The Groth was the first American wine that Parker scored 100 points, although I understand it has been downgraded since. The BR Cohn was Helen Turley’s first commercial wine. They were both drunk as part of a more comprehensive Bordeaux versus California tasting, and I had them single blind.
Both wines were in excellent condition. The interesting thing was that although they both had beautiful fruit (the Groth a good deal riper) they had not taken on any complexity, the wines were just softer versions of the wines that they had been in their youth. Both wines finished in the middle of the pack. I slightly preferred the Groth which was a fuller richer wine with more concentration 94 points, the Cohn 92 points.
I always wondered where that 85’ Groth Reserve would go, I always preferred their '84 bottlings anyways. Thanks for the note Mark -
Last 85 Groth I had was so cooked. Nice to hear of a living bottle.
Had 2 bottles of the '85 Groth regular cab, last year, both were stellar (from pristine provenance) and showed much as an old cab should with tertiary flavor and texture. Wish I had more.
Nice observation Mark. Great way to distinguish the difference between Cali cab and Bordeaux.
'85 Groth Reserve was virtually impossible to buy in D. C. when it was released. The few bottles that showed up were allocated and never made it to a shelf. A shout out to State Line Wines in Elkton, MD who sold me a couple of bottles. Twenty + years later I still appreciate their sharing.
A great wine store, too.