Got together this past Tuesday with a few folks for a check in on some 1978 California Cabernets. I've been greatly impressed with how a number of Cabernets from that decade have been showing over the past number of years and having put together a 1977 horizontal earlier this year, I was able to convince Greg dal Piaz, Bob Cunningham, Chris Kravitz, Craig Ganzer and Dan Tisch to gather some '78s and meet me at Il Corso.
Generally regarded as one of the best vintages for California Cabernet, 1978 was a heady time for the California wine scene. Popularity was rapidly increasing, thanks in part to the Paris tasting two years earlier and there was an explosion of new wineries in the region. Following two drought years, 1978 saw rains in the winter that ended the drought and helped produce a large crop. The harvest was long and dry and produced wines that were ripe with excellent structure. Indeed, looking at the alcohol levels on the bottles showed them to be more in the 13% - 13.5% range, whereas at the 1977 dinner, they were more in the 12.5% - 13% range.
Aside from two corked bottles and two other clunkers, the wines generally showed quite well. While certainly fully mature and even past peak, they still showed plenty of fruit and offered a wonderful drinking experience.
1978 Ernest & Julio Gallo- Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release - USA, California
Pigeon blood in color and lighter in color and body than the Sycamore Creek that followed. There's a strong body odor aroma right out of the bottle that, thankfully, quickly blows off to show green tobacco and light cherry aromas. Shortly thereafter the aromas turn decidedly minty and mentholy. There's an initial hit of cherry flavor before stewed tomatoes and tobacco start to take over. Not showing much fruit and the structure is a bit austere. With air a green bean note emerges, but it's more of a fresh green bean, not an overcooked one, so it's not really unpleasant. Oak and mint soon start to dominate the finish. A couple of the Barolo fans liked this more than I did. I find it over the hill and fragile with no real fruit to support the structure at this point, but it's not devoid of interesting things. Low B-.
1978 Sycamore Creek Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Clara Valley
This and the Estrella, which came from San Louis Obispo, clearly came from a different mold than the rest of the wines, with their almost hedonistic sweet black fruit, cocoa and seemingly minty American oak profiles. The wine is just bursting with ripe, bordering on roasted, blackberries, currants and black plums with just a little bit of black cherry in there adding a hint of red fruit. It's extracted with a lot of wood tannins showing on the back end, but there's enough fruit to handle it, though consuming some protein with it is also a good idea. With air it first got a bit harsh, but then eased up a bit. About three hours after being opened, a pleasant espresso note developed on the finish. It's not the most complex or complete wine, but it's thoroughly enjoyable and what's remarkable is that this was only the second release from the winery and the vines were only three years old! To be showing this well at age thirty-four is a remarkable feat. Solid B+.
1978 Chappellet Vineyard- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
This was a bit of a disappointment given how well the '73, '77 and '79 have shown over the past couple of years. Those wines all showed more fruit and vitality than this bottle did. This is rather simple with scant red fruit left and is dominated more by fresh and dried herbs, earth and cedar at this point. The acidity and drying wood tannins stick out on the finish. B/B-.
1978 Spring Mountain Vineyard- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Corked. NR (flawed)
1978 Mount Veeder Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Sidehill Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
I was eager to try this as I'd never heard of this bottling, but I've enjoyed some older Mount Veeder Cabs. According to the Mount Veeder website, this bottling was the first American wine futures ever offered, 400 cases were produced and 100 cases each were sold on futures to 4 stores and it was Robert Mondavi that came up with the name "Sidehill Ranch." Anyhoo, unfortunately, the wine didn't show that well. It's full of mint and eucalyptus, not my favorite characteristics in California Cabernet, though a little bit of both is ok so long as there's a lot of fruit, but the cherry that remains is rapidly drying up. Pretty much a shell of a wine at this point, with mint, eucalyptus and structure remaining. Still, it was fun to try given its history. C+.
1978 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars- Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 2 - USA, California, Napa Valley
Impeccably stored given the fill level, which was well into the neck. It's exactly what you want out of an aged California Cabernet. It showed wonderfully fragrant aromas of sweet cherries, cedar, herb with a hint of chocolate and earth tones. Mature and integrated on the palate with just a touch of rusticity. The fruit is ripe, but not overly so and has that nicely burnished feel to it that only comes from age. Nice sassafras, earth and herb notes that largely don't exist in modern Napa Cabernets. Fleshy, though balanced and like a middle-aged Hollywood actress who may not be the starlet she once was, but knows how to bring it on Oscar night. A lovely wine and my second favorite of the evening. A-.
