Guides

Articles

Media

E-Learning

Resources

Community

Explore

Yoon Ha
Apr 1, 2010

Seven Flights of Historical California Wines

On Sunday February 28th, I had the privilege of attending a tasting of mature, benchmark wines from California.  Mr. F, a very prominent collector, who had attended the event that was the topic of my earlier blog, A Sommelier’s Ultimate Experience, had very generously invited me to his residence in Calistoga to join seven of his peers in tasting these historical bottles from his cellar.  The table was set beautifully, adorned with a dizzying array of mellow cheeses, charcuterie, patés and breads.
 

The Welcome Wine

1978 Mayacamas Chardonnay (photo not shown)
 
The wine was amazingly intact.  The fill level was at 5 cm and the color was a mature medium gold with flecks of bronze.  The wine did show whispers of aldehydic/fino notes which, when checked by the lemon/honey candy, morphed into flavors of salted sweet butter on the palate.  There was nothing nutty and tired on the nose or palate.  I was informed that the wine did not experience malolactic fermentation (not intentional, at least), which didn’t’ surprise me, as I found that the acidity provided the order and organization of the magical mature flavors. 
 

Flight 1

1968 Hanzell Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley
1971 Hanzell Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley
1973 Hanzell Pinot Noir, Sonoma Valley
 
My knowledge of the 1968 vintage in Northern California is limited, but I recall that there were some amazing wines produced.  A couple of years ago, Alice Heitz ordered a 1968 Napa off the list and it showed beautifully.  The 1968 was the clear winner.  It has the deepest color with the ripest and purest fruit.  Wonderful dried spice and dried mushroom notes, but not advancing to truffle quite yet. 
In comparison, the 1971 was medicinal with hints of dried fruit peering under the bitter finish. 
The 1973, the most elegant of the flight, showed dried, high-toned red fruits, dried herbs and leather without volatility.  It was the palest wine of the flight.  Everyone agreed that the 1968 was the winner, as did I, but there was an elusive, discreet magic about the 1973.  Amazing that these pinots could taste like this after thirty-seven plus years.
 

Flight 2

1978 Stonegate Steiner Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County
1978 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma
1978 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
1978 Beringer Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (photo not shown)
 
The producer, Stonegate was a first for me.  This was one of the strongest flights, as I had anticipated.  I had always held the 1978 vintage in high regard and I found this flight to be no different.  The Stonegate was the ripest, plushest and the most richly textured of the flight.  The fruit was still ripe and articulate.  The tannins were velvety sweet. 
If the Stonegate was remarkably primary for its age, the Chateau Montelena was much more serious.  The nose was very poised - a great balance between dried fruits, earth, smoldering tobacco.  It wasn’t as plump and filling on the palate but showed more drive and intent with more architecture/carpentry.  For me this was the wine of the flight for its complexity and energy.
The Ridge was the most backward of the flight with aromas of horse, brettanomyces, damp leather and medicine.  It was much more enjoyable on the palate, but faint fruit was dominated by savory flavors of beef jerky, soy sauce and dried mint. 
The Beringer Reserve drinking very well.  It showed generous fruit but what separated it from the Stonegate were the leather and earth notes.  A very pleasant wine but the tannins were aggressive on the finish, thus shortening the flavors.
 

Flight 3

1975 Sterling Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1975 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
1975 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill, Napa Valley
 
The Sterling almost nudged out the Diamond Creek as the wine of this flight.  The nose was very pretty.  Dried red fruits gave way to savory black truffle, beef jerky and dried tobacco leaf in a medium body, well-balanced acidity and velvety tannins.  This wine, I was informed, was made by Ric Forman. 
In contrast, the Ridge was backward – medical, minty with unclean aromas of damp bark, brettanomyces and a touch of TCA.  Fruit was difficult to locate. 
The Diamond Creek was the most authoritative wine of the flight.  Still dark in color it showed big dried fruit aromas with carbon and charred earth notes with savory meat undertones.  The tannins were still big but the abundance of fruit kept the wine in balance.  I estimated a drink window of another 15 years.
 

