Collector's Corner: 1970 Bordeaux & California Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Tasting Notes

Great winemaking, when combined with fruit from a perfectly sited vineyard, can produce magical results. This is once again confirmed when tasting the Ridge Monte Bello and other leading Cabernet Sauvignons of the 1970 vintage!

Beyond the sheer pleasure of tasting leading wines from an exceptional vintage, the most important point to be learned from wines of the '70s is that California has vineyards capable of producing complete and outstanding wines using juice exclusively from Cabernet Sauvignon. These are fascinating wines to taste for they are true examples of Cabernet Sauvignon. At the time of the '70 vintage, the winemakers had little option regarding experimental blending of their Cab with other varieties. The total bearing acreage of Bordeaux-blend varieties was a mere 40 acres in Napa County and only one bearing acre of Cabernet Franc was reported in Santa Clara County. In our opinion, the wines tasted are the better for being pure Cabernet Sauvignons.

The impulse to do this tasting followed on the heels of our article lauding the remarkable winemaking accomplishments of Paul Draper at Ridge Vineyards. After Steven Spurrier's "Judgement of Paris, Revisited" thirty-year anniversary tasting shown the spotlight on the Ridge 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon (rated first in Spurrier's retrospective tasting), our curiosity was peaked regarding how the 1970 Cabernets were doing some 37 years following the vintage.

Our notes, when we first reviewed the wines, indicated that the 1971 failed to reach the level of quality exhibited by the extraordinary 1970 Ridge (the wine that probably opened a spot for a Ridge Cab to be the only non-Napa California wine to be included in that famous tasting event). And, since we had the good fortune to still have a number of '70 Cabs lingering in our cellar, it became an easy event to arrange.

Concluding that the best way to assuage our curiosity was to taste the Ridge 1970 among its California peers, along with a couple of classic Bordeaux. Although '70 had been relatively warm in Bordeaux and not regarded as a 'classic' vintage in Bordeaux (it was referred to as a 'Californian' vintage), given the number of successful wines emerging out of the vintage and the interest they generated, the year was heralded as a break-through vintage for California. There were, of course, a limited number of examples of this varietal (since the bearing acreage of this variety totaled less that 3,000 acres for the entire state). But a lot of winemaking talent was emerging and this was reflected in the high quality of the wines.

Exceptional professionals were engaged in making the wines and this was stirring great interest among wine enthusiasts (see the wine market growth figures in 2006 Wine Marketing Council's report). The winemakers were finally proving the promise California had shown in the late-'eighteen hundreds - before the failed Prohibition experiment wrecked havoc to viticulture. Besides Paul Draper, the winemakers included Miljenko Grgich and Warren Winiarski (making wine at Mondavi), Bob Travers (at Mayacamas), Joe Heitz (at Heitz), the intrepid enthusiast Michael Robbins (at Spring Mountain) and the combined talents of Dick Peterson and André Tchelistcheff (at Beaulieu) and Jerry Luper and Brad Webb at (Freemark Abbey).

The wines my Collectors' Series tasting group have tasted, so far, include Beaulieu (Private Reserve), Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Freemark Abbey (Bosché Vineyard), Heitz (Martha's Vineyard), Mayacamas, Mount St. John (Esquin Reserve), Ridge (Monte Bello Vineyard), Robert Mondavi (unfiltered) and Spring Mountain. The following are my tasting notes and commentary about the wines.

BORDEAUX 1970

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac) A wine that Michael Broadbent fell in love with, based on comments in his Great Vintage Wine Book (1980). He said that the word 'elegant' appeared in his tasting notes every time he has had the opportunity to taste this wine - from the moment the maitre de chai reluctantly gave him a sip from the cask. He describes it as "a 'monumental wine' with an intense bouquet which developed a rich, biscuity quality in the mouth ... almost beefy for a Lafite ... excellent flavour and incredible aftertaste." He recommended drinking it between 1985-2020. In our Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine (CGCW) critique (Nov 1980) we stated that it seemed "too big for Lafite" ... but was "a masterpiece of power, complexity and grace".

• The wine was served quite cool and I found it engaging every time I took a taste. It emerged gradually and kept showing new, interesting qualities as it warmed and met the air. It has wonderful presence and feels seductively supple on the palate. Flavors include almonds and forest floor notes as well as complexing hints of bret. Its length went on forever. Its complexities made it the perfect wine when tasted with a potato preparation being served that included shallots, fresh herbs and blue cheese.

Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) Michael Broadbent cryptic notes described this wine as "fairly deep, fine but undeveloped nose, still peppery, characteristic Cabernet-Sauvignon aroma tucked under; a fairly powerful dry wine, more lean and austere than its fellow peers." He recommended it for drinking between 1988-2010. Our CGCW critique described the wine as "Powerful without losing composure, intense without losing complexity and balance."

• Still a little reserved and understated for what I expect from a Mouton-Rothschild, yet this is a very solid and fairly austere Bordeaux that carries the pedigree of its lineage and served as a perfect foil for the California Cabs. Medium-full bodied, the wine had an excellent mouthfeel and good presence on the palate, although 'fruit' would never come up in its description. In addition, its 'commissioned art' label elegantly graces your table.

