Golden oldies
Cellar Pleasures
Browsing the shelves for a good red to take to dinner with friends last week, I pulled out Iron Horse Cabernets 1990—35 years old. Could it still be good? Actually, yes! Decanted an hour before dinner. Sound cork came out intact. Readers know I’m trying to drink down cellar oldies before they’re totally gone—which has produced some delightful surprises and very fine drinking.
I do not recommend aging reds that long, but many of these California Cabernets from the 1980s are shockingly good. Why wait so long? Well, as Patrick Comisky notes in the current issue of The Unicorn Review: “opening anxiety” – once consumed it’s gone. One waits for the right meal, the right company (those who can enjoy its “pedigree,” its storied history”); therein lies the danger of waiting too long—I would say I’ve been lucky so far, but it’s really the breed, the structured balance, the deft winemaking that have given these wines their long life.
The Iron Horse 1990 Cabernets from T-T Vineyard in Alexander Valley, a blend of 57% cabernet sauvignon and 43% cabernet franc, decanted an hour before pouring, was extremely enjoyable, smooth and integrated flavors of black and red currants—probably more dynamic a decade ago, but the fruit was still vivid, especially the red-fruit flavors of cab franc. Not especially long in finish, but clean and balanced (13% alc), with fruit dominant. Admirable! Especially good with the superb soft-ripened French cheese—Brébirousse d’Argental.
Word has it that California winemakers are pulling back on ripeness (too often over-ripeness, in my view) and tannin extract in order to make their reds more supple and accessible on release. I couldn’t be happier to hear it. The trend toward longer hang-time in the vineyard—resulting in greater ripeness and higher alcohols—prevalent in the late nineties and early decades of this century, produced wines dramatic and potent in their youth, dazzling wine buffs. Some Cabernets boasted alcohol levels at 15%, sometimes higher! Many have not aged especially well, such as the Robert Mondavi 2015 Reserve Cabernet, which at a nose-burning 15% alcohol, was too tannic to enjoy in its fifth year, the alcohol overwhelming the fruit in its tenth. Quite a different story with Mondavi’s 1984 Reserve, which at 12.9% was rich and delicious when I decanted it in 2021.
Many of the 1980s reds I’ve opened and decanted have aged well because of their balance and moderate alcohol content, ranging from 12.6% (Ridge Jimsomare 1984—stunning!) to 13 or 13.5%. Balanced wines are good when they’re young and also age well. Back in February (Super Bowl night) I was delighted with Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve 1986 from Napa Valley—100% cab, 13.6% alcohol and gorgeously rich black fruit flavors. Decanted ninety minutes ahead, cork soaked through but intact.
These older wines need time to unwind after so long in bottle (38+ years for the 1986), some even better the second night, like Sterling Three Palms Merlot 1990 (13.1%, decanted May 24, 2025)), which really bloomed 24 hours later. Blended with 24% cabernet franc, it showed lovely red currant accents supporting the breed and depth of that legendary vineyard’s merlot. (I worry that the Pickett fire in Napa Valley could threaten this exceptional vineyard, now owned by Duckhorn Vineyards, whose team honors the legacy vintage after vintage.)
Another aspect of these older wines is that you are drinking history, tasting a moment in time immortalized in a bottle—e.g., the fall of 1990: a season that launched the Hubble deep-space telescope, the Human Genome project, and the first Persian Gulf war—incidents whose ramifications we continue to experience.