Anyone have recommendations on a wine from 1984 that’s drinking well right now? My friend’s birthday is this month and she’s just getting serious about wine. We’ve been drinking a lot of Burgundy and CA pinots (SCM, Sonoma Coast) lately, but I’m pretty open to the geographic region. Her favorite varietals are Syrah and Pinot, but she likes reds in general.
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If you can get your hands on a Ridge Monte Bello, I’m guessing she wouldn’t be disappointed.
I agree, or anything from Diamond Creek. I’m sure there are many CA cabs worth considering.
I’ll be very curious to see what people recommend (I was born in '84) Having just started seriously getting into wine in the last couple of years, I only have a bottle of Smith Madrone cab from 84 thus far.
Monte bello. Magnum.
If she’s a really good friend, Penfolds Grange.
Diamond Creek and Monte Bello would be my first thoughts for domestic reds.
The Grange that Mark suggests might be stellar, but cost and scarcity might be prohibitive.
Montebello, Heitz Martha’s, Mayacamas are very good.
Dominus is pretty good. Big surprise a few years ago was a Cakebread Reserve CS, not as good as the others, but I didn’t have any expectations for a Cakebread.
Yes, it’s a good year for old-school California cab producers.
What is your general budget range? Monte Bello looks to be $200+. Mondavi Reserve is out there for $80 or so and is probably a good one, if not a blockbuster.
Here is a magnum of Mayacamas for $150, that seems like a great option if you like Mayacamas cabs (higher in acid, little oak, very stern and traditional). Fine wines bought and sold - All items in stock
Best of luck.
I had an excellent bottle of '84 Dunn Howell Mountain recently…
Seconding the Dominus. Was expecting a dead bottle and it was more than enjoyable.
Two straws
I just checked, and the '84 Grange is available in the $300 range. Definitely more expensive than the Monte Bello, but it’s IMO the top wine of the 1984 vintage.
Two lower-cost options would be Grgich-Hills and Markham. In that era, both wines were estate-bottled from vineyards that were adjacent to Napanook (Dominus). Markham’s winemaker at that time was Bob Foley.
Having said this, if I were looking for a 1984-vintage wine, I’d grab a bottle of Laurel Glen and call it a day.
Late last week I posted a tasting note here on a 1984 Groth Cabernet that was outstanding.
Diamond Creek wines are stellar in 1984, all three of them. The 84 Hanzell Cab Sav is also top shelf.
My initial thought was Cal Cab too. Or Pinot. '84 wasn’t a good year for Bordeaux or Burgundy, and looking now at the vintage chart on eRobertParker.com (the vintage chart, accessed at the bottom of the home page, is a freebie - you don’t have to be a subscriber to view it) I see that '84 wasn’t a good year for most anything else! 
For Bordeaux, '82 was grand of course, and '85 very good, '83 particularly good in the Margaux region.
Burgs - '83 and '85 are both iffy now imo. It depends so much on the producer and the storage hostory. '88s thru '91s are much better bets to be in good condition. They were made better the earlier vintages too in most cases!
Port - hmmm? '85s I think are good. I’d have to check that vintage chart on Parker’s website…
Ridge Howell Mtn Zin also a big winner in 84.
As was their Devil’s Hill PS, though I suspect the Devil’s Hill is still too young to drink…
Had the 1984 Monte Bello in August 2012. Smokin’ good and hold onto its youth rather well. Also enjoyed the 2009 in the same sitting; that wine is going to impress for decades to come.
Corley reserve is yummy