobacco and a distinctly old Cali kiss of sweet red fruit at the finish. The ‘88 Diamond Creek RRT was (not surprisingly) more Bordeaux-like with the red fruit core, mushroom and red clay profile. I found the Clos du Bois AV to have more tannin and the Diamond Creek had more acidity. Fun comparison.
I always enjoy finding ‘88s as it’s my birth year, and while it wasn’t the greatest vintage in most places, there have been some surprises, like this one.
I’ve been fortunate to try many ‘88 Napa cabs, but I think this is my first Alexander Valley cab. 84 cab/16 cab franc. Opened alongside an ‘88 Diamond Creek RRT, this displayed darker and sweeter fruit. Great faded dark ruby color. Fruit was still very much alive (though I felt like it faded an hour later)…mostly brambly black cherry, pipe tobacco and a distinctly old Cali kiss of sweet red fruit at the finish. The ‘88 Diamond Creek RRT was (not surprisingly) more Bordeaux-like with the red fruit core, mushroom and red clay profile. I found the Clos du Bois AV to have more tannin and the Diamond Creek had more acidity. Fun comparison.
Aug 20th, 2022
Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA
