Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Bates Ranch

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard dinner (Culture Center in NYC) : Sadly it seems my birth year did not hold up as well as the '79 which was just rocking. Here the fruit had all faded and so it was much more secondary in nature. Lots of the savory side of the wine. Bell pepper and olives and leather. Old school style, but it works.

Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard Cabernets ’77-‘85 Blindtasted (Palo Alto, California) : Group's #8 (my #6) – 82 pts.; 0, 2, 1, 1 – funky stewed plum and fig nose, that blew off after awhile to more a fig, red currant and graphite nose; currant, tart red fruit, with good acidity and structure; medium finish (initially rated it higher, but it fell off a lot after 40 minutes in the glass)