1977 Villa Mt. Eden Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (8) Avg Score: 91.1 points

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  5/10/2023 - MJM4032 Likes this wine: 90 Points

  As others recently noted my bottle had a high shoulder fill and definitely needed the Durand to come out intact. I was pleasantly surprised to find that while most of the big CA cab character had aged out it still had a very pleasant taste and body that went well with our steak dinner.

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  11/20/2020 - oropeza Likes this wine:

  Soaked cork / lots of seepage. One touch from the ah so and it fell straight in... not the best start. Tertiary notes all over the nose but no obvious flaws... ok this is looking better. First sips had some gassy funk on them that cleared within ~15 minutes. Then over the next 2 hours: Red fruit up front, moving into a bright & round core with mint and earth, tapering off on leather and slight stewed fruit. Decent acidity... jouncy for its age. All in: Wonderful, fun, 40+ year old California cab from a killer winemaker.

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  6/17/2018 - doctornoah Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Exceptional. Had a mid-shoulder full and so I opened it with low expectations. Couldn’t have been more wrong. Venue did a great job on this one. These “drought year” wines seem to have remarkable longevity. Dark red fruit and some cassis. Cedar and earth and a bit of tobacco. Beautiful balance on the palate. Could age another decade or more probably.

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  4/3/2012 - BradKNYC wrote:

  1977 California Cabernet horizontal. (Il Corso.): Shows pretty, boisterous aromas of cassis, black cherries and a bit of minty oak. Whereas the nose was more black in profile, on the palate the fruit was more red and a lot more subdued than one anticipated given how fragrant the nose was. Cedar, chocolate and earth notes meld together nicely with cherry fruit. Easy going, integrated and a bit past peak, it still manages to put a smile on one's face and goes down effortlessly. It should be noted that Nils Venge was winemaker at the time. He had previously worked with Ric Forman at Sterling Vineyards before joining Villa Mt. Eden, '74 being his first vintage. Aside from starting Venge and Saddleback wineries, Nils gained fame when he worked at Groth, garnering the first 100 point score for a California Cabernet with the '85 Groth Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon B+.

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  10/5/2009 - pmevans wrote: 93 Points

  Very impressive for a 32 year old cab in only a so-so vintage. Deep flavors, almost port-like, not too far from being a bit overdone but label says 13% alcohol. No hurry to drink this at all. Mid-70's Villa Mt. Eden cabs are gems, primarily because they were made by future superstar Nils Venge. The '78 gets all the accolades but this is just as good.

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