Flight 4


1974 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
1974 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon
1974 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill, Napa Valley
 
As 1974 is the most fabled Cabernet Sauvignon vintage in Napa Valley, we had very high expectations.  The Ridge was remarkably similar to the 1975 from the previous flight.  It was bretty and horsy, but showed more fruit and dried mint.  The wine was much better on the palate, revealing more fruit than on the nose.  This was the most tannic of the Ridge wines so far.  The finish was moderately long, if a bit tart at the very end.
The Mayacamas was the wine of the flight, showcasing dried red/purple fruits, hard earth minerality.  The wine was very pure and clean and the mouthfeel was supple and elegant. 
I had the highest hope for the Diamond Creek, but it did not show well.  It was dominated by maderized notes of brown sugar, sherry with cooked prunes and porty aromas and flavors.  The wine finished with huge coarse tannins.
 

Flight 5


1970 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1970 Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
1970 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1970 Yverdon Cask 152 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1971 Yverdon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
 
The Souverain was delightful, displaying a medium red core with aromas of well-focused dried red fruits, a pleasant hint of brettanomyces, truffle and leather.  Medium bodied with supple tannins and pure expressions of fruit.  So much so that it seemed a bit short on complexity. 
This was the best Ridge of the night.  Still a bit of brett and horse with dried mint, but with fruit to balance these notes.  The flavors were a bit jumbled – dried red fruits, salt, mint, meat with a finish dominated by tannins that were still big.
The Mayacamas, for the second time, was the wine of the flight, showing beautiful dried red/purple fruits against dark mineral, smoke, truffle and dried leather and herbs.  This wine edged out the Souverain due to the riper tannins, better symmetry and overall complexity.
I had never heard of Yverdon and learned that it is currently Terra Valentine of Spring Mountain.  The 1970 Cask 152 was intact, showing good fruit, but a bit medicinal and a bit volatile on the finish.  The 1971 displayed leather, truffle, salty and fertile earth notes with an abundance of plump fruit.  It was easy to like due to the plump fruit and roundness of the mouthfeel, but left me wanting more complexity.
 

Mystery Wines

1970 Chateau La Mission-Haut-Brion
1970 –1972 (blend) Martin Ray Cabernet Sauvignon, Saratoga
1970 Inglenook Charbono, Napa Valley
 
Everyone took note that the La Mission was a departure from what we had tasted thus far.  However, due to the theme of the tasting, only one person had the discipline to deduce what was in the glass and took it to the old world.  Everyone guessed the wine to be much older than it was due to the color, which was a very pale, transparent, a faded pale ruby core with an orange/brown rim.  The wine showed much more cut and articulation.  It was more linear with lower viscosity that showcased dried red berries, dried herbs, juniper and iodine.  It was very complex and much more discreet than the others. 
The Martin Ray, on the contrary, displayed generous fruit with sweet leather, herbs and dried cigar.  The fruit was really packed in, defying its age with abundant aromas and flavors.  This was a first for me, an encounter with a wine that was neither NV nor single vintage.  
The Charbono was distinct.  I was taken by the color an opaque, black purple, but the aromas were mature.  Dried purple/black fruit with a very distinct roasted/dried sanguine aroma.  I entertained the Northern Rhone Valley, but the color was too dark.  Once on the palate I knew was way off course.  The wine was full-bodied, with big tannins and abundant fruit.  And the color was deeply concentrated.  Mr. F, the host, gave us 2 clues:  “New world and not a Cabernet Sauvignon”.  The collector to my right called Charbono.
 
