1984 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (12) Avg Score: 88.1 points

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  11/16/2013 - Jeff Leve wrote: 91 Points

  It took a while for the barnyard notes to blow off and allow the tobacco, earth, cherry, forest and herb scents to emerge. Concentrated and deep, with rustic, old school textures, the wine ends with tart, spicy, peppery cherries. This is a nice, but not great example of classic California Cabernet Sauvignon.

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  9/2/2013 - drunken sommelier Likes this wine:

  Tasted alongside a Far Niente Cab from the same vintage and the Phelps is definitely showing much better. Fresh black and red fruit on the nose, a little bit of cooked black cherries, black pepper, alcohol and a prominent aroma of eucalyptus or something similar. Ripe red fruit on the palate and a good bit of body left here. I would definitely drink it up soon, while it is still showing well.

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  12/31/2011 - drunken sommelier wrote:

  Cherry/garnet in colour, some faded cherry and blackberry on the nose along with earthiness, leather and black pepper. Definitely showing some sherry characteristics - if you still have this it is time to drink it.

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  6/28/2011 - jspepper wrote: 92 Points

  With AK - Heavy sediment, very dark and deeply colored. Very promising bouquet upon opening and decanting, but totally closed in on palate. After an hour started to open - continued to aerate throughout as wine continued to unfold - probably needs 2 1/2 hours to fully open (2+ hours minimum). This is an old-time heavy-hitter - very muscular, tannic & structured - acidity that really gets the taste buds tingling and the juices flowing. This is now all secondary characteristics on the palate, which is big & bold, with leather uppermost and licorice in the background, and is complemented by a fine nose that is big & rich and hints at over-ripeness. We both felt there was something distinctly Bordeaux-like about the wine in an old-time, old-vine kind of way. I suggested it was Latour-like. It was clearly at its best at the very end, 4 hours after decanting. With each glass (I poured small glasses to give the wine more time to unfold) I noticed the wine was at its best shortly after being poured and then declined noticeably as it warmed and the tannins began to intrude. So, I suggest keeping this wine cool (60-62 degrees), breathing it fully before drinking, pouring small glasses, and consuming each pour before it gets too warm. I see no reason why it won't support another 30 years of peak drinking and appears capable of a little further improvement. A wine for patient old men that requires careful handling.

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  1/21/2010 - smcg wrote: 80 Points

  All the tannin survived, but not the fruit. If you still have this, toss?

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