1984 Cabernets Blindtasted Pt. IV (and last)

Introductory comments by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
The 1984 vintage in California was one of the easiest vintages on record for vineyard owners and winemakers. Bud break went normally in the spring, and was followed by a summer of almost uniform warmth with few heat spikes and no rain. Harvest began a couple weeks early, and the rains held off until late October. The crop was normal sized across California. On release the 1984 Cabernets and Merlots were forward and fragrant and were met with rave reviews. The ripe tannins made them easy to drink in their youth, but the balance and structure of the wines suggested that they would age well.

Tonight, we'll finish off our 1984 Retrospective with a trio of Ridge Cabernets including the great 84 Montebello, the Mount Eden Estate from their original Cabernet vines planted by Martin Ray 40 years ago (one of their best vintages ever), the Girard Reserve, and a fine example of cool climate California Cabernet from Joseph Swan. And our Bordeaux ringer tonight will be the 1984 Pichon Lalande.

• 1984 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello 94 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Group's #1 (my #1) – 58 pts; 4 1st place votes, 3 2nd place votes, 1 third, 0 last places – bricking medium red violet color; herbaceous, tobacco, olive nose; youthful, cassis, tart currant, menthol palate with depth and balance; medium-plus finish 94+ pts. (most youthful of our 8 1984 Cabs; I easily picked it out as the Monte Bello in our blindtasting, as did a few others)

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• 1984 Girard Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #2 (my #5) – 59 pts; 3, 2, 3, 1 - medium red violet color; rich, berry, currant, cassis, raspberry nose; mature, raspberry, berry, currant palate that's beginning to dry out; medium finish 90+ pts.

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• 1984 Joseph Swan Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Northern Sonoma

  Group's #3 (my #3) – 66 pts; 4, 0, 2, 1 - dark medium red violet color; mature, mushroom, berry, black fruit nose, adding mint after 20 minutes in the glass; mature tobacco, tart plum, cassis, mineral palate with firm tannins; medium-plus finish 91+ pts.

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• 1984 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon York Creek 87 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Napa County

  Group's #4 (my #8) – 74 pts; 1, 4, 2, 3 - bricking medium red violet color with pale meniscus; mature, earthy, cassis, cedar, herbal nose that changes over 20 minutes or so to VA, raspberry fruit roll-up, hibiscus nose; tight, tart cassis, raspberry palate with medium acidity, starting to fade; medium finish 87+ pts.

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• 1984 Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Single Vineyard Alexander's Crown Vineyard 88 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley

  Group's #5 (my #7) – 75 pts; 2, 3, 0, 6 - bricking medium red violet color; cassis, mint, green herb, beef gravy nose; mature, tart cassis, tobacco, mint palate; medium-plus finish

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• 1984 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 91 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Group's #6 (my #4) – 78 pts; 2, 0, 3, 2 - medium dark red violet color; smoky, ruby Port nose that changes over 20 minutes to an herbaceous, olive nose; mature, tart cassis, cedar, tart plum palate; medium finish

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• 1984 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet 92 Points

  USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

  Group's #7 (my #2) – 78 pts; 0, 3, 3, 3 - bricking medium red violet color; mature, brett, earthy, mushroom, cedar, herbaceous, green tobacco nose; tart black fruit, tobacco, cedar, mushroom, herbaceous palate; medium-plus finish

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• 1984 Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 90 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Group's #8 (my #6) – 79 pts; 0, 1, 2, 0 - bricked medium red violet color; mature, mushroom, intense green herb, olive, green pepper nose; mature, earthy, tart cassis, herbaceous, tobacco palate with medium-plus acidity; medium-plus finish (highest acidity of our flight of 8)

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