TNs: A very Berserker 30th birthday

A 30th birthday party for a fellow Berserker. This was a party, not a structured tasting, so take all the below with a grain of salt. The birthday boy was definitely far better preserved than these bottles, which seemed to be past peak pretty much across the board. Sourcing for these was mostly secondary market, but a mix of sources.

1985 Château Lynch-Bages - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac (3/8/2015)
Red fruit, lots of cedar, some graphite. More complex than the Napa cabs on the table; this stood out in a good way. Still, not super fresh - this is starting to dry out / sour a bit on the finish, and I’d be drinking up. Purchased at retail from Zachys but I’m not convinced it was the most pristine bottle.

1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon The Montelena Estate - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/8/2015)
Something went wrong here. Chemical, volatile. Turpentine. Yikes.

1985 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux Le Mont - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (3/8/2015)
What a weird wine. I’ve had old Huet before but not quite like this. Rare wine co library release. Piercing, shriekingly shrill acid, with almost all the sweetness digested and, oddly, almost all the fruit faded. There’s just a hint of quince/tea chenin-ness, a whiff of burnt sugar, and then this crazy, mouthwatering acid. Given how fatigued my palate was, this was actually sort of a interesting cleanser in the way that lemon sorbet is soothing in the middle of an 8 course meal, but this was completely unsuited for dessert - really would go best as an aperitif, especially given how light it is. Others at the table thought this was simply over the hill.

1985 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain (3/8/2015)
Opened as a backup due to the dud-a-palooza. Some palate fatigue by this point. Fine, not nearly as good or fresh as a bottle from a couple of years or so ago. Black cherry, sturdy. Some brett. Not super interesting.

1985 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (3/8/2015)
Easy wine of the night. Black cherry, cassis, olives, honeysuckle. Not super long, but fragrant, sweet, silky, resolved. Actually enjoyable, not a wine you had to talk yourself into. This bottle disappeared fast. Excellent.

1985 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley (3/8/2015)
Not as good as a bottle I had last year. Caramelly, short. Bottle variation or heat damage?

1985 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (3/8/2015)
Others seemed to like more than me. I thought it was correct but boring. Cassis and a green streak, some menthol and licorice, with some rough shouldered tannins still hanging about. Bit short and drying out on finish; like the rest of these bottles, this needs to be drunk ASAP.

1985 Ridge Monte Bello - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (3/8/2015)
Right on the edge of being corked - is the nose weedy, or musty? Regardless, this probably isn’t right, but this is one of the only wines on the table that’s not on the downslope, as it has a nice, full palate with fresh cassis and herbs. Shame about whatever was going on with the nose.

ouch. My best experience with an older Dunn showed me why some people love the wines so much, but they’ve been so variable for me that I can’t justify buying any. Even though I would basically expect that wine to show as it did, you obviously had some bad luck with some of these other bottles. A few of these could have been really nice.

Wow, bad luck. Those all should have been singing. Out of your lineup, I would have thought the Groth one of the least likely WsOTN! The majority of those should have had years left in the tank!

Cheers,
Warren

FWIW, this is inconsistent with my experience with 1985 Napa Cabs. I’ve had lots now, and they are generally fading fast. Last night involved some bad luck, but these were also the bottles that had been saved as most likely to transcend the general tendency of 85s to have faded as they approach 30.

Get some '85s from Diamond Creek.

Had the exact notes on a '85 Lynch Bages back in January. Bottle bought on release. Tired, with a drying finish. This was such a fruit-bomb in its youth, but don’t think it ever had the backbone to make old bones.

Been there, done that:

1985 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain (8/4/2014)
This was either corked or crappy, but it was thin in comparison to the 78 RRT tasted alongside and oddly musty. An interesting tapenade note, but where is the concentration? Higher acid than the 78, too. Another in a long line of meh 80’s Diamond Creeks. (86 pts.)

Happy Birthday dude.
Well done!

Warren Taranow–why would you have had such low expectations for the Groth? The '85 Reserve is a California legend, is it not? Here’s my note.

• 1985 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville (3/8/2015)
  Very classy and elegant. Rich cassis with a touch of blueberry; cedar and earth; quite perfumed. Light in the mouth and goes down easy. Perfect balance between Bordeaux character and acidity and California sweetness. Cuts off about 2/3 of the way down the palate, which makes me think it may be slightly past peak. (91 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

I didn"t realize the Groth was a considered a classic. I didn’t have low expectations; I was expecting several of the wines above known for longevity (e.g. Huet, Ridge Monte Bello, Lynch Bages, Mayacamas) would have been more likely to show well at 30 years. Maybe it’s a personal bias.
In any event, David’s friend will have to stock up on different wines if they’re to shine on his 40th and 50th birthdays; maybe Barolo or Port, both of which did well in '85.
Cheers,
Warren

The 85 Groth Reserve was RMP’s first 100-pointer from California, for whatever that’s worth.

That 85 Lynch-Bages doesn’t sound right. Good bottles are humming along beautifully.

I had 85 LB at the winery and it showed worse than this bottle did. Then again, I’ve never found a Lynch I liked–I may just have a bizarre personal distaste for that producer, despite being a Bordeaux-phile in general.

About 60 points, no?

Thanks for the notes on LB. I was plan to get a bottle for my 30th from Zachys as well. I guess I should go look for something else…

I would not buy the LB from Zachys. The bottle I bought - just a few months ago - arrived with, IMO, subtle-but-they-should’ve-noticed SOS, and indeed when I cut away the capsule the cork was soaked through and there was plenty of mold under the capsule. The label was a mess - not not in the moldy humid way, but brown/oxidized. Just generally did not look like a sound bottle, even though it was advertised with no “modifiers” (so to speak). The price was right, and the wine wasn’t obviously flawed, but it left a bad taste in my mouth (the experience, not the wine).

No reason for a 1985 regular or 1985 Reserve Groth NOT to show well and deliver the goods. 1984, as well. Provenance could be key on these wines.

An old favorite, the 1985 BR Cohn (Helen Turley, I believe) was sliding off the edge the other night. This bottle was not in its prime, for whatever reason. I find bottle variation to be wide on these older CA vintages, not that it was compromised at all at bottling, just that is how they have developed, bottle by bottle.

So are Chateau Montelena and Ridge Montebello.

I just edited my post because I had said exactly the opposite of what I had intended to say. I added the word NOT. But that does not call any attention to the post, so I am posting here to bump the post so I don’t look like a total dummy to anyone who previously read my post. (Total dummy with that post, I mean ).

I knew what you meant