From the archive: California Cabernet 2011 panel tasting results

Decanter's experts give their verdict on California Cabernet from the 2011 vintage...

Originally published in Decanter magazine's February 2015 issue and now available online and in full for Premium members

• 118 wines tasted with four rated Outstanding

• The panel tasters were: Romain Bourger, Stephen Brook & Angela Mount

The sheer number of high-scoring wines proves 2011 is not a write off, and with large-scale producers eclipsing more prestigious estates, there is great value to be found, says Stephen Brook…

The panel was surprised when the results were disclosed that half of the Outstandings were, by Napa standards, high-volume wines offered at modest prices. But the surprise was a pleasant one. It shows that consumers don’t have to pay extortionate prices for fine Californian Cabernet.

It also indicates that some larger wineries, like Beringer and J Lohr, are at an advantage in a tricky vintage as they can select the best fruit from their own vineyards and from those that supply them on a contract basis. Looking back at my notes from previous vintages, I’ve always scored the Napa Cabs from Beringer and Black Stallion very positively in blind tastings. The wineries do a good job and offer good value.

By contrast, the two other Outstandings are high-priced: Insignia from Phelps, made in substantial volumes yet always a benchmark for sumptuous and structured Napa Cabernet; and Hartwell, a much smaller property, but with vineyards in Stags Leap District. In the past its wines have been patchy, with excellent bottles alongside more effortful wines. With this Reserve it has hit the bullseye.

Given the very high number of Highly Recommended wines, in itself a tribute to the vintage, it’s hard to draw firm conclusions. The panel admired big Napa reds like Darioush, Pahlmeyer, Quintessa, Groth and the three from Robert Craig, but gave comparable scores to more elegant, restrained styles such as the wines from Spottswoode, Mondavi’s To Kalon Reserve and Chimney Rock.

Nor were all the top wines from Napa. J Lohr’s Hilltop Cabernet comes from its 800ha in Paso Robles; by California standards it’s not expensive and it’s wonderful to see such quality spread across over 17,000 cases (Lohr’s Napa Cab also excelled).

Sonoma didn’t impress, though there were a few very good wines from Alexander Valley, always a prime spot for ripe Cabernet. Ridge’s Monte Bello often fails to shine in its extreme youth, but will no doubt blossom with bottle age.

One might have expected a stronger showing from stalwarts like Spring Mountain Estate, Diamond Creek and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. Not that they fared badly, but were outgunned by many less prestigious names.

Undoubtedly the character of 2011 will have played a large part in these less-than-consistent results. It’s a vintage any French grower, accustomed to slow ripening and regular rot, would have handled without complaint, but Napa producers are less used to such conditions and more likely to panic. And some vineyards may have suffered simply by being in the wrong place. But the very high average scores suggest this is not a vintage to reject, though it is one in which to select.

Quick link: See all of Decanter’s California Cabernet 2011 tasting notes & scores

The scores

118 wines tasted

Entry criteria: Producers and UK agents were invited to submit Californian Cabernets from the 2011 vintage. A maximum three wines per producer were permitted and wines had to be a minimum of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon

Exceptional 0

Outstanding 4

Highly Recommended 35

Recommended 69

Commended 0

Fair 10

Poor 0

Faulty 0

The results

This atypically cool vintage, beset by rain, rot and major issues with ripeness, was not optimal by any means, but our experts were still impressed with the quality on offer.

Angela Mount said freshness in the wines, due to the cool vintage conditions, was a boon for European palates. ‘We often accuse Californian Cabernets of being too showy, crafted and groomed with intense alcohols and high sugars. The fact this is a lighter vintage in both concentration and alcohol will appeal to those looking for elegance,’ she said.

While the wines were lacking ripeness, Stephen Brook conceded that your enjoyment of them depended on your tolerance for herbaceousness: ‘None were undrinkable, but I feel that US drinkers will not like these.’

Romain Bourger noted: ‘These Californian wines are probably riper than many Bordeaux vintages, which Europeans are more used to.’

Looking around the regions, Sonoma bore the brunt of criticism, with a number of faulty first bottles and the worst of the unripe characters, though Brook said Alexander Valley was the best of its sub-regions. Hoping for more highlights, our experts said Paso Robles offered some ‘easy, fleshy wines but nothing of great substance’.

The generic Californian wines were praised – the residual sugar for which these wines are often criticised were tamed thanks to the cool vintage. ‘I was expecting to score lower here,’ said Mount, ‘but the wines at this level were balanced and of a really good standard, offering great value in 2011.’

All the tasters said that despite expecting to give their highest scores to Napa’s sub-regional AVAs, they gave their highest scores to the generic Napa wines, the majority of entries.

‘Again, they weren’t typical of the high alcohols and voluptuous fruit you’d expect, but that leafiness was very welcome,’ said Brook.

Mount said in the best wines, the word ‘freshness’ might be a more apt term than ‘leafiness’, ‘herbaceousness’ or ‘greenness’, and it was clear that in the best wines the winemakers worked hard to get the most out of a tricky vintage.

‘The fruit was still ripe and plush, but it had a fresher style. They were much more balanced than the in-your-face wines we are used to from Napa,’ she said.

However, Brook said that the wines at the ‘lightest, freshest’ end of the spectrum were hard to assess, as the judges needed to determine if they were ‘elegant and refined or merely lacking some stuffing and typicity’.

