Cabernet Sauvignon	1991	Forman

11/97. Bought in New York Apr-95 for $37.
My first taste of this Napa wine. I am not proud of the fact that my experience with american wines is so limited. Decided to delve into my modest stash of California bottles and picked up this bottle to take to an excellent though not fancy Jerusalem grill-rich restaurant.
COLOR: Very dark purple red. Almost black and opaque. Almost no clearing towards the rim. Plenty of sediment at the bottom.
NOSE: Immense! Gobs of rounded black forest-fruit jump from the glass. Deep and complex nose with noticeable (but not overwhelming) wood elements. We opened the bottle 30 minutes ahead and the more it breathed the more forward and enticing the nose became. Beautiful!
TASTE: Hefty wine on the palate. Extremely rich and concentrated. Black and red fruit with vanilla and licorice tones. Mouthfilling, and very tasty in spite of some still-a-bit-harsh tannins. Concentrated and tasty as the wine is, I did find it a bit one-dimensional.
LENGTH: The finish feels hot in the mouth. Medium long and savory aftertaste.
TEXTURE & BALANCE: Huge wine. Chewy and viscous to the point of being food rather than drink. Prominently visible 'legs' too. As 'american' as any Cal Cab I've tasted, though much better than most. Plenty of fruit and almost too much winyness. Could use a bit more acidity but otherwise finely balanced. Tannins still abound. This wine has a lot of presence yet a lot in reserve. Impressive!
OVERALL: Superb! A great example of what Cal Cab can be. Given some more years I have no doubt it will become extraordinary wine.
MARK: 18/20.aaaaaaaaBUY MORE? Yes.

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Jacob "Yak" Shaya.