1980 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
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Tasting notes
1980 was a longer, cooler growing season, producing wines of moderate alcohol and great freshness. Medium to deep brick colored, the 1980 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour opens with provocative cherry cordial, vanilla pod and cardamom scents over a core of mincemeat pie, dried lavender, black tea and camphor plus a touch of bacon fat. Medium-bodied with just 13% alcohol, the mouth is firmly textured with ripe, grainy tannins, lively acid and layers of pure dried berries and exotic spices, finishing on a mint tea note. With the fruit and tannins still hanging in there, there’s no great rush to drink well-preserved bottles of this vintage.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Full healthy red with an amber rim. Expressive scents of redcurrant, plum and milk chocolate show some nutty oak tones but also something distinctly fresh. Silky, rich and concentrated but juicy and delineated as well, boasting building intensity on the back half. Still full of life, with some remaining tannins that may yet be resolved. I have liked this vintage of Georges de Latour since the start. According to Trevor Durling, this 1980 was still raised entirely in American barrels but he noted that this vintage may have gotten a small percentage of new barrels and a slightly shorter élevage than in earlier years. (I must note that a second bottle tasted two weeks later in New York showed a less lucid color, a stronger tobacco quality and more obvious oakiness. It was beginning to dry out on the finish and reminded me increasingly of a dry Oloroso as it opened in the glass.) (13% alcohol; 7.2 g/l acidity)
I have rated this wine higher in the past, but at this tasting (February, 1995) the wine exhibited fine intensity, full maturity, a good, spicy, rich, savory character, and excellent concentration. While it has reached its apogee, it possesses the potential to last for 10-15 more years.
About the producer
Beaulieu Vineyard remains one of the most historically important wineries in Napa Valley. It is it one of the longest continuous running wineries in the region, as one of the few that kept operating throughout Prohibition.