A couple of '80 Cabs (Birth Year Party)

[Andrew_Bair]

1980 is my year, too, and it’s been a tricky one for me. Imagine that well-stored bottles of the Dom and Mondavi could be special.

The best Port houses made solid 1980s that are overlooked between the 1977s and 1983s. One more obscure recommendation, if you can find it, would be the 1980 Mas Amiel Maury Millésimé, which should age exceptionally well. And although I’ve never had a Dr. Parce Banyuls from 1980, I would not hesitate to buy a bottle if you see one.

Others that I’ve enjoyed, which have most likely faded by now, are the 1980 Climens, 1980 Chateau St. Jean Gewürztraminer Late Harvest Individual Bunch Selected Jimtown Ranch, and the 1980 Produttori Normale. All but the Chateau St. Jean were standard 750 bottles; I’d be interested to hear if anyone has recently had the 1980 Climens from magnum, given that Climens is usually my clear #2 in Sauternes, behind only Yquem.

Finally, for as much German wine as I buy and drink, I have never had a 1980. Along with 1987, it is the only vintage that I have never had since 1965. At some point, I’ll probably end up buying a BA/TBA/Eiswein because it’s too strange to not have ever had any Rieslings from my birth year.

I seem to remember 1980 was NOT a good year for German wines. I don’t remember ever having had a 1980 German wine. By contrast, there were some excellent 1987s. The first Donnhoffs I tasted were 1987 Oberhauser Brucke Kabinett and Spatlese. Really good but old fashioned - lighter body, really high acidity.

Agree- I’m hoping to try one sometime from one of the better producers as a birth year curiosity. Given that I’ve had a couple of quite respectable Rieslings from 1974 and 1977, who knows?

Thank you for the tip on the Donnhoff 1987s - if I ever see them. High acidity is absolutely never a problem for me unless the wine is poorly made and devoid of fruit, which is never going to be the case with Donnhoff.

[Andrew_Bair]

Finally, for as much German wine as I buy and drink, I have never had a 1980. Along with 1987, it is the only vintage that I have never had since 1965. At some point, I’ll probably end up buying a BA/TBA/Eiswein because it’s too strange to not have ever had any Rieslings from my birth year.

1980 in Mosel was marked by rain and early frost. The only thing I’ve ever been able to find is a Zilliken Kabinett Eiswein labeled 7% abv. This was before eiswein was its own prädikat so I think this is basically wine made from frozen, marginally ripe grapes? The color is good so it should at least be interesting.

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for a note from you when you find an occasion to open this bottle. Sounds positive with the color. I’ve never even seen a Kabinett-Eiswein, so that in itself sound be fascinating.
Curious if this is the Rausch or another site?

Anyway, I’ll just have to take one for the team and buy a 1980 German Riesling or two, depending on what’s available and ship-able over here.

[Howard_Cooper]

1980 is my year, too, and it’s been a tricky one for me. Imagine that well-stored bottles of the Dom and Mondavi could be special.

The best Port houses made solid 1980s that are overlooked between the 1977s and 1983s. One more obscure recommendation, if you can find it, would be the 1980 Mas Amiel Maury Millésimé, which should age exceptionally well. And although I’ve never had a Dr. Parce Banyuls from 1980, I would not hesitate to buy a bottle if you see one.

Others that I’ve enjoyed, which have most likely faded by now, are the 1980 Climens, 1980 Chateau St. Jean Gewürztraminer Late Harvest Individual Bunch Selected Jimtown Ranch, and the 1980 Produttori Normale. All but the Chateau St. Jean were standard 750 bottles; I’d be interested to hear if anyone has recently had the 1980 Climens from magnum, given that Climens is usually my clear #2 in Sauternes, behind only Yquem.

Finally, for as much German wine as I buy and drink, I have never had a 1980. Along with 1987, it is the only vintage that I have never had since 1965. At some point, I’ll probably end up buying a BA/TBA/Eiswein because it’s too strange to not have ever had any Rieslings from my birth year.

I seem to remember 1980 was NOT a good year for German wines. I don’t remember ever having had a 1980 German wine. By contrast, there were some excellent 1987s. The first Donnhoffs I tasted were 1987 Oberhauser Brucke Kabinett and Spatlese. Really good but old fashioned - lighter body, really high acidity.

Agree- I’m hoping to try one sometime from one of the better producers as a birth year curiosity. Given that I’ve had a couple of quite respectable Rieslings from 1974 and 1977, who knows?

Thank you for the tip on the Donnhoff 1987s - if I ever see them. High acidity is absolutely never a problem for me unless the wine is poorly made and devoid of fruit, which is never going to be the case with Donnhoff.

The wines were certainly not devoid of fruit in the 1990s when I drank mine, but not sure now. If you like older German wines with fruit and lots of acidity, find 1990s. I have gone through many of them in my life. I actually have one Donnhoff Auslese from 1990 left.

[Andrew_Bair]

I seem to remember 1980 was NOT a good year for German wines. I don’t remember ever having had a 1980 German wine. By contrast, there were some excellent 1987s. The first Donnhoffs I tasted were 1987 Oberhauser Brucke Kabinett and Spatlese. Really good but old fashioned - lighter body, really high acidity.

Agree- I’m hoping to try one sometime from one of the better producers as a birth year curiosity. Given that I’ve had a couple of quite respectable Rieslings from 1974 and 1977, who knows?

Thank you for the tip on the Donnhoff 1987s - if I ever see them. High acidity is absolutely never a problem for me unless the wine is poorly made and devoid of fruit, which is never going to be the case with Donnhoff.

The wines were certainly not devoid of fruit in the 1990s when I drank mine, but not sure now. If you like older German wines with fruit and lots of acidity, find 1990s. I have gone through many of them in my life. I actually have one Donnhoff Auslese from 1990 left.

Imagine the 1990 Donnhoffs are excellent. The oldest wine I’ve had from Donnhoff was a 1991 Brucke Auslese from 375 about a decade ago, and it was quite good then - although there were some nice 1991s, that year paled compared to 1990. Pretty hard to go wrong with a 1990 from a top producer, and pretty hard to go wrong with anything from Donnhoff.

[Rich_Brown]

The 1980 Yquem is very solid, but the one time I had it I wouldn’t put it in the top tier (e.g. 1983, 1989)

Stay tuned for notes, including a solid Dom P

Please post! I’ve been sitting on a bottle of DP and would love a note

I’ll post notes on all of them in a seperate thread, but the Dom was good! Bottle was NOT in the best shape (got it from someone who had traveled all over with it), and despite the bubbles being completely gone, it only showed hints of oxidization and we all really enjoyed it. Super brief note below, but I’d guess well stored bottles would be drinking VERY well.

‘A 40th Bday bottle, that went incredibly well with home boiled crab legs! Not in the best shape and all the bubbles were completely gone, but the wine was still solid with slightly oxidized notes of sour lemons, orchard fruit, and a hint of caramelized sugar. Big shot of acidity on the finish has kept this fairly fresh and very enjoyable. Extra point for my Birthday ’