This is a beautifully aged Napa Cab still going strong at the age of 42 years. High complexity with good precision as the highlights but this evening it clearly got outshined by the Dominus 1994 which had more of everything and the better, rounder structure and balance and showed a bit less on the sweet side. Still, it was a privilege to taste this old beauty but my guess is, this will improve further over the next 10 years.
TN: Intense bouquet with balsamico notes, leather, fresh herbs and red fruit. Some heat on the nose which was distracting from the underlying beauty. The palate shows sweet, mostly red fruit, great nutty aromas, herbs and with time some caramel notes. Not as aristocratic and bordeauesque and complex as the Dominus 1994 we had the same night but still a great wine, even though the structure still had some edges. Medium+ length.
Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
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Tasted blind. There is depth and tension with a basket of dried mushrooms, black truffles, dried tea leaves, dried tobacco leaves and mineral notes. But there are also still traces of sweet notes and sufficient fruit. Over time in the glass an avalanche of cigar box aromas erupting right at you. Incredibly fresh and fruity on the palate given the age with Bordeaux-like elegance. That said, the structure around the acidity is weakening. I think a 96 score is definitely deserved just simply given how well this 1978 Napa has aged! But if you focus purely on pleasure this would probably me more in the 93-94 range.
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wow wow wow!!! this wine is a pinnacle example of aged Napa Cab. It's to me drinking at peak, it's a dense wine but showing it's aging grace, filled with sweet earth, springy bright red fruit exploding out on the nose. The palate is concentrated and persistent. There's a richness of beautiful elegant red fruit and a bloom of spices and chilling acidity. F A mint streak intensified the cooling aspect of the wine. A wine of 40+ years it is still vibrant and alluring
I repeat. wow
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Wow, one of the top wines that I've ever drank. Period. Mature and arriving in such style and grace. Fruit is dried but still ripe and more than that, the balance with the structure, nice complexity, along with the lingering elegant finish that stays on the breath as well as the memory.
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The Fifteenth Annual Stonefields Wine Tasting Dinner for Charity (Guelph, Ontario, Canada): Nose of powerful sweet cassis, leather, cedar and black fruit. Palate is loaded with complexity....earth, moss, cedar, leather, black cherry, cassis, flowers and minerals. There is a great balance between to the primary fruit and tertiary complexity. Finish is long and layered...such a great wine.
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At Christies Chicago BYOB dinner - from a magnum - what an amazing wine and definitive proof how well Napa cabs can age and improve with time. Great life showing still deeply rich dried red berries and kaleidoscope of spices. Beautiful integrated and simply memorizing. Drink or believe it or not hold.
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TGIF (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL): So good, and from what I could tell, in perfect balance. Aromatics were deep, somewhat savory, and dark. Layers of earth, cherry, earth, and spice were woven together seamlessly. Palate was vibrant and fresh with nice acidity and soft, sweet tannins. Big fan of this.
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What a classic Napa cabernet. Fully evolved at this stage, but no signs of decline at all. A slightly herbal nose with just a touch of green pepper, balanced by some lovely secondary animale characteristics. It's weird, I'd have a hard time seeing how wines made today will turn into something like this. The palate was very much alive, with a good balance between some drying fruit, leather, and earth. Nicely restrained, with soft but present tannins.
Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Mini-Vertical (Benoit, NYC): Easy WOTN. Similar light weight and aromatic + flavor profile to the younger ones, showing herbs, blackcurrant, plum, and figs. But this is more complex, with added notes of spices and a bit of mocha. Shows its age in that the fruit is more baked, as if served in a pie. Where this *really* separates itself is the suave texture and above all the length: the wine is perfectly harmonious at every point on the palate, and the flavor lingers indefinitely, leaving a silly smile on your face as you try to carry on conversation. A big success.
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Black cherries, spice, earth, mushroom, wet forest and smokey scents lead to a fully mature, perfect example of California Cabernet Sauvignon that is still delivering a great tasting experience.
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My wine of the evening... you will see later that I rate the Harlan 1999 higher, but sometimes it is not just the wine. It is the expectation and the experience. 1978, a great Cabernet year. This wine at 33 years old, was fresh and reasonably full in the mouth. It was balanced through the palatte (from front to back). The fruit that pre-dominated was not blackberry, as is the case with many of the "modern classics", but bilberry. The wine was a great "french wine made in America". No disrespect to the American winemakers, but a badge. While the "Chateau's" were struggling an producing some fairly ordinary wines through the 70's (the 1978 Lafite couldn't even hold a match to this wine, let alone a candle) there were great long lived wines being made in the US. The 78 Pedrocelli outshone a Calon segur of teh same vintage, the Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill till this evening was the best 78' was the best I had had of this vintage till this evening... this was a great wine and a great tribute to the US wine industry. While it still had beautiful fresh fruit (still), it also had wonderful mineral undertones that yu might expect from St Emilion. In fact blind you would probably pick this as an old world and be somewhere in teh region of St Emilion or at a push Paulliac. Great great wine, an experiential wine - history, character and class.
