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1994 Chateau Souverain Alexander Valley Cabernet

We were invited to a party of winos last night so I rummaged around in the cellar for a big bottle that needed drinking and I found a 3 litre of Chateau Souverain 1994 Alexander Valley Cab. I bought the bottle at the winery on release and carried it on the plane with me back to Ohio (the good old days). The wine was still dark purple in color. Nose of cassis and blackberries. The wine was medium bodied, well balanced with the typical 1994 ripe fruit component and a nice acidity. The tannins were somewhat resolved but still had a little grip. Flavors of wild blackberries, black currant and fig with a black pepper finish. The bottle was finsihed in no time and none went to waste. Couldn't ask for more from a big bottle.

Reply to
Bi!!
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I paid less than $100 for the bottle at the winery so no great loss if it had been corked.

Reply to
Bi!!

Nice note, Bill. This was from the time when Souverain offered pretty good QPR and (to my taste) good winemaking. Alas, those days are gone.

Mark Lipton

Reply to
Mark Lipton

The wine was "prototypica"l of both the 1994 harvest and what the winemakers were doing in California at the time. They let the fruit shine without getting it so ripe and concentrated that it hid any individuality. That seemed to change by 1996 and by 1997 we were getting super-ripe fruit bombs.

Reply to
Bi!!

Yep. I kick-started my Alexander Valley habit with early '90s Souverain and Estancia. At the time you could buy them for under $10.

I visited Souverain in '98 or so, and none of their later vintages were anything to write home about.

JJ

Reply to
jj

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