1999 California Cabernet Retrospective Notes

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A blind tasting of 44 wines finds many have aged well in their first decade

The 1999 California Cabernet vintage was a great success when it was realeased, delivering many of that decade's best wines. Now 10 years old, the top Cabernets of that harvest have, for the most part, aged the way wine lovers who cellared them hoped they would; time has worked to their advantage.

The wines reflected the benefits of the year's long, moderate growing season and small crop, which allowed vintners to monitor the grapes and pick at ideal ripeness. Hot weather gives Cabernet its ripe flavors. But it is the cooler years that allow the grapes to hang on the vine longer and ripen evenly, and often it's the cooler years that age the best.

Read the full report on the 1999 California Cabernet Retrospective.

Wine	Score	Release Price
Altamura Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	95	$60
Bond Melbury Napa Valley 1999	86	$150
Bond Vecina Napa Valley 1999	92	$150
Bryant Family Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	83	$200
Buoncristiani Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	92	$52
Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Benchland Select 1999	89	$90
Carter Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Fortuna Block 1999	94	$55
Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Pritchard Hill Estate Vineyard 1999	95	$110
Chappellet Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Signature 1999	88	$42
Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County Reserve 1999	89	$90
Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District 1999	82	$45
Chimney Rock Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Reserve 1999	87	$90
Chimney Rock Elevage Stags Leap District 1999	84	$60
Colgin Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Herb Lamb Vineyard 1999	87	$165
Conn Creek Anthology Napa Valley 1999	86	$55
D.R. Stephens Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Moose Valley Vineyard 1999	86	$75
Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	92	$62
Dominus Estate Napa Valley 1999	88	$109
Ferrari-Carano Trésor Sonoma County 1999	82	$45
Harlan Estate Napa Valley 1999	87	$250
Hartwell Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Hartwell Estate 1999	88	$100
Joseph Phelps Insignia Napa Valley 1999	91	$125
Justin Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles 1999	86	$23
Justin Isosceles Paso Robles 1999	92	$48
Kathryn Kennedy Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains 1999	81	$135
Montallegro Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains 1999	86	$60
Mount Veeder Reserve Napa Valley 1999	87	$80
Provenance Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 1999	91	$35
Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley To Kalon Vineyard Reserve 1999	92	$150
Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District Hillside Select 1999	94	$150
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	87	$100
Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 1999	87	$60
Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	81	$35
Silverado Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Limited Reserve 1999	90	$95
Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 1999	92	$80
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Cask 23 1999	86	$150
Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford 1999	88	$85
Swanson Alexis Napa Valley 1999	86	$50
Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Peterson Family Vineyard 1999	87	$60
Viader Napa Valley 1999	90	$75
Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Private Stock 16 Rows 1999	89	$125
Vine Cliff Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 1999	87	$75
Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Reserve 1999	88	$65
Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Leonardini Vineyard 1999	91	$85

A blind tasting of 44 wines finds many have aged well in their first decade

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