TN: bunch of Cali Cabs ('78-'91)

Last night our Bordeaux group took a detour to Cali. Theme was 1991 (and ol der) Cal Cabs. Dinner was at the midtown East Bobby Vans- nice round table, great service, good meat.

I had made a quick trip home to doubledecant my wines before getting on tra in, but my 1991 Diamond Creek Gravelly Meadow Cabernet Sauvignon was corke d beyond belief. Grabbed a couple of backup bottles and jumped on train.

As I arrived two half bottles of MV Krug Grand Cuvee. I'm not a the bigges t Krug fan stylistically (I tend to prefer lighter/crisper) but these were nice and fresh, nice bready finish. B+/B for me, others who gravitate more to that style might rank higher.

1985 Stony Hill Chardonnay Dark, savory, good acids, oxidative notes but some interest. B-/B 1990 Stony Hill Chardonnay Tired, honied, good bones but probably some suboptimal storage before I avq uired ( I thought I had grabbed the '91 which has generally shown better/yo unger, oops) B-/C+

1978 Mondavi Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Last time I had this was 6 years ago in mag, thought this might be showing age, but it was actually showing quite young, in a midbodied style. Black c urrant, plum, cigarbox. A-/B+

1978 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Redder fruits, spicy, a bit of bell pepper. A-/B+

1985 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon Sporting some VA, some brett, and a little TCA, no thanks

1986 Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon No TCA here, but plenty of brett, a little hint of maderization, C+/B-

1987 Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Powerful style, brambly black fruit, leather, young. A-

1979 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon Nice coffee/mocha aromatics, fully resolved, not quite as fresh as the 1978 s. B+

1990 Diamond Creek Three Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Midbodied, cassis, herbal, tangy. Good to start with, with air really bloss oms- some coffee, that tangy herbal thing, long complex finish. A-

1991 Raffanelli Cabernet Sauvignon This was one of the surprises of the evening for me, nice balanced CS with leather, smoke, and earth over dark fruits. B+/A-

1991 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Sweet, chocolate edge, a thought simple compared to some other 91s. B-

1991 Shafer Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon Sweeter, plummier than some others, big wine that seemed a little ponderous , B/B-

1991 Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Mid to full bodied, a little vanilla but sweetness in check, cassis and smo ke. B+/A-

1991 Togni Cabernet Sauvignon Wow, now this is singing, and just gets better throughout evening. Young bu t stunning. Cassis framed with a complex blend of pepper, mocha, and leathe r, tannins are there but suave, this has decades ahead of it. A-/A

Very fun night. In 3/2/1 voting, those that got votes (if I can read my scribbling correctl y) were Togni 17 Diamond Creek, Montelena 6 each

78 Mondavi 5 Rafanelli 3 Jordan , 79 Schafer , Beringer 2 each

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a p arty where it was only choice.Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivi ty, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.