1976 California Cabernet Blindtasting

Introduction by tasting organizer Ross Bott (pictured standing)


The 1976 vintage, the first year of the "Great Drought", was one of the driest in the last several decades in California. It rained only a few inches the previous winter, and the spring and summer of '76 were a never ending string of warm, clear days. The harvest began in September, and completed without rain interruption. In fact, the drought extended through the rest of the year and into early 1977, when the rains finally came.

The 1976 grapes came in smaller than usual and slightly dessicated from the lack of water. Concentrations of flavors in the wines were very high. While some vineyards suffered, those on steep mountain slopes and poor soils seemed to survive the best. Vines from many of these vineyards had grown deep root systems already in their struggle to find moisture in poor, rocky soils, and so were better prepared for the drought. Despite the challenges of the business, there were also some outstanding wines made, particularly Cabernet Sauvignons from mountain vineyards.

On Thursday, we'll celebrate the 30th birthday of seven California Cabernet Sauvignons and one Bordeaux ringer for comparison. Most of these Cabs are from the Napa and Sonoma hillsides, where the best wines were made in 1976. There are very few tasting notes for these wines, so I've included a few notes from my most recent tastes of these.


76 Mount Veeder "Mount Veeder", Napa County (13%)
76 Mount Veeder "Bernstein Vineyards - Mount Veeder", Napa County
(13%): I've tried both of these Mount Veeders in the past couple years, and they have the color and character of 5-10 years old Cabs. They are still deep and rich with cassis / currant fruit, and have a wonderful minerally overtone. They appear to have another 10+ years of development ahead, but are lovely now. Robert Craig, who now has his own winery on top of Howell Mountain, was the vineyard manager for these vineyards during the 1970s. He still buys Cabernet grapes from these vineyards because he believes they are among the best in California.

76 Conn Creek, Napa Valley (12.5%): This wine was quite unlike Conn Creeks from previous vintages or those later in the 1970s. It was open and round when young, with plums, cedar, and toasty oak, and one of the most attractive of the 76's during the first decade (and among the wines of the vintage according to Connoisseurs' Guide). Last tried a bottle about 5 years ago; fruit was holding surprisingly well, and there was fine Bordeaux-like complexity.

76 Carneros Creek "Esola Vineyards", Amador County (14.4%): Made by Frank Mahoney, one of the pioneers of the modern day California wine movement. Although he was known for his Zinfandels, he made some tiny lots of great Cabs and Pinot Noirs. This wine was an inky black tannic powerhouse when young. Haven't tried it in 25 years. What will have emerged from the blackness?

76 Arroyo Sonoma, Sonoma County (13.5%): Another sleeper from a winery which stayed in business only for a couple years. Great structure and depth, with concentrated fruit which lasted the first couple decades in fine shape.

76 Robert Mondavi, Napa Valley (13%): A valley floor wine. Elegant and Bordeaux-like when young, but I haven't tried this in many years.

76 Mayacamas, California (13%): From an unirrigated mountain vineyard in the mountain range between Napa and Sonoma, back in the days when Mayacamas was still making great wines. Powerful, concentrated and tannic when young. Haven't tried this in 20 years.

76 Chateau Gloria, St. Julien, Bordeaux (12%): One of the surprises from the 1976 vintage in Bordeaux. "Gloria's huge, plummy, spicy bouquet is enticing. Dark ruby/garnet, with plenty of sweet, ripe fruit in evidence, this medium to full-bodied wine is deep, very fruity, and has been ready to drink since the late seventies. It appears to be in no danger of losing its fruit." (Robert Parker)

Remarkably solid group of 30-year-old Cali Cabs, and one Bordeaux of the same year thrown in as a ringer that came in last in the group's ratings. All were purchased and cellared on release by Ross. Most had developed fine tertiary flavors and were supported by firm but mostly integrated tannins. I didn't expect so many of these 30-year-olds (harvested in the first year I visited Napa) to be doing so well this far on, with only a couple of exceptions. My favorite was the very structured and elegant Mount Veeder "Mount Veeder." The group's favorite, and my number two, was one most of us had never heard of—Arroyo Sonoma. (The '76 may have been its last vintage, as I can only find mention of two other vintages—'74 and '75, although there is still an Arroyo Sonoma Winery listed on an online directory on Cherry Creek Road in Cloverdale. If anyone knows what happened to their vineyard source, I'd be very interested.) The Carneros Creek, from Amador County, was the only one that, to me, didn't taste much like a Cab. It smelled and tasted more like an old Zin, and, indeed, turned out to have been made by a winemaker mainly known for his Zins. Besides that one, the only one other I thought was completely over the hill was the Mayacamas. All in all, though, at 30 years, a tasty and very creditable slice of California vinous history.

• 1976 Arroyo Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon 93 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County

  Group's #1 (my #2) – 41 pts; 1, 3, 7, 0 – brick colored; soft peppery raisin nose; good stuffing, sweet faintly plum mature fruit with firmness and rich, integrated oak; medium-plus finish, 93+ pts.

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• 1976 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #2 (my #3) – 49 pts; 4, 2, 2 , 0 – dark brick color; savory, mushroom gravy nose with a touch of chlorine; tasty, rich, mature tart plum; a little tangy on medium-plus finish 92+ pts.

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• 1976 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Bernstein 86 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #3 (my #5) – 53 pts; 3, 3, 0, 1 – plum and oak nose; unusual plummy and herbal mid-palate with astringent tannins still and too much oak; medium finish

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• 1976 Mayacamas Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 83 Points

  USA, California

  Group's #4 (my #7) – 59 pts; 2, 3, 0, 1 – dark brick red; VA and faintly plum nose; sweet, balsamic, very evolved; astringent short-medium finish (shortest finish of the lot)

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• 1976 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 94 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #5 (my #1) – 67 pts.; 1, 1, 3, 0 – big meaty nose with plum and a touch of pepper; tasty, rich, elegant, with appealing acid and depth of tertiary flavor; structured, with firm tannins at end; long finish

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• 1976 Conn Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #6 (my #4) – 67 pts.; 1, 1, 2, 1 – lovely redolent, spicy and peppery nose; sweet entry that turns to tartness and balsamic on mid-palate; sweet and tangy long finish

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• 1976 Carneros Creek Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Esola Vineyard 78 Points

  USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County

  Group's #7 (my #8) – 80 pts.; 2, 1, 0, 6 – big iodine and overripe plum nose, like an old Zin, with possible TCA; odd, tight, narrow oak, with port-like sweetness around the edges; medium drying finish (highest in alcohol at 14.4%)

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• 1976 Château Gloria 84 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Saint-Julien

  Group's #8 (my #6) – 88 pts.; 0, 0, 0, 5 – most brown red of the bunch; dark balsamic and gravy nose; tight, sweet balsamic, mildly astringent; medium-plus finish

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