For our annual kick off Cabernet tasting in January 2004, we sampled from the mid-1990s; California was blessed with great weather and a wonderful run of good harvests through the early and mid-1990s. We tried a mix of wines…some from famous wineries with great reputations, some from great wineries without the fame of the other wineries, and some that offer really good value for money.  
Wineries with reputations for great wines included Beaulieu (Georges De Latour, 1994 Napa), and Chateau Montelana (the 1995, from Napa). Beaulieu went through a bad period but, under new ownership, has been returning to the quality which caused it to be ranked among the greatest wineries in California. Chateau Montelana has been making its wines more approachable at an early age, of late, but the 1995 is a classic Montelana, meant to be drunk for decades. Though eclipsed by trendy wines, these two producers are still among the finest in the United States.
 
Lesser lights, but not necessarily lesser wines are Chapplet (1996), from Napa, and Clos Du Bois (1995) from the Alexander Valley in Sonoma. Chapplet is one of the good producers that does not get the publicity that the quality of its wines deserve, and Clos Du Bois is a middle of the road producer whose wines sometimes surprise the critics with their price-quality ratio. To complement these wines, we had two from a much-maligned winery, E & J Gallo. Gallo has spent huge amounts of money to upgrade its wines and its image, but public perception has only slowly come around, and mostly regarding chardonnays and zinfandels. The cabernets, except for the expensive Northern Sonoma Cabernet, have not won the following that other lesser wineries have for their cabernets. We were pleasantly surprised by the Gallo cabernets, the Frei Ranch, Russian River Valley, 1995, and the Family Selection, Alexander Valley, 1995.

 
To round off the evening, we tasted the Huntington, Napa, 1995, and Napa Ridge, Napa, 1996. Huntington is a producer without a winery. Although the company has ongoing contracts for grapes, with specific growers, its wines are produced in high-end Sonoma wineries. Their cabernets have won a number of silver and bronze medals in competitions, and have been well received by critics. This is a winery to watch.
 
Our speaker, as it is for this event every year, was the very informative Cabernet expert, John Tait, from Vintages.