Cronin Cab blind tasting 1/15/09

This was a RossBott tasting. 8 people, 8 wines. We tasted blind and individually ranked them. The rankings are compiled and tallied, yielding a group score, ranking and a spread. The score is 1 point for each 1st place vote, 2 for 2nd and so on down to 8 for 8th, so the lower the score the better. The spread shows the number of votes for the following rankings: 1st/2nd/3rd/last. Oh, and I took notes on the aromas of all the wines, then tasted, then sometimes added additional notes as they evolved.

A) A touch of orange in the hue.
Nose - warm, cedary, mature, whole wheat toast.
Tart cherry, mature, black olives, light fruit, smooth. 87 pts
Later: improving - showing a heavenly light nose of cedar, iodine, tea. Like if McHenry made a Cab. Make that 89 pts. My #4
Group #4, 0/1/1/0, 32 pts.
'98 Merlot (San Ysidro)

B) Nose - deep, hint of frosting, olive, VA.
Sweetish, stinky, olive, red plum, simple expression. 83 pts. My #6
Group #6, 1/0/1/1, 44 pts
'85 Robinson Vyd. Cab(65%)/Merlot(35%) (Stag's Leap)

C) Nose - lighter, cedary, Ridge Monte Bello-like.
Dark, tobacco, cedar, a tad bitter on the finish, with some iodine. '94 SCM? 90 pts. My #2
Group #7, 0/1/0/2, 48 pts
'96 Santa Cruz Mountains
(The two crackheads who ranked this last really sank this.)

D) Hue - hint of orange, less than A.
Nose - white flowers, hint of frosting, light.
Very tart, olive, frosting, touch of char, comes off a wee bit sickly. The '83? 81 pts. My #7
Group #5, 1/2/1/1, 35 pts.
'83 Napa (Robinson Vyd., but doesn't say so on the label)

E) Nose - green cocktail pimento stuffed olives, musty, bitters.
Round, cedary, fairly tart, light fruit, olives on the finish.
Declining. 84 pts. My #5
Group #8, 0/0/0/3, 52 pts.
'86 Shaw and Cronin Cuvee Cab/Merlot(14%)

F) Nose - spicy, SCM-like, rich, sweetish.
Younger, intense, iodine, cedar, a bit savory. Very nice. '96 SCM? 91 pts. My #1
Group #2, 1/3/2/0, 25 pts.
'94 Santa Cruz Mountains

G) Nose - flat, a bit oxidized, olive, cherry.
Dry, dusty, green olive, sweetish finish. Tastes okay, but aroma is off-putting. Would be better with food. 78 pts. My #8
Group #3, 2/1/1/1, 30 pts.
'90 Concerto (Stag's Leap)

H) Nose - warm, deep, straight forward, a bit soft.
Young, cedary, tobacco, could be SCM, olive and Brie. Young Robinson? 88 pts. at first, improving to 90 pts. My #3
Group #1, 3/0/2/0, 22 pts.
'93 Concerto (Stag's Leap)