Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 1 (Napa Valley) 2004*

As a young wine drinker, I cut my teeth on Louis M Martini wines. Their inexpensive but tasty and reliable Barbera and Zinfandels were staples on my table in the mid-1980s, while their Monte Rosso Cabernet was an occasional treat. In an earlier blog post, however, I remarked that I had given up on Martini sometime in the early 1990s. The great old wine family simply hadn’t kept up with the times. Their wines tasted tired and old fashioned. Somebody at Martini noticed that post and, the next thing I knew, a half case of assorted Martini wines from recent vintages had arrived for my review. This is the first of the bunch.

My wife and I went to The Palm for dinner tonight, taking along the Lot 1. I love The Palm, despite the kitschy caricatures. It’s got that classic old steakhouse feel. Plus, you get some serious old Hollywood players from time to time. We were a couple of tables away from Robert Evans tonight, who looks ... shall we say well preserved? ... but had a striking young trophy gal with him nonetheless. One of the things I love about The Palm is that Evans didn’t get any better service than we did. Our waitress waived the corkage charge (which I just added back into her tip), to cite but one example of how well we were treated. Anyway, Helen had the lamb chops and I went with a NY strip, which was superb.

The Lot 1 Cabernet is a micro-wine made under Michael Martini’s personal supervision. In this vintage, less than 1000 cases were bottled. The fruit is sourced from long time Martini vineyards and the wine is aged in new French oak. The injection of Gallo money when they bought Martini back in 2002 (if memory serves) has clearly paid off.

This is a very fine example of high quality, modern style Napa Cabernet. (It’s even got the extra heavy over-sized glass bottle that seems to have become de rigueur for flashy wines.) Forward fruit, plenty of toasty oak, lots of alcohol, and soft tannins. Cassis, blackberries, black cherry, toast, chocolate, and espresso. I doubt whether it will prove as age-worthy as, say, the famous 1974 Martini Cabernet. Even so, it is a yummy wine to drink now with grilled beef or lamb. A steakhouse wine, if I ever met one, which was right at home.

Grade: A-