California Dreaming

Mark's Duck House, Falls Church (VA)
Tasted Thursday, February 1, 2018 by PanosKakaviatos with 225 views

Introduction

A fascinating snapshot of California Cabs from 1984. The over cropping and acidification had not totally taken hold, but we are away from the golden 1970s. Still, we are also far away from the über powerful cult style Cabs of the 1990s and later ... Some really nice wines, thanks to David Zimmerman. For pics and more: http://wine-chronicles.com/blog/california-dreaming-1984/

Flight 1 (5 Notes)

  • 1984 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    This 1984 vintage exudes cigar box and loads of eucalyptus. Quite alive and smooth, and went very well with the Peking Duck. The alcohol level is 12.8%. Over time in glass, the wine began to fade. Hardly the best of the wines of the evening horizontal, but certainly a pleasure and a revelation for anyone thinking that California Cab is by definition about bigness. :-)

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  • 1984 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 94 Points

    USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

    At first, it seemed a bit lean. “Not a great bottle,” said our host. “It should have a nose that just jumps out of the glass.” But as it sat in glass, it got better and better; we simply popped and poured the wines … The palate is very elegant throughout and the alcohol is 12.9%. The wine revealed pleasing notes of leather, plum and tobacco and even some floral notes. It just opened up with time, and seemed juicier on the palate than, say, the Dunn, which we tried later and seemed at first more impressive. In the end, this wine proved to be the smoothest and most elegant of all over dinner.

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  • 1984 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 88 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley

    At 12.4% alcohol, it proved to be the lightest of the California Cabernets we enjoyed this evening. It started out smoothly enough, with pleasing notes of black olive and baked fruit albeit with tannins just a bit rusty, even if somewhat sweet. And it seemed to fade more quickly than the others. Overall, about as far and away as one could get from a "Big Cab".

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  • 1984 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow 92 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain

    At 12.5% alcohol, the wine exudes cedar, black olive, and minty eucalyptus, albeit lighter notes of that when compared to the Mount Eden. For a wine nearly 35 years old, the nose is quite fresh “They’ve kept their fruit,” David remarked about this wine. Indeed, one gets as well subtle blackberry pie notes. Quite delicious overall.

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  • 1984 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain 93 Points

    USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain

    The wine comes in a distinctive bottle that is hand dipped in red wax – and it was easier to open than we had expected! Among all the wines tasted – this had the highest alcohol content among the 1984s, at a hardly whopping by today’s standards 13%. The darkest colored, it reminded me a bit of how Léoville Las Cases in Bordeaux takes the longest time to age. Indeed there was something almost primary about this 1984 being tasted in 2018. The nose gave off a deep, serious ripe fruit derived perfume. The color was lovely and rather dark for a wine this old, but not matte or “old” looking. The palate exuded a certain depth, but with a sort of “fresh”creosote aspect that gave away the age perhaps. And yet, much precision and even sumptuous blackberry, more pronounced and fresher than that encountered above with the Diamond Creek. The palate is indeed dense. The only drawback seems that the finish comes across as somewhat drying, somewhat hard, which puts this wine just behind the overall champion this evening (Ridge Monte Bello).

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Closing

Of course this eggs me on to seek out older Cabs, but also producers today who are making more classical styled California Cab. They do exist, yes?

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