1978 Clos du Val- Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley
Corked. NR (flawed)
1978 Estrella River Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Like the Sycamore Creek, this is an entirely different animal from the Cabs from Napa and Sonoma. It's darker, riper with more of an oak presence than the others. The black fruit is roasted and sweet and accompanied by black olive and cocoa and sweet oak. Quite low acid, making this a fun, uncomplicated, thoroughly enjoyable chugging wine. It's remarkable how sweet and relatively unevolved the fruit is at this age. A bottle I had about a year or so ago showed a bit more structure and a little less hedonistically. B+.
1978 Simi- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
For me this was the wine that changed the most throughout the course of the evening. Initially ir showed rather lean and high toned. There was nice freshness and light cherry, coffee grounds and herb flavors and aromas, but the fruit wasn't really balancing out the structure. However, a pour an hour or so later saw the wine really develop with the fruit sweetening and the structure smoothing out. So much so that it actually just edged out the Maycamas for my third favorite of the evening. On first pour, however, the Mayacamas easily had it beat. A-.
1978 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Another beautiful showing for this classic. This bottle is showing just as nicely as a bottle this past May, though is a bit more black cherry dominated, rather than black currant and doesn't show the cocoa notes the other one did, though the cedar, herb and light tobacco flavors and aromas are still there. Expansive, rich and nicely balanced, there's a Bordeaux-like feel to the wine. Nice warmth and persistence to the finish. Really classy wine and my and I think the group's WOTN. A/A-.
1978 Mayacamas Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Shows a rather red and lean profile. The fruit is more in the cherry and cranberry range and complemented by green olive, herb and brown spices. Relatively high acid and strong tannins fight with the fruit for dominance, though, at the moment, I think the fruit just wins out. Focused and snappy, I'm rather surprised that there's not more fruit here given the ripeness of the vintage and how other vintages of Mayacmas from the '70s have shown. Good in a refreshingly different way, though I'd drink up as I don't believe the fruit's going to be able to hold off the structure much longer. Low A-.
The wines.
The group.
Generally regarded as one of the best vintages for California Cabernet, 1978 was a heady time for the California wine scene. Popularity was rapidly increasing, thanks in part to the Paris tasting two years earlier and there was an explosion of new wineries in the region. Following two drought years, 1978 saw rains in the winter that ended the drought and helped produce a large crop. The harvest was long and dry and produced wines that were ripe with excellent structure. Indeed, looking at the alcohol levels on the bottles showed them to be more in the 13% - 13.5% range, whereas at the 1977 dinner, they were more in the 12.5% - 13% range.
Aside from two corked bottles and two other clunkers, the wines generally showed quite well. While certainly fully mature and even past peak, they still showed plenty of fruit and offered a wonderful drinking experience.
1978 Ernest & Julio Gallo- Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release - USA, California
Pigeon blood in color and lighter in color and body than the Sycamore Creek that followed. There's a strong body odor aroma right out of the bottle that, thankfully, quickly blows off to show green tobacco and light cherry aromas. Shortly thereafter the aromas turn decidedly minty and mentholy. There's an initial hit of cherry flavor before stewed tomatoes and tobacco start to take over. Not showing much fruit and the structure is a bit austere. With air a green bean note emerges, but it's more of a fresh green bean, not an overcooked one, so it's not really unpleasant. Oak and mint soon start to dominate the finish. A couple of the Barolo fans liked this more than I did. I find it over the hill and fragile with no real fruit to support the structure at this point, but it's not devoid of interesting things. Low B-.
1978 Sycamore Creek Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Clara Valley
This and the Estrella, which came from San Louis Obispo, clearly came from a different mold than the rest of the wines, with their almost hedonistic sweet black fruit, cocoa and seemingly minty American oak profiles. The wine is just bursting with ripe, bordering on roasted, blackberries, currants and black plums with just a little bit of black cherry in there adding a hint of red fruit. It's extracted with a lot of wood tannins showing on the back end, but there's enough fruit to handle it, though consuming some protein with it is also a good idea. With air it first got a bit harsh, but then eased up a bit. About three hours after being opened, a pleasant espresso note developed on the finish. It's not the most complex or complete wine, but it's thoroughly enjoyable and what's remarkable is that this was only the second release from the winery and the vines were only three years old! To be showing this well at age thirty-four is a remarkable feat. Solid B+.
