1980 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow

Community Tasting Notes (9) Median Score: 93 points

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  3/28/2019 - Derek Darth Taster Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Judgement of Bishan. Not a fully fair judgement but a judgement nonetheless. Pop and poured. Drank over the next 3+ hours.
  Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour with garnet rim. Nose is clean, medium intensity, with aromas of herbs, pine, mossy forest floor, caramel, dark red plums. Developed.
  On the palate, dry, bright high acidity, medium alcohol (12.5%), totally integrated slight powdery though still melt in the mouth tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of herbaceous bell peppers, forest floor, blackcurrant leaf, blackcurrant, dark red plums, black plums. Strong long finish with upwards lift from the acidity. Showing all the way throughout the night, never declined!
  Outstanding quality. Bordeaux-like, but has a slight caramel and fruit sweetness to it that still hints at New World. Picked out as the oldest wine in the blind line-up, wow but feels more 90s than a 1980 wine!
  Amazing longevity. Spectacular wines coming out from Diamond Creek on Diamond Mountain. Gravelly Meadow being the most Bordeaux-like of their bottlings.

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  8/24/2018 - Matthesen Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Really quite nice. Much better than I expected. I love the 1978s, but 1980 isn't generally considered a great year. Quite lovely nose with a lovely palate showing lovely dark fruit, mineral notes, cigar box. A bit of drying tannin, but Med+ finish. A very nice wine!

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  6/14/2018 - jeffreylubowski Likes this wine: 95 Points

  1st place of 4 quality aged wines. This knocked my socks off. 38 year old napa cab from a moldy grungy bottle and yet the wine was so fresh and alive. This could have gone 10 or more years. Deep and dark and even some tannins left. Everyone guessed bdx and can't be blamed for that. Similar to the 1996 Forman in black fruit and graphite, but 16 years older and just as alive! If you have a well stored bottle, this could go toe to toe with first growths.

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  6/10/2018 - John Dunlap Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Thank you jeffreylubowski for sharing your wines! I ranked this wine 2nd place out of the four wines tasted but could have easily given it a 1st place showing due to its age and how well it is holding up. Alcohol level was 12.5 percent.
  
  I have always enjoyed 1980 Napa Cabs. In general, 1980 was a rich year in Napa – though who knows if it would be considered such by today’s standards and associated higher alcohol levels. It was sandwiched between 79 and 81, both of which were thought of as drought years and were much leaner in style. I do not think it is an off year as others on CT have mentioned. In fact, one of my all-time favorites wines from 1980 was Conn Creek which had wonderful balance/concentration and sold at a great price point. In addition, 1980 Cabs were (and probably still are) far better wines than anything produced that year in Bordeaux. Anyway, I digress.
  
  Today’s tasting of 1980 Gravelly Meadow maintains that rich style that I recall from many years ago. The color was good for its age and the nose has a bit of the that forest floor element that I associate with age and a number of CA Cabs. This wine also possessed a ton of deep spice and tobacco notes that, I assume, developed over years of bottle age. In addition, nice elements of dark raspberry, brown sugar richness, and a floral quality were noted. The tannins are more tea-like than round, which is a bit surprising given the vintage, but actually understandable given age of the wine (38 year old). Very enjoyable and probably best to enjoy now and for the next couple of years.

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  9/21/2017 - europat55 wrote: 91 Points

  Nose: A- Palate: B+/B++

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