Mid 90s CaliCab & Pizza night

Last night I had a few friends over for CaliCabs and pizza.
1986 Inglenook Cask Cabernet – what great old brick color for such a matured wine. Some reductiveness on the nose. The palate has a bit of dried fruits, some middle and a slightly boosted alcohol level. There were some secondary’s of tar, soy and leather. I am not the biggest fan of old wines but I can surely see what would attract some to this. A textbook 80s era Cab.Thanks Michael for bringing.
1994 Shafer Cabernet Napa – If I was missing fruit in the Inglenook, I found it here. This was dark crimson. The nose had some deep stewed dark fruits of black cherry and plums. It was a little disjointed initially with the finish showing some heat, but after an hour this was surely firing on all cylinders. The fruits got a bit glossier and fresher. The heat became a bit tamer as well….Very nice. There was currant, and kirsch now in attendance. I really enjoyed the evolution of this one. A nice bottle. Thanks to Greg and Monica for this one.
1996 Corison Cabernet Napa – Here comes the reductiveness again. The nose had a touch of this particular quality that I am no fan of. This wine has some elegance and some balance, but there was something I could not quite put my finger on. I have never really been a fan of Corisons wines and I guess I may never be one. T had some red and dark fruits with some great mouth feel, but the alcohol was a bit elevated and the finish hot because of it. This is one I wish I had revisited after an hour as Greg said it had come together nicely.

My loose theme was older and mid 90s Cabs but f my theme, I need a manly wine. (I took the 96 Clos Pagase out of the rotation)
2005 Karl Lawrence Cabernet Napa – Here we go: big brooding and tight as a ducks ass in spring. Some decanted time and I was vigorously swirling, and the palate showed some dark plums, sweet cassis, black cherries, and blackberry. Oddly the nose never really screamed Cabernet, but a Cali Syrah: there was white pepper and steamed meat! It didn’t detract, and it surely added interest. This had a pure clean and surety of Cabernet in the mouth though…hmmmm? After about an hour this was starting to show a bit fuller and plusher. I love wines like this but I won’t revisit until 2012 and beyond. I just picked these up two weeks back and will get more.
Here’s where the theme goes totally pear shaped:
Cali Syrah time.
2003 Pride Syrah – Great dark color with the nose being a bit subdued and closed and not as expressive as my last, as this is now my last bottle. Mike has a few so maybe I can experience again soon. Some dried fruits and black pepper, this was a good partner to the pizza hitting the table at the time. It had the nice pure blueberries I enjoy with some soy and pomegranate. It seemed I was a bit busy with the pies and this was GONE in a heartbeat. I so wanted more. I have my suspicions….
2002 Kuleto Cab Napa served blind. The usual crowd pleaser. No notes but easy to find on this blog.