1978 Chappellet Vineyard- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley
This was a bit of a disappointment given how well the '73, '77 and '79 have shown over the past couple of years. Those wines all showed more fruit and vitality than this bottle did. This is rather simple with scant red fruit left and is dominated more by fresh and dried herbs, earth and cedar at this point. The acidity and drying wood tannins stick out on the finish. B/B-.
1978 Spring Mountain Vineyard- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
Corked. NR (flawed)
1978 Mount Veeder Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Sidehill Ranch - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
I was eager to try this as I'd never heard of this bottling, but I've enjoyed some older Mount Veeder Cabs. According to the Mount Veeder website, this bottling was the first American wine futures ever offered, 400 cases were produced and 100 cases each were sold on futures to 4 stores and it was Robert Mondavi that came up with the name "Sidehill Ranch." Anyhoo, unfortunately, the wine didn't show that well. It's full of mint and eucalyptus, not my favorite characteristics in California Cabernet, though a little bit of both is ok so long as there's a lot of fruit, but the cherry that remains is rapidly drying up. Pretty much a shell of a wine at this point, with mint, eucalyptus and structure remaining. Still, it was fun to try given its history. C+.
1978 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars- Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 2 - USA, California, Napa Valley
Impeccably stored given the fill level, which was well into the neck. It's exactly what you want out of an aged California Cabernet. It showed wonderfully fragrant aromas of sweet cherries, cedar, herb with a hint of chocolate and earth tones. Mature and integrated on the palate with just a touch of rusticity. The fruit is ripe, but not overly so and has that nicely burnished feel to it that only comes from age. Nice sassafras, earth and herb notes that largely don't exist in modern Napa Cabernets. Fleshy, though balanced and like a middle-aged Hollywood actress who may not be the starlet she once was, but knows how to bring it on Oscar night. A lovely wine and my second favorite of the evening. A-.
1978 Clos du Val- Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley - USA, California, Napa Valley
Corked. NR (flawed)
1978 Estrella River Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Like the Sycamore Creek, this is an entirely different animal from the Cabs from Napa and Sonoma. It's darker, riper with more of an oak presence than the others. The black fruit is roasted and sweet and accompanied by black olive and cocoa and sweet oak. Quite low acid, making this a fun, uncomplicated, thoroughly enjoyable chugging wine. It's remarkable how sweet and relatively unevolved the fruit is at this age. A bottle I had about a year or so ago showed a bit more structure and a little less hedonistically. B+.
1978 Simi- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Alexander Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
For me this was the wine that changed the most throughout the course of the evening. Initially ir showed rather lean and high toned. There was nice freshness and light cherry, coffee grounds and herb flavors and aromas, but the fruit wasn't really balancing out the structure. However, a pour an hour or so later saw the wine really develop with the fruit sweetening and the structure smoothing out. So much so that it actually just edged out the Maycamas for my third favorite of the evening. On first pour, however, the Mayacamas easily had it beat. A-.
1978 Robert Mondavi Winery- Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley
Another beautiful showing for this classic. This bottle is showing just as nicely as a bottle this past May, though is a bit more black cherry dominated, rather than black currant and doesn't show the cocoa notes the other one did, though the cedar, herb and light tobacco flavors and aromas are still there. Expansive, rich and nicely balanced, there's a Bordeaux-like feel to the wine. Nice warmth and persistence to the finish. Really classy wine and my and I think the group's WOTN. A/A-.
1978 Mayacamas Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Mountain - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Shows a rather red and lean profile. The fruit is more in the cherry and cranberry range and complemented by green olive, herb and brown spices. Relatively high acid and strong tannins fight with the fruit for dominance, though, at the moment, I think the fruit just wins out. Focused and snappy, I'm rather surprised that there's not more fruit here given the ripeness of the vintage and how other vintages of Mayacmas from the '70s have shown. Good in a refreshingly different way, though I'd drink up as I don't believe the fruit's going to be able to hold off the structure much longer. Low A-.
The wines.