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Opened a magnum on New Years Eve, together with 750s of 78 Caymus Special Selection and 78 Phelps Backus. This wine is still my all-time favorite California Cabernet. Quite a contrast with the Caymus. This wine is drinking at least 10 years younger, and is of a much more modern style. Presages the big-fruit cabs of 20-years later, but with much more subtlety. Has at least 10 years left.
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Dinner at Wilfred's (New York City): This gets an OMFG, wowza! The flavors were all old Napa, sweet cassis interplaying with melted licorice and a gorgeous, lifted element of mint, eucalyptus and Bay leaf. Very fresh and drinking very well, had we been tasting this blind I never would have picked this for a 1978 or a Cali Cab. Enjoyed by everyone, this got us off onto a long conversation lamenting about the 'modern' California Cabernet. Gorgeous, gorgeous wine, thank you Lyle!
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Opened two bottles for New Years. An absolutely perfect cabernet. Still had the strength of a more youthful wine, but with perfect balance and long finish of a well-aged Bordeaux. So good it made it hard to drink anything else afterwards. Curious to see if any of the superstar late 90's cabs will have aged this well in another 20 years. A '96 Shaeffer Hillside opened later in the evening couldn't hold a candle to it.
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10 Cabernets Tasted at Primas with John Shafer. Had he best nose of the night with lots of rich, sweet chocolate and cherries, great, musty old cabernet flavors with big, soft tannins in the mouth, past its peak, the tannins on the finish outlasted the fruit. My #4 and Group #5.
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6/29/2020 - Cailles wrote: 95 Points
This is a beautifully aged Napa Cab still going strong at the age of 42 years. High complexity with good precision as the highlights but this evening it clearly got outshined by the Dominus 1994 which had more of everything and the better, rounder structure and balance and showed a bit less on the sweet side. Still, it was a privilege to taste this old beauty but my guess is, this will improve further over the next 10 years.
TN: Intense bouquet with balsamico notes, leather, fresh herbs and red fruit. Some heat on the nose which was distracting from the underlying beauty. The palate shows sweet, mostly red fruit, great nutty aromas, herbs and with time some caramel notes. Not as aristocratic and bordeauesque and complex as the Dominus 1994 we had the same night but still a great wine, even though the structure still had some edges. Medium+ length.
Decanting: A short decant should do the job.
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5/13/2020 - sirpat00 wrote: 96 Points
Tasted blind. There is depth and tension with a basket of dried mushrooms, black truffles, dried tea leaves, dried tobacco leaves and mineral notes. But there are also still traces of sweet notes and sufficient fruit. Over time in the glass an avalanche of cigar box aromas erupting right at you. Incredibly fresh and fruity on the palate given the age with Bordeaux-like elegance. That said, the structure around the acidity is weakening. I think a 96 score is definitely deserved just simply given how well this 1978 Napa has aged! But if you focus purely on pleasure this would probably me more in the 93-94 range.
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12/6/2018 - clayfu wrote:
wow wow wow!!! this wine is a pinnacle example of aged Napa Cab. It's to me drinking at peak, it's a dense wine but showing it's aging grace, filled with sweet earth, springy bright red fruit exploding out on the nose. The palate is concentrated and persistent. There's a richness of beautiful elegant red fruit and a bloom of spices and chilling acidity. F A mint streak intensified the cooling aspect of the wine. A wine of 40+ years it is still vibrant and alluring
I repeat. wow
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12/22/2017 - TheEngineer wrote: 99 Points
Wow, one of the top wines that I've ever drank. Period. Mature and arriving in such style and grace. Fruit is dried but still ripe and more than that, the balance with the structure, nice complexity, along with the lingering elegant finish that stays on the breath as well as the memory.
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12/3/2016 - Dave Canada wrote: 95 Points
The Fifteenth Annual Stonefields Wine Tasting Dinner for Charity (Guelph, Ontario, Canada): Nose of powerful sweet cassis, leather, cedar and black fruit.
Palate is loaded with complexity....earth, moss, cedar, leather, black cherry, cassis, flowers and minerals. There is a great balance between to the primary fruit and tertiary complexity.
Finish is long and layered...such a great wine.
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10/25/2016 - nywine68 Likes this wine: 99 Points
1978 California with John Gilman (Craft): HUGE! Modern day Cali Cab. Not a hint of age on it. 1978 Cali Cab Tasting
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7/11/2016 - KenK Likes this wine: 96 Points
At Christies Chicago BYOB dinner - from a magnum - what an amazing wine and definitive proof how well Napa cabs can age and improve with time. Great life showing still deeply rich dried red berries and kaleidoscope of spices. Beautiful integrated and simply memorizing. Drink or believe it or not hold.
