Upon further review, I’m even more enamored of the big 2003 reds from the Napa Valley than I realized. Come to think of it, the 2003 Flora Springs Trilogy (a Cabernet-based red Bordeaux blend) was the Best of Show Red Wine at the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition last spring. It’s merely the finest Trilogy in years (in a close call, for the 2002 Trilogy was mighty fine, too).
What’s more, it narrowly edged the 2003 Flora Springs Cabernet Sauvignon for top honors among reds at the ’06 Challenge. Not a bad one-two punch from Flora Springs considering some in the wine journalism profession have declared Napa Valley’s ’03 vintage somewhat lacking.
And lest you forget, all of the judges with a say in the outcome of the Critics Challenge are experienced and admired on a global scale. And many are regular contributors to WRO. Of course, they judged these wines long before they discovered they’re not supposed to like them. Had they only known . . .
Now, as I consider which wine will get my personal nod for Wine of the Year, I can only say I tasted a few of the contenders last week during a quick spin through the Napa Valley. Duckhorn Vineyards has at least two, and then there’s the superb Spottswoode Estate Cabernet.
Throw in the Phelps Insignia, the Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet, the BV ‘Georges de Latour’ (clearly the best in years in the opinion of Mary Ewing-Mulligan and myself), Caymus Special Selection, Franciscan ‘Magnificat,’ Hess ‘Mountain Cuvee,’ the Kuleto Syrah, the Terra Valentine Weurtle Vineyard Cab, et al, and a fair-minded person inclined to cast a vote for a Napa Valley red has plenty of options.
These are all 90-point plus Napa Valley wines that have recently been reviewed by the crew here at WRO. There are many more 90-point-plus wines from the same vintage in our archives.
Oh, there’s one more thing. The aforementioned wines are all products of the 2003 vintage. To misquote Mae West, when the Napa Valley has a good vintage, it’s really good — but when it’s “bad” it’s sometimes better!
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