TNs: CA Cabs- BV, Heitz Marthas, Mondavi, Mt. Veeder, Araujo, Phelps, Ridge, Diamond Creek

Our lunch group met recently to share some fine food and Cabernet from California, 1990 and older:

1978 BEAULIEU VINEYARD RUTHERFORD- telltale aging at the outset with browning color and a pruny nose; there`s some fruit, but not much to grab on to; over the hill on this one.

1971 OAKVILLE- 12%; a treat; still very viable with good fruitiness, a touch of spice; very tasty and enjoyable throughout; a pleasant and welcomed surprise; pretty much unanimously liked.

1978 VEEDERCREST STELTZNER VINEYARD- 22% Merlot from the Hazen Vineyard; I was already to enjoy this after reading the label only to find it was corked; at least we got one really good wine out of 3 on the first flight of older Cabs.

1978 HEITZ MARTHAS- showing some age in the color, but thats where it ended; good fruit flavors accentuated by some mint and cedar; it got better and better in the glass and ended up being my #2 WOTD; encouraging to find another aged bottle of joy.

1978 HEITZ FAY VINEYARD- 13%; browning color, metallic, weird nose; maple syrup taste and texture; how about some more Martha`s?; this might go perfect on pancakes.

1980 SANFORD & BENEDICT SANTA YNEZ VALLEY SANTA BARABARA COUNTY- 12%; the nose was so horrible, I did not want to venture on and didn`t.

1978 LOUIS MARITINI TEPESQUET VINEYARD SANTA MARIA SANTA BARBARA COUNTY “VINEYARD SELECTION”- bell peppers in the nose, some OK fruit in the mid palate dissipating quickly with an abrupt finish; we got another winner out of 4 in this geriatric flight.

1985 HEITZ MARTHAS- decent; some red fruit notes with a soft mouthfeel; I much prefer the 78 of this Matha`s.

1985 MONDAVI RESERVE- the nose is inviting and intriguing enough to encourage moving into the wine and to my delight, it was really good; everything was in a light weight mode including the fruit that was enhanced by some spice and cinnamon notes; I liked its softness that really pleases the palate; it`s a nice, steady, even wine with a lot of elegance and finesse; #3 WOTD.

1986 JOSEPH PHELPS BACKUS VINEYARD- yes, Backus is spelled correctly; unfortunately, the wine was not correct; the nose was weird, metallic, off, VA.

1986 DIAMOND CREEK GRAVELLY MEADOWS- I could never quite grasp where this wine was, had been or was going; overall, it seemed OK, but every aspect was different from anything I could ever describe or apply to Cabernet.

1990 MOUNT VEEDER WINERY RESERVE- blend of Cabernet, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot, this shined above and beyond all before it and after it as well; great red/ black fruit profile; beautifully integrated and nicely balanced, this was class in the bottle and the only question is, is this as good as its going to get?; Ive had it since release and in the past few years it seems to be holding steady in a stellar state; #1 WOTD.

1991 ARAUJO EISELE- another winner, this is showing really well now; for the first year of Araujos wines, this consistently amazes as most my friends relate to later on efforts that were at the top echelon for this producer like the 94, 97` and others; the black and blue fruit was ripe and forward and the texture was silky smooth; in the mix for top 3 WOTD.

1990 RIDGE MONTE BELLO SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS- this seemed way to young to enjoy now; its definitely full bodied and vibrant with promises to evolve into something better than where it is now with its firm tannins; its just in a closed, tight stage that may take some time to move out of; I`d age this for 8-10+ more years.

1987 LA JOTA VINEYARD HOWELL MOUNTAIN- here, we ran out of the string of good wines in a row; major VA and other off compounds abound.

All in all, an Interesting assortment of wines from 1971 – 1990 with varying degrees of joy and pleasure.

Cheers

Thanks for the notes.

Shame on the DC Gravelly. While I am not super familiar with the 86, the 78 thru 84 is drinking superbly. A recent 92 was still way too young. Many compare it with Haut Brion, to give you a sense of style.

Loren, its good to get your input re the earlier DCs. Its time I visit some in those vintages. Many thanks.

1990 RIDGE MONTE BELLO SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS- this seemed way to young to enjoy now; its definitely full bodied and vibrant with promises to evolve into something better than where it is now with its firm tannins; its just in a closed, tight stage that may take some time to move out of; I`d age this for 8-10+ more years.

Where is the fruit development on this wine? My concern with aged Monte Bello as you near 20 is the sweetness of the fruit. I’ve found that it turns to a dusty note, but begins to lack a hint of richness that I prefer in slightly younger Monte Bellos. Is there any sweetness to the fruit remaining, or is this turning into the dried herb, cedar, tobacco, and dusty fruit stage?

Sucks to hear about that Backus. When on, the '86 is a damn fine bottle.

Sounds like an awesome retrospective of older CA Cabs. I would most definitely have enjoyed something put together like this.

John,

I had a bottle of the '90 Monte Bello last month that was lush and not dusty at all. A bottle consumed in 2010 from the same batch (these were from the re-release of '90-'91-'92 Ridge did back in the 2004ish timeframe) had some of those dusty notes to it. For what it’s worth, the most recent bottle was the best of the ones I’ve consumed yet, and I rank it as the least of the three vintages re-released. I’m a believer in Monte Bello.

Cheers,
fred

Great stuff. Thanks for the notes.

Too bad. We had this last year and it was top notch. Maybe storage maybe bottle variation.

https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/tn-ewg-young-chablis-old-cabs-lesclos-heitz-dunn-montelena-huet/39506/15

Jason

I have had a fair amount of Gravelly Meadows inc the 1986 more than once, it’s always very much a Cabernet Blake. Guessing this bottle you had took it on the chin sometime in the past.

Nice lineup. If I recall correctly, the early 90’s Mount Veeder Cabernets were very tannic and pretty undrinkable when released. Sounds like they are finally coming into their own. Last time I had the 85 Heitz Martha, it was amazing. Not as dense as 74, but recall it being pretty rich and classic Martha, plenty of life ahead of the wine.

The fruit was not sweet, it had some black currant/ black cherry and I did not get any dustiness.

Jason, Knowing the one who brought this, my first thought was storage issues. Ive had many bottles from the same cellar and few were drinkable including 5 of 85 La Tache. Sad.

Could not agree more Glenn.