I’d wanted to put this horizontal together for some time as I’ve really been enjoying how many of the wines from this vintage have been showing over the past few years. In fact, some of my favorite old Cabernets have been the '77 Mayacamas, Mondavi Reserve and Montelena. That being the case, Greg dal Piaz, Izzy Nosnik, Bob Cunningham, Chris Kravitz and Dan Tisch and I gathered at Il Corso the other night, bottles in hand.
1977 was a vintage that was basically out of sight, out of mind for many as 1974 and 1978 stole most of the press. However, it was a drought year and unlike in '76, which saw torrid heat that roasted a lot of grapes, '77 was a cool vintage, so the grapes, while stressed, had long hang time. That, combined with the wine making style of the time, produced compelling wines that still show freshness and vigor today. Indeed, everyone at the dinner spoke of how wonderfully light and balanced the wines were and how refreshing they were to drink. Only one wine had alcohol listed over 13%, the Burgess, which came in at 13.2%. All the other bottles had their alcohol listed at between 12.5% and 13%. It’s a real shame this style of Cabernet is no longer in vogue.
Cheers,
Brad
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2005 Trimbach- Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile - France, Alsace, Ribeauvillé, Alsace AOC
A fairly typical showing with the usual lime/citrus, mineral and petrol character, though the wine does veer off more towards ripe stone fruits than usual. It’s nicely briny, but there’s more fatness here than one usually sees and there’s a bit too much alcohol showing on the finish. Still, it’s quite good, but I prefer my Freddies with a bit more cut. A-/B+. -
2010 Huët- Vouvray Sec Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Showing a bit more open and opulently than my last try out of a half bottle this past fall, it retains a similar profile with it’s honeycomb, acacia flower, quince and chalky minerality, but it’s really showy across the nose and palate. The aromas are intense and it exhibits more of a glycerol feel in the mouth. Certainly bigger-boned with more sweetness than Secs of more than ten years ago, indeed it’s probably in the range of what was normally considered Demi-Sec, but that’s without a doubt why I’m liking them more, though I’m starting to worry about alcohol levels. A-. -
1977 Stony Ridge Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Bell Hill Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Lake County
I really dug the nose on this wine. It shows beautiful, complex aromas of sassafras, brown spices, leather, cherry and currant fruit that’s just really comforting. Sort of like slipping deep into an old, big leather chair in a wood-paneled room, fire going in the hearth…you get the picture. It’s fresh on the palate and shows a wonderfully velvety mouthfeel upfront, though it turns a little drying on the back half. Cherry and plummy fruit with dried herbs and leather. We were all rather taken by this wine. I mean, Lake County in '77? By the end of the evening the fruit actually filled in more and the finish became less austere. Quite a surprise and you couldn’t really ask for more from this wine after thirty-five years.B+/A-. -
1977 Giumarra Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon Founder’s Selection - USA, California
Greg explained that these folks are old grape growers that still grow grapes today, but that this was the one year they actually made a Cabernet Sauvignon wine. It was actually quite good. It had an even more velvety texture than the Stony Ridge Winery, with a richer and riper feel to the red fruit, though there was what I described as a rotten wood, though in a pleasant way, character to it. Chris described it more as rotten tobacco. Simple, low acid with the fruit showing a stewed character. Still, the mouthfeel made it quite enjoyable. B. -
1977 Clos du Val- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
Corked. NR (flawed) -
1981 Château La Mission Haut-Brion - France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan
Izzy stuck this in as a double-blind ringer. It shows a lot of Brett from the start with strong smoky quality. Fresh on the palate, with a vibrant structure. Red fruited with smoke, tobacco and Brett. With air, some herb notes started to creep into the picture. Most of us guessed Bordeaux, but I didn’t think it was Graves because it wasn’t really showing a gravelly earth profile. Shows perhaps too much Brett for some, but it didn’t bother me. Quite enjoyable and I was pleasantly surprised with how much vigor it still had. A-. -
1977 Burgess- Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley
Heat damaged. NR (flawed) -
