1975 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 93 points

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  3/19/2022 - oakville72 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  What a surprise! Despite being 46 years old, this wine is in great shape despite a wet cork (which extracted beautifully) and some ullage. Slightly brickish red, but, all in all, the color is excellent. After a bit of must blows off, the nose is pure and varietal, and the flavors surprisingly fresh for a California Cab of its age, and it lacks the stewed prunes characteristic that some older Napa Cabs display.
  
  The front label reads 13.2% alcohol and the back that the grapes were picked at 23.5 degrees brix — far less on both accounts than the monster Cabs Napa Valley is pumping out today. This wine shows that balance is the key to longevity. If you still have some, drink it up, but if it's been stored well, it should be wonderful!

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  12/25/2012 - adanacsim wrote: 97 Points

  Paid less than $10 a bottle for this wonderful wine decades ago and it just goes on and on. The nose was subtle upon opening. Decanted and poured right into glasses. Everyone at the table loved this wine. Soft and smooth but plenty of fruit left. Paired with a roast filet with a mushroom sauce, which it complemented beautifully. '78 was a great vintage for California and this wine was a wonderful example how a good vineyard and a skillful vintner could craft a wine with considerable staying power.

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  8/5/2012 - MTheory wrote: 91 Points

  Well stored, purchased from retailer directly after it was acquired from a private cellar with the appearance of being impeccably stored. The cork presented itself to be supple and not difficult to remove with the proper two prong opener and a little play back and forth in the bottle neck. The wine had penetrated about two-thirds of the cork, but was carefully removed intact. The Burgess was opened, tasted, decanted, and fully developed within 15 minutes. In part because this bottle was correctly stored, there was minimal sediment present at decanting. At first there was a slight musty taste which quickly evaporated to reveal a gentle start which progressed to a pronounced fruit on the finish. It was well balanced and presented the obvious care of former pilot turned winemaker,Tom Burgess. There were two present at the tasting and we rated it a 91 and 90.

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  1/29/2010 - pmevans wrote: 91 Points

  Very solid showing for this wine - beautiful nose of old cabernet, balanced in the mouth, lovely fruit. I don't know who the winemaker was at Burgess from the mid 70's to the mid 80's but time and time again I've been surprised by how good these wines are, even in a relatively weak vintage like 1975. The 1980 is outstanding as well.

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  11/13/2008 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points

  Palate: Floral off the bat; lite perfume; nice lite earth, cherry; Chalky, choc covered cherry; great fruit inside, med, well int., soft t’s, LONG fin! Fantastic well bal. and classy aged wine! No sign of weakness!

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