St. Clement
St. Clement 1999 Oroppas Red (Napa Valley)
- $50
What a complex nose on this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. The dominant aroma is a leathery, grilled meat scent, alongside charred oak. Blackberry tea and cherry flavors show up in the mouth, where it’s dry, with pure, soft tannins. It’s a bit disjointed now. A few years may bring things together.
— J.M.
(6/1/2002)
St. Clement 2002 Oroppas Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- $50
There’s tremendous flavor in this wine, with its depth charges of blackberries and jammy currants, cherries and spicy plums and spiced coffee. The tannins are wonderfully smooth and intricate. It could be a little firmer in acids, though, because it’s very soft and melted.
— S.H.
(12/15/2005)
St. Clement 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- $36
Here’s a big, lush Cab, appealing now for its jammy blackberry, cherry, currant and chocolate flavors. But the tannins make for an unsettled astringency that needs rich meats to cut through. Fine now with complex beef dishes, but better after 2010.
— S.H.
(3/1/2009)
St. Clement 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- $32
What’s odd about this wine is how tough and tannic it is for the vintage, when so many wineries made supple, approachable wines. Possibly the grapes were picked too early, in fear of rain. Framed in considerable oak, with a chewy core of blackberries, it’s a cellar candidate. Give it a good seven years to soften and sweeten.
— S.H.
(11/15/2002)
St. Clement 2001 Chardonnay (Napa Valley)
- $16
Textbook all the way. Well-ripened apples, pears and peaches, crisp, citrusy acids, and oaky wood are what you get in this clean, well-made wine. The texture is rich and creamy.
— S.H.
(6/1/2004)
St. Clement 2004 Star Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford)
- $80
A first bottle was obviously off. A second was better, although still lacking the complexity you want at this price. It was a young Cab, dry and tannic, with a core of cassis and cherries. A few years in the cellar should soften it.
— S.H.
(12/15/2007)
St. Clement 2005 Oroppas Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- $55
This bottling from Napa veteran St. Clement has been variable in recent years. The ’05 is similar to the ’02. It’s a likeable, elegant Cab that drinks well now. The cherry, blackberry, plum and mocha flavors are wrapped into rich, soft tannins.
— S.H.
(6/1/2008)
St. Clement 2005 Star Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford)
- $80
A bit earthy. One hundred percent new oak dominates the jammy black cherry, violet and herb flavors. Feels somewhat tired, even though it’s only three-plus years old.
— S.H.
(6/1/2009)
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