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7/25/2015 - tooch wrote: 95 Points
TGIF (Domaine Wine Storage - Chicago, IL): So good, and from what I could tell, in perfect balance. Aromatics were deep, somewhat savory, and dark. Layers of earth, cherry, earth, and spice were woven together seamlessly. Palate was vibrant and fresh with nice acidity and soft, sweet tannins. Big fan of this.
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7/24/2015 - acyso wrote: 93 Points
What a classic Napa cabernet. Fully evolved at this stage, but no signs of decline at all. A slightly herbal nose with just a touch of green pepper, balanced by some lovely secondary animale characteristics. It's weird, I'd have a hard time seeing how wines made today will turn into something like this. The palate was very much alive, with a good balance between some drying fruit, leather, and earth. Nicely restrained, with soft but present tannins.
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9/10/2013 - cooberp Likes this wine: 94 Points
Joseph Phelps Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Mini-Vertical (Benoit, NYC): Easy WOTN. Similar light weight and aromatic + flavor profile to the younger ones, showing herbs, blackcurrant, plum, and figs. But this is more complex, with added notes of spices and a bit of mocha. Shows its age in that the fruit is more baked, as if served in a pie. Where this *really* separates itself is the suave texture and above all the length: the wine is perfectly harmonious at every point on the palate, and the flavor lingers indefinitely, leaving a silly smile on your face as you try to carry on conversation. A big success.
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6/7/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 94 Points
Black cherries, spice, earth, mushroom, wet forest and smokey scents lead to a fully mature, perfect example of California Cabernet Sauvignon that is still delivering a great tasting experience.
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6/4/2011 - pekingunther wrote: 94 Points
My wine of the evening... you will see later that I rate the Harlan 1999 higher, but sometimes it is not just the wine. It is the expectation and the experience. 1978, a great Cabernet year. This wine at 33 years old, was fresh and reasonably full in the mouth. It was balanced through the palatte (from front to back). The fruit that pre-dominated was not blackberry, as is the case with many of the "modern classics", but bilberry. The wine was a great "french wine made in America". No disrespect to the American winemakers, but a badge. While the "Chateau's" were struggling an producing some fairly ordinary wines through the 70's (the 1978 Lafite couldn't even hold a match to this wine, let alone a candle) there were great long lived wines being made in the US. The 78 Pedrocelli outshone a Calon segur of teh same vintage, the Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill till this evening was the best 78' was the best I had had of this vintage till this evening... this was a great wine and a great tribute to the US wine industry. While it still had beautiful fresh fruit (still), it also had wonderful mineral undertones that yu might expect from St Emilion. In fact blind you would probably pick this as an old world and be somewhere in teh region of St Emilion or at a push Paulliac. Great great wine, an experiential wine - history, character and class.
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3/1/2010 - wishiwereking wrote: 97 Points
absolutley fantastic, youthful wine, who says california wines do not age well? Wish I had more!
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12/31/2009 - arappaport wrote: 99 Points
Opened a magnum on New Years Eve, together with 750s of 78 Caymus Special Selection and 78 Phelps Backus. This wine is still my all-time favorite California Cabernet. Quite a contrast with the Caymus. This wine is drinking at least 10 years younger, and is of a much more modern style. Presages the big-fruit cabs of 20-years later, but with much more subtlety. Has at least 10 years left.
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10/9/2007 - Eric wrote:
Dinner at Wilfred's (New York City): This gets an OMFG, wowza! The flavors were all old Napa, sweet cassis interplaying with melted licorice and a gorgeous, lifted element of mint, eucalyptus and Bay leaf. Very fresh and drinking very well, had we been tasting this blind I never would have picked this for a 1978 or a Cali Cab. Enjoyed by everyone, this got us off onto a long conversation lamenting about the 'modern' California Cabernet. Gorgeous, gorgeous wine, thank you Lyle!
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12/31/2006 - arappaport wrote: 99 Points
Opened two bottles for New Years. An absolutely perfect cabernet. Still had the strength of a more youthful wine, but with perfect balance and long finish of a well-aged Bordeaux. So good it made it hard to drink anything else afterwards. Curious to see if any of the superstar late 90's cabs will have aged this well in another 20 years. A '96 Shaeffer Hillside opened later in the evening couldn't hold a candle to it.
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10/6/1990 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 85 Points
10 Cabernets Tasted at Primas with John Shafer. Had he best nose of the night with lots of rich, sweet chocolate and cherries, great, musty old cabernet flavors with big, soft tannins in the mouth, past its peak, the tannins on the finish outlasted the fruit. My #4 and Group #5.
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