Oak was another bone of contention. Bourger felt that the ‘spicy, toasty, cedar wood tones’ masked the fruit in many wines. By contrast, alcohol levels were unusually praised.

‘I’m a fierce critic of excessive alcohol and it really wasn’t much of an issue,’ said Brook. ‘Normally I find about 10% of Californian wines undrinkable, but here even those at 14.8% had the alcohol perfectly integrated into the fruit.’

Sub-regions

Looking at sub-regional AVAs, while many were high-scoring, none of the tasters found them superior to the generic Napa bottlings.

‘An AVA isn’t a guarantee of quality, just a guarantee of origin,’ said Brook, who found Spring Mountain ‘disappointing’. The experts deemed Mt Veeder the best of the bunch, with Stags Leap, St Helena and Oakville showing potential but needing time.

Drinking

Our judges advised broaching the lighter-style generic California or Napa wines now and the bigger, more tannic examples in a few years, expecting them to drink well into the next decade. ‘This is one of the most accessible Californian Cabernet vintages I’ve tasted, and it should not be ignored,’ said Brook. ‘It’s certainly a vintage where you have to select carefully – you can’t assume everything is going to be equally good – but it’s not as dire as many people have said.’

Mount said 2011 was a perfect vintage for those who normally avoid Californian Cabernet because of its blockbuster style, though the prices may still put off many.

There’s no doubt this is an atypical vintage, but it’s by no means a bad one, says Stephen Brook, who likens the wines’ herbal notes and restraint with good Bordeaux…

Soon after this vintage was released in the US, I was talking to some American colleagues. One said: ‘I’m really looking forward to tasting the 2011s. It’s a cool vintage that should deliver some really elegant Cabernets.’ Another said: ‘It’s going to be hard work tasting the 2011s. There are just too many green, hard wines coming out of the North Coast.’

Now that the wines are on the market, it appears both predictions were right. 2011 was certainly cool – even cooler than 2010. Flowering was problematic and led to uneven ripening, but good work in the vineyard could minimise that.

The summer across the North Coast was cool and damp, and the weather was almost as bad further south in Paso Robles, another major Cabernet zone. Early October saw heavy rain, and botrytis was widespread.

Even though yields were low, much of the Cabernet fruit never reached optimal ripeness (at least by Californian standards), but the forecast was poor. Many growers rushed to pick, maybe hoping to compensate for any underripeness by deft practices in the winery such as tannin additions. Others decided to wait but found they had to cope with rot, and soon realised the continuing cool conditions were making further ripening unlikely.

So in terms of grape sugars, the 2011 vintage is not that different from a good vintage in Bordeaux. Californian winemakers, and perhaps consumers too, require more than grape sugars that will convert into alcohols between 13.5% and 14%. They want phenolic ripeness too, to minimise any greenness that may derive from immature skins and seeds.

Individual preference

There’s no denying that many wines in this vintage, whatever their regional origin, do show some herbaceousness. The extent to which that enhances rather than mars the overall quality and pleasure of the wine will be an individual judgement.

The same character can be found, for example, in Cabernets from Coonawarra or Margaret River, yet they are widely admired styles. British and other European wine lovers will probably appreciate the elegance, discretion and balance of the best of these wines; others will miss the brash fruitiness and the fleshy texture of a super-ripe Cal Cab.

It’s a vintage that left many of America’s top critics confused. Eric Asimov of the New York Times, no fan of the blockbuster style of Napa Cabernet, said he and his fellow tasters found wines with ‘odd combinations: tart yet sweet and oaky, tannic yet unstructured, herbal yet with alcohol. Luckily, we found more that we liked.’

This confirms 2011 is an atypical vintage, and not what most admirers of Napa Cabernet (at least North American ones) want. It’s surely the case that Cabernet grapes in northern California yearn for maximum ripeness. No winemaker deliberately aims to make wines that are angular or unbalanced. California Cabernet is a wine for hedonists; 2011 is not a hedonistic year.

Yet the wines are not as skinny and mean as their detractors claim. And perhaps not as elegant (a compliment in Europe, less so in California) as their admirers claim. It is also safe to say that 2011, in its climatic conditions, is not a vintage that many growers will want to experience again.

It has ignited more discussions on stylistic issues, which is never a bad thing, but most winemakers and consumers will turn with relief to more classically ripe and opulent vintages, such as 2013, that lie ahead.

California Cabernet: know your vintages

2013 Could be a classic year, as small berries gave tannic, powerful wines.

2012 In contrast to 2010 and 2011, a trouble-free vintage with many lush, forward wines that may lack structure.

2011 A wet June and October led to delayed ripening, much rot and a late harvest. But by no means disastrous.

2010 A cool year, but the best wines are appetising and show restraint and finesse, and will age well.

2009 Mid-October rain marred the harvest, but growers who picked before the downpours had very fine Cabernets.

2008 A good year, but not every wine succeeds. Selection required. The best are very concentrated.

2007 A leisurely harvest. Very ripe wines from what is turning out to be a classic vintage, especially in Napa and Sonoma.

2006 Not a consistent year, so careful selection required. Moderate sugars and firm tannins. Wines range from mediocre to very good.

2005 Stylish, fine-tuned Cabernets, and with little of the dilution associated with a very large crop. Powerful wines from Paso Robles.

California Cabernet: the facts

Area under vine 34,000ha

Principal regions Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Alexander Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles

Annual production 450,000 tonnes

Top scoring California Cabernets from the panel tasting:

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