Cellar Management

Pick My Next Bottle – 1995 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

The May Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened this Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published shortly thereafter.

1995 was one of the many exceptional vintages in the 1990’s. Everyone has their favorite but 1995 is right up there with ’91, ’94 and ’97 by most accounts. 21 years from vintage only the most age worthy wines are still showing well. I think it is high time to revisit some of my favorites.

The Contenders:

1995 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon –  The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits an opaque blue/black/purple color, followed by sweet cassis aromas intermingled with scents of earth, spice, smoke, and grilled meats. This dense, powerful, muscular, concentrated wine provides an enormous mouthfeel. Wineries need more than luck to produce multi-dimensional wines with this concentration, ripeness, sweetness of fruit, and overall intensity and complexity. 94 points from the Wine Advocate.

1995 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – The 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain is similar in all respects to the Napa Valley, but somewhat heavier in the mouth, with an aggressive tannic bite, and more length. It possesses mineral-tinged blackberry and cassis fruit, massive body, and extraordinary purity and length. It should not be touched for 12-15 years. It will undoubtedly live through the first half of the next century. 96 points from the Wine Advocate.

1995 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – This is another winery where the 1995 may be as strong as the 1994. The color is an opaque purple. The wine is full-bodied and powerful, with classic notes of cassis intermixed with loamy soil scents, underbrush, and spice. There is massive body and elevated, but sweet tannin that is well-integrated with the wine’s other components, a blockbuster mid-palate, and a finish that lasts for 30+ seconds. Anticipated maturity: 2000-2025. Modern-day society seems to always be in search of new stars, but this winery has been a super hero for great California Cabernet Sauvignon for nearly 25 years! Montelena’s Estate Cabernet Sauvignons are equivalent to buying blue chip stock. They get better and better with age and as the vertical tastings I have attended so persuasively attest, they are still relatively young wines at 20 years of age! 94 points from the Wine Advocate.

Which 1995 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Should I Open?

  • 1995 Dunn Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (38%, 21 Votes)
  • 1995 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon (31%, 17 Votes)
  • 1995 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (31%, 17 Votes)

Total Voters: 55

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Thanks for voting! I’d love to see a comment below on why you picked one bottle over another. Also, please do let me know if you have any suggestions for the June installment of Pick My Next Bottle.

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7 thoughts on “Pick My Next Bottle – 1995 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

  1. 1995 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is my pick. This one is certainly ready to go. Had the 1999 last year and it was in prime drinking condition. Cheers!

  2. A few years ago drank thru a case of 1994 thru 1997. Interested to see how the 1995 is currently drinking! Also just had a 2003 last week that was disappointing – was hard to tell if it was closed and just not that complex

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