The wine is Mount Veeder Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1976, Mt. Veeder
- Napa County - Bernstein Vineyards, 13% alcohol. I only had this one
bottle bought shortly after release and it was stored properly. Fill
was low neck, and there were no cork or other issues.

The color is still quite dark with only a little age showing around
the rim. If tasted blind, I likely would have thought the color was
apt for a wine about 15 years old rather than nearing 35 years. The
wine of course is mature, but it could last many more years. Dark
fruits including cassis and blackberry are quite apparent in bouquet
and taste and are still intense but are by no means of the fruit bomb
style. There is considerable cedar character also. There are still
tannins, but they are of a medium type and are not harsh. Acid is in
good balance. The alcohol is not excessive, and the wine now is smooth
without the bite of high alcohol and hard tannins that were often
found in California CS from the 1970s. This was one of the best CSs
from the 70's that I have had recently.

On May 9, 1:09*am, cwdjrxyz > wrote:
> The wine is Mount Veeder Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1976, Mt. Veeder
> - Napa County - Bernstein Vineyards, 13% alcohol. I only had this one
> bottle bought shortly after release and it was stored properly. Fill
> was low neck, and there were no cork or other issues.
>
> The color is still quite dark with only a little age showing around
> the rim. If tasted blind, I likely would have thought the color was
> apt for a wine about 15 years old rather than nearing 35 years. The
> wine of course is mature, but it could last many more years. Dark
> fruits including cassis and blackberry are quite apparent in bouquet
> and taste and are still intense but are by no means of the fruit bomb
> style. There is considerable cedar character also. There are still
> tannins, but they are of a medium type and are not harsh. Acid is in
> good balance. The alcohol is not excessive, and the wine now is smooth
> without the bite of high alcohol and hard tannins that were often
> found in California CS from the 1970s. This was one of the best CSs
> from the 70's that I have had recently.

Gosh, I haven't had a wine from Mt. Veeder Vineyards in ages. I still
have a bottle or two left from the early 90's that I need to drink.
Thanks for the reminder.

On 5/9/2011 10:32 AM, Bi!! wrote:
> On May 9, 1:09 am, > wrote:
>> The wine is Mount Veeder Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1976, Mt. Veeder
>> - Napa County - Bernstein Vineyards, 13% alcohol. I only had this one
>> bottle bought shortly after release and it was stored properly. Fill
>> was low neck, and there were no cork or other issues.
>>
>> The color is still quite dark with only a little age showing around
>> the rim. If tasted blind, I likely would have thought the color was
>> apt for a wine about 15 years old rather than nearing 35 years. The
>> wine of course is mature, but it could last many more years. Dark
>> fruits including cassis and blackberry are quite apparent in bouquet
>> and taste and are still intense but are by no means of the fruit bomb
>> style. There is considerable cedar character also. There are still
>> tannins, but they are of a medium type and are not harsh. Acid is in
>> good balance. The alcohol is not excessive, and the wine now is smooth
>> without the bite of high alcohol and hard tannins that were often
>> found in California CS from the 1970s. This was one of the best CSs
>> from the 70's that I have had recently.
>
> Gosh, I haven't had a wine from Mt. Veeder Vineyards in ages. I still
> have a bottle or two left from the early 90's that I need to drink.
> Thanks for the reminder.

My daughter served a fairly recent bottle of Mt. Veeder CS last year at
dinner. I forget the year but it was excellent. I've seen their wines
occasionally around DC but they tend to be expensive. I think they are
worth the price for occasional drinking like those of Grgich Hill.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm "not"