Solid wine and a treat to open, but not at the level of my previous 2 bottles. Cork was in excellent shape and it pours a beautiful, dark red/crimson color, but it was a bit lacking on the palate. Decent red fruit and even a bit of tannin but missing that ‘extra gear’. Still, life could be worse, amiright 
Always enjoy reading these
Thanks bud!
Cheers!
Was that really $115?
Lol
11.50
Ha ha! Definitely $11.50. This was an auction purchase as i wasnt quite alive yet in 1978…but i snagged 3 of them and didnt pay too much more per bottle #HelluvaDeal
I could tell this was you just by the title of the post. Keep ‘em coming!
Love your foray into these older CA wines. I have a bunch also and they often surprise me to the upside.
Thanks Mark! And i agree, always fun when some of these older CA wines overperform…which does happen pretty often! 
The 1980 Cab was the first vintage I sold thanks to a dedicated Carneros wholesaler. That Cab was also darn good for the cooler climate region, an unexpected eye opener as was the 1978.
How long ago did you have the other bottles?
I totally agree on the 1980 - have had it a few times, with the most recent being a few months ago (note below). Still have a couple 1980’s left (birth-year).
The last 1978 i had was a couple years ago. Rated that one a 95.
1980 Carneros Creek Cabernet - Wow, this was excellent! Bright cherries, sweet tobacco, and astreak of minerality and graphite on the long finish. But what really stands out is how fresh the wine is. Just waves of acidity. Literally mouth-watering. So much so that I was actually taken back a little bit on my first sip (in a good way). And look at that color! I’ve had bottles of this before but this was the best one yet. Fingers crossed the other two that I have show as well. And as always…bonus points for being a birth-year wine
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct_yv3zrn1L/?igshid=OXkxM2pzcHJ3MHNh
Rich,
You have obviously pursued old CA cabs in a big way for a while
. I appreciate your posts because my vinous heartbeat is still with the wines I learned to love first.
I still have some 74s and 78s. My best wine bud and I are gonna do a 78 DC VH shortly, possibly the current king of 78s.
I do not know if you followed my 78 Pinot comments, but a Dehlinger(first release) and Chalone were freaking stellar, alive and very well made long before most Ca pinot producers had a clue, Pinot was their bane.
The 70s wines put CA on the global map. So few are aware how special they are.
Carry on, sir
Thanks Richard! Not only do you have an awesome first name, but i also 1000% agree with you on older Cali wines. I wish i could have tried these when they were younger but im always keeping me eyes out for them at auction and love/appreciate opening them now.
Keep us updated on that 1978 tasting! It sounds amazing!
The era is long over, but there as a time when the California cab’s of the 70’s were both better, and less costly, than their Bordelaise peers. A few people in our Bordeaux centric tasting group were noting that but I didn’t fully grasp that, and the situation would eventually change.
Rich and Richard are my two favorite people on WB.
Kindred souls.
I need to share a couple glasses with you sometime my man! If you’re ever in Phx we’ll open up some fun stuff 