CALIFORNIA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 1970

Beaulieu Georges de la Tour Private Reserve (Napa Valley) We were very enthused about this wine from the time we first reviewed it in 1975 and wrote that it was the hallmark of the '70 vintage Cabernets. Our regard continued throughout a series of retrospective tastings we conducted over the next twenty years.

• In this fourth decade of its life in a bottle, the wine remains an elegant, refined, perfectly balanced and complex winemaking achievement that continues to show a fine sense of varietal fruit. A Rutherford area classic, it is a very polished wine and retains its claim to being one of the truly exceptional Cabernet Sauvignons produced in California when the wines were first capturing international attention.

Freemark Abbey, Bosché Vineyards (Napa Valley) A wine from the Bosché Vineyard, located in Napa Valley's west Rutherford benchlands, it started out with almost floral qualities in its aromas and showed outstanding balance. And, in a 1980 review we noted it was softening and that its youthful fruitiness had substantially disappeared.

• Whatever this wine may have lost in youthful fruitiness, it has since made up in its deep and rich, sweet fruit impressions. Aromatic, the wine delights with a supple, creamy texture across the palate and a very lengthy finish.

Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard (Napa Valley) Always a questionable wine to place into an international flight of wines because of a distinctive 'eucalyptus' note in its nose and flavors. However, our CGCW review regarded it as a wine of "uncommon beauty, extremely complex with cedary and herbaceous notes." We wrote that it was supple yet had plenty of backbone.

• Some 37 years later, the highly regarded Martha's Vineyard remains a formidable wine with a good palate impression. Yet a touch of roughness still remains and the mintiness is a distinction that seems a less charming ideosyncrasy than it was when it was just an element as part of the wine's youthful fruit. Still, with entrees and dishes seasoned with aromatic herbs - this could be the perfect wine to serve. Like the Lafite, it shows no sign of becoming a faded shell of its former glory.

Mayacamas Vineyards (Napa Mountain) Ina retrospective CGCW review of this wine, ten years after the vintage, we stated this would be a "very nice wine to have sleeping in your cellar", but cautioned that it was not likely to be ready to serve any time soon. Impressive qualities included its power and chocolatey, mouth-filling qualities, distinct and black currant fruit character.

• If you have bottles of this wine, maybe they should be willed to your kids for it is still a tower of power, a concentrated and very hearty experience. This is more in the style of the gonzo Barolos than a wine made in the style of a Claret. Still coarse and tannic, it is a concentrated, hearty wine filled with substance and expectation.

Mount St John Vineyards, Esquin Reserve (Napa Valley) A wine made at Beaulieu for growers Virginia and John Bosché, who sold all of their grapes to Beaulieu until 1970. From the beginning the Esquin Reserve was lighter, softer and less appealing than the Freemark Abbey Bosché made by Jerry Luper, in his first year as Freemark Abbey's winemaker. Still, it was interesting to taste it alongside of its more handsome sibling.

• Obviously, either the better grapes went to Freemark Abbey or Luper did more with them. This one is now a bit too aldehydic and the barely lingering fruit flavors are more strawberryish than curranty at this point. Still the palate feel is not bad and, in a pinch, it could be enjoyably served with rosemary seasoned roasted meats.

Ridge Vineyards, Estate Grown, Monte Bello Ridge In the early years following the release of this wine, you had to search past the wine's "tight, concentrated, intense, brooding and introspective qualities" to catch glimpses of its magnificent future. In our CGCW review we opined that it was the most promising of the '70s to rewarding patient cellaring and it is always gratifying to confirm you were right when you predicted the future of a wine.

• An absolutely stunning wine with great structure and depth of complex fruit flavors. This one keeps showing something more and new nuances right up to the last drop from the bottle. Rich, deep and perfectly balanced, this was winemaker Paul Draper's first showcase wine and has turned into a great one.

Robert Mondavi Winery, Unfiltered (Napa Valley) The fifth vintage of the Mondavi winery, and part of a string of successful offerings, it was one of the outstanding wines of the vintage. When we reviewed it as part of our retrospective series in 1980 we concluded that maturity was clearly evident and the rewards were an opening up of the aromas and flavors, softening of the tannins and a gain of complexity. We also thought that it would be remain drinkable for another ten to fifteen years.

• At 37 years following the vintage, this wonderful wine is more than drinkable. It is bloody impressive! The cherryish aromas and flavors of Oakville Cab fruit is deep, delicious and lengthy. It has splendid balance and a wonderful presence in the mouth. This is the kind of wine every collector hopes to be able to bring out of the cellar to impress guests.

Spring Mountain Vineyards (Napa Valley) Michael Robbins, if we recall it correctly, was having problem with his corking machine. This resulted in some wines that became absolutely disgusting with age and we ran into some of them.

• The wine tasted on this occasion turned out to have gained everything Robbins could have hoped it would achieve over time. Outside of the Mayacamas, this Cab was the biggest, thickest, most weighty wine in the tasting. It was very aromatic, had deep, rich flavors and the finish went on forever. It was even slightly rough, the tannins having softened but not disappeared entirely from their presence in the wine.

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