1977 Estrella River Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
I had picked this up as a lark one time at auction as I wanted to know what was going on in the wine scene in San Luis Obispo back in the day. I had no high hopes for it, yet was completely blown away by it. So much so that I promptly bought another one the next time I saw it available. This second bottle showed equally as great as the one prior and, in fact, I believed going into the tasting that it would be the WOTN. Indeed, it was. I just can’t get over how youthful this wine is. The fruit is, dare I say, hedonistic. Just loads of ripe, slightly extracted black currants, sweet oak with a hint of chocolate and a touch of black olive. It showed a touch of VA on the nose that quickly blew off. Still some tannins to shed, too, though the wine is plush in the mouth. Honestly, this wine can easily go on another decade. Wish I had more. A-. -
1977 Mario Perelli-Minetti Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
This stood in sharp contrast to the Estrella as this was the most Bordeaux-like Cabernet of the night. It’s much more subtle and elegant. Certainly a little past peak and fully resolved, but there’s enough red fruit here to hold one’s attention and it marries well with the dusty earth, dried herb and tobacco notes. The finish is a little choppy, but the food helped even it out. B+. -
1977 Spring Mountain Vineyard- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
The nose is a little muddled and didn’t offer much other than red fruit and cedar. On the palate, though, the fruit is focused and shows delightful purity and freshness. Red cherries that, while sweet, show a nice tart edge to them, with cedary oak, earth and tobacco. With air a strong coffee grounds character rose up. Maybe a touch fragile and with the oak sticking out a touch more than it should on the finish, but this is lovely, though it’s time to drink up. Low A-. -
1977 Diamond Creek- Cabernet Sauvignon Volcanic Hill - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
Not a good showing and I expected more. There’s a touch of VA on the nose and a slight caramel note to the fruit, which had me thinking it might’ve seen some heat, but others with more experience with the wine said the showing was fairly typical. The caramel didn’t show on the palate, but the wine was lean, hard and in desperate need of fruit. Drying out. B-/C+. -
1977 Villa Mt. Eden- Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled - USA, California, Napa Valley
Shows pretty, boisterous aromas of cassis, black cherries and a bit of minty oak. Whereas the nose was more black in profile, on the palate the fruit was more red and a lot more subdued than one anticipated given how fragrant the nose was. Cedar, chocolate and earth notes meld together nicely with cherry fruit. Easy going, integrated and a bit past peak, it still manages to put a smile on one’s face and goes down effortlessly. It should be noted that Nils Venge was winemaker at the time. He had previously worked with Ric Forman at Sterling Vineyards before joining Villa Mt. Eden, '74 being his first vintage. Aside from starting Venge and Saddleback wineries, Nils gained fame when he worked at Groth, garnering the first 100 point score for a California Cabernet with the '85 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon B+. -
1984 Lytton Springs Winery- Zinfandel Late Harvest - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley
Well, at least it’s interesting on the nose, as it shows tobacco, earth, VA and aged brambly fruit aromas. Unfortunately, there’s no fruit left on the palate. Dominated by earth, leather and structure, the only one who found anything of merit in the wine was Bob, who admitted that he’s into necrophilia. C+/C. -
1985 Huët- Vouvray Moelleux Clos du Bourg - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
Showing typically with a lot of lanolin, quince, bee’s wax, chalky mineral and a hint of mushrooms on the nose and palate. Still showing plenty of vigor and youthful structure. Medium sweet, I feel like I’ve had Demi-Secs recently that have shown more residual sugar. Lovely stuff and a great way to wrap up the evening. A-.
Pics of the wines, though I didn’t get one of the '81 La Mission ringer.
Starters and finishers.
The Cabs.
Posted from CellarTracker
![[head-bang.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/b1cd199e4b2b2988b5107c3c9598fd28dc92a776.gif "[head-bang.gif]"){kind=small}
My other favorite, the VME seemed to have shown well. Great topic as I also wish more cabernets were still made in this style and, hopefully, I will be around the next time this theme pops up!![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}