 

Flight 6

NV Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1968 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1969 Mayacamas Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (corked)
1969 Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1968 Robert Mondavi “Unfined” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
 
No one could elaborate on what vintages the NV Sourverain contained.  The wine was generously proportioned with fruit that was up front with notes of tobacco and dried earth, albeit a bit simple. 
The 1968 Souverain showed more complexity and refinement.  There was a direct kinship of aromas and flavors between the two, but the ’68 was more nuanced and elegant with a long, lacey finish. 
The Mayacamas (it replaced the corked ’69 Souverain) was, for the 3rd time, the most compelling wine of the flight.  The wine showed dried tobacco, mint and leather notes backed by expressive dried red fruit.  The wine displayed great mouthfeel, sleek with supple, well-matured tannins. 
The 1968 Mondavi was a stellar wine.  Curiously, it was the only wine that displayed a layer of mild baking spices of nutmeg and cardamom.  It was the most exotic of the wines with notes of dried roses, violets and dried cherries.  On the palate the wine was plump, broad and showcased more fruit than earth with supple tannins, balanced acidity and a long finish.
 

Flight 7

1972 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1973 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Stag’s Leap Vineyard, Napa Valley
 
I’ve had some experience with older Heitz Cabernet Sauvignons.  I remember three years ago when Alice Heitz came in with her family and ordered the last bottle of 1968 Napa from our list.  She offered me a glass and informed me that there was no new oak, that the wine was vinified and aged in huge oval uprights.  The 1973 reminded of the 1968.  Heitz Cabernets always distinct because they can simultaneously be discreet and wild and I find their structure to be unique - built from the inside out rather than from the outside in.  The ’73 showed intriguing dried herbs, dried tapenade and dried red fruit on a sleek and elegant frame.  
The 1972 Mondavi was the most compelling wine of the flight.  This past year I’ve had the privilege of tasting many of the Mondavi Cabernets from the ‘70s and I’ve found them to be consistently intact and very complete.  This wine exhibited generous fruit backed by leather, dried tobacco and leather.  It was more ample on the palate, showing plush texture and silky tannins. 
The ’73 Stag’s Leap cabernet sauvignon was the wine that made history at the Paris Tasting in 1976.  I learned that vines that were only 4 years old at the time.  The wine was sound, but not particularly memorable when compared to the Heitz and Mondavi.  A discussion took place on what this wine might have tasted like in Paris in 1976.  What was its appeal?  Why was the impact of this wine more profound than the others?  And how would it line up against the current vintage of 2006?  How will the 2006 show in 2043?
 
With the exception of 2 bottles (one corked, the other maderized) the bottles were in immaculate condition.  Ullage levels were no lower than lower-neck for Bordeaux-shaped-bottles and no lower than 3cm for Burgundy-shaped bottles.  A tour of Mr. F.’s ample cellar prior to this tasting revealed a truly extraordinary collection pampered with immaculate storage practices.
 
Darkness approached and the tasting came to a conclusion.  It was a magical evening of learning and enjoyment.  Thank you for reading.

 

Anonymous
  • over 14 years ago

    Amazing stuff...  these wines provide such great context as we look at present-day California - as let's us see both the positive and negative "advances".

  • over 14 years ago

    Yoon, this must have been an amazing experience. Really cool stuff. Thank you for sharing.

    Can you explain what you mean by  "sweet" and "ripe" tannin?

    For me tannin is a purely textural experience, so I'm trying to understand what you're describing. "Harsh", "hard", "moderate", or "soft" tannin I all understand, but I'm a little unclear on how your descriptors fit into that hierarchy.

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous over 14 years ago

    Truly insightful.  Too bad the Ridge wines didn't show better; I've always been a fan.  And look at the alcohol content on the labels.  12%!  Like you said, Geoff: a little knowledge can certainly be a dangerous thing.

  • over 14 years ago

    What an amazing experience!  Thank you for taking the time to share, and with such depth. We can hope that the complexities only revealed through age will not be lost to impatience and solely sales driven decision making.

  • over 14 years ago

    Wow! Truly impressive. How many people think many of today's wines will ever have this kind of future. And what's more amazing is that people didn't really know what they were doing then (In a good way). A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

App Store Google Play
© 2023 GuildSomm

Join to continue reading.

GuildSomm members enjoy exclusive access to educational content, classes, and a robust professional network. If you're a wine professional, GuildSomm is for you! Our members represent every facet of the industry and stage of a beverage career.

Join now