1980 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 90.8 points

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  3/30/2021 - Tim Heaton Likes this wine:

  Wow, brilliant showing. Served double-blind, I was in Napa at first, given the sun-kissed nature of the dark red/black fruits, but by the second glass, this was offering up loads of lovely place/soil notes that had me on the left bank. Regarding the age, I supposed it was late 80s to mid-90s, so when it was revealed, we all took a breath and celebrated the good ol days of CA winemaking. A real treat. Still shows time in hand. A winner.

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  5/2/2020 - Vinnut Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Dark ruby in color with some slight clearing at the edges. Full, fragrant & attractive nose of ripe red fruit aromas of cherries & plums with overtones of aged tobacco & cedar notes, earthy/dusty, leather notes, spices, minty/eucalyptus, cocoa/coffee grounds & a hint of oak/vanilla in the background. Medium-full bodied of a very good concentration of well balanced & smooth textured, ripe fruit flavors of sour cherries, blueberries & dark plums, spices, herbs, minerals & a hint of oak/vanilla. Lingering smooth finish. Drinks quite well at present but at 40 years of age it appears to be at its peak of development, so please drink up! A well-aged but very aromatic & supple wine. Quite enjoyable.

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  12/20/2016 - RichEB1 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  My Birthday, so wanted to pop a birth year wine. Had high hopes after reading about a recent 80 Duckhorn merlot that showed really well, and I wasn't disappointed at all.
  
  You could tell right after popping (errr....ah-soing) the cork that we were in for a treat. Really pretty red fruits and damp leaves filled the room, which transitioned to more dominant savory notes on the nose as it opened up. Still very dark in color with some slight cloudiness as expected, but visually very appealing for the age (*cough, cough....kinda like someone else I know). On the palate this is just delicious. Sour cherries, leather, pipe tobacco, and earth. Perfectly mature and drinking really, really well. Couldn't ask for much more from a 36 year old napa cab! Glad I have another one for next year
  
  *Quick update- saved a glass and it's seriously even better on day 2 (just corked it and left on the counter). Sweeter red fruits and cassis are more prominent and it just seems more integrated all around.
  
  Love me some aged napa cab....especially when you can snag them at reasonable prices!

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  4/25/2010 - golfhawk wrote: 93 Points

  Outstanding CA cab that was smooth and still had great balance. It was amazing that this is 30 years old.

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  4/13/1996 - bestdamncab Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Tasting of 15 Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, most bottles from my cellar exchanged with fellow members of 2 wine groups. Lovely, rich cedar, sweet fruit on the nose with black pepper, very mouth filling, cedar present on palate. My #8.

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View all 7 Community Tasting Notes

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