February 5, 2023 - 30x California 1978: So many wines from this great Californian vintage at the age of 45 certainly qualifies as a “once in a lifetime” event. A few observations: 1) The quality was very high (almost all my ratings above 90pts). And only four faulty wines (2x corked, 2x over the hill/flawed, sadly those two were the Ridge Monte Bello and the Phelps Insignia). 2) The wines are ready to drink, the tannins have melted but the tension and freshness remain high - across the board. 3) There is still lots of fruit left and I was surprised how most wines didn’t show lots of tertiary aromas (find me the Bdx 1982 without tertiary aromas!). IMO, more than a handful of the wines could continue to improve for a few years. 4) Style wise, these are obviously quite different from today’s Napa wines with much less ripeness and more mineral accents. But hardly any wine we had would be mistaken for a Bordeaux in a blind tasting (unlike 80s/90s Dominus). 5) Best reds: Inglenook Limited Cask, Beaulieu GDL Reserve, Stags Leap Cask 23 4.5l (all 96pts), Heitz Bella Oaks, Simi Reserve, Stag’s Leap Cask 23 0.75l (all 95pts). The best wine overall, however, was the magical Late Harvest Riesling from Phelps (98pts).
TN: Sadly, sadly, nail polish through and through.
January 28, 2023 - 1978 California Cabernet Horizontal: Bummer, was looking forward, but clearly an issue with the bottle. Behind that you could feel the strenght. Looking forward to drink my last remaining bottle
January 28, 2023 - California 1978 (Zunfthaus zur Waag, Zurich): Grand tasting of 1978 California wines, mostly from Napa. Main takeaways: i/ surprisingly high quality on average for wines that were not intended for such long-term aging with plenty of primary fruit left, ii/ but within the detail nonetheless a broad range with the worst few suffering from clear signs of fatigue while the best showed hardly age, iii/ top wines were Phelps Cab Sauv (97), Firestone Cab Sauv (95), and Beaulieu George de Latour Private Reserve (95). Full list sorted by score included in the tasting story.
Tasting note:
Dominant notes of nail polish left an overly alcoholic impression. The fruit was mostly red cherry, but not much else there. Maybe a result of volatile acidity as ventured by a MW co-hosting the tasting? Searing acidity made this barely drinkable. That said, this did improve somewhat with aeration, opening up a bit more space for fruit and herbal aromas, but the vinegar-type of flavor profile remained omnipresent.
August 28, 2020 - A spectacular bottle. The fruit is still very vibrant and fresh. Plenty of acidity left and beatiful silky tannins. Big round mouthfeel. Dark berry fruit with lots of earthy nuances. Perfectly balanced and impossible to put down.
October 23, 2018 - Cellar Devils with Jeff Leve; 10/23/2018-10/24/2018 (Berens am Kai 1 star Restaurant): Unfortunately oxidized
April 21, 2018 - Lovely nose. Lots of anise on the palate, black cherries and truffles. Still has some good length and a slight tannic bite. A forty year old wine in fine shape! This bottle was stored in a passive cellar since the mid 1980’s.
January 18, 2018 - A WineBid tasting you won't forget - NYC (Mandarin Oriental Hotel, NYC): Gret showing for this wine
October 25, 2016 - 1978 California with John Gilman (Craft): Still unbelievably fresh and fruity. Eucalyptus. Beautifully integrated tannins. Awesome! 1978 Cali Cab Tasting
October 13, 2015 - The tasting group thought it was post-mature. I thought it had detectable brett and no fruit, and considered it flawed.
November 10, 2013 - Deep, dark, mature claret in color with slight bricking & clearing at the edges. Fragrant, well developed, complex & evolving nose of ripe fruit aromas of cherries, raspberries, strawberries & currants, lovely secondary notes of cedar, mint, meaty/beefy, truffles, tea & spices and tertiary notes of leather, minerals, earthy & some vanilla in the background. Full bodied with a good concentration of smooth, well integrated & developed, ripe fruit flavors of red cherries, framboise & kirsch, with cola, spices, mint, minerals, sweet black tea and creamy vanilla. Still alive with a smooth, long, lingering sweet finish. Absolutley fantastic for a 35 year old cab! Probably best enjoyed now. A blend of 50% Cabernet, 30% Merlot and 20% Cab Franc.