1978 Cabernet Sauvignon Burgess
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Tasting notes
The 1978 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Burgess Cellars is a delight. Fully mature on the nose like many Cabernets from this era, it is a doppelgänger for a Médoc, with sous-bois and light tobacco scents that tinge vestiges of black fruit. The palate does not deliver the complexity of some of its peers, but this does retain balance and finesse. It’s perhaps a little simple or rather…unassuming towards the finish, as if it has done its job well and now it’s time to leave. Not one of those earth-shattering old Californians, but decent.
Critic scores
Neal Martin
About the producer
Wine has been made at Burgess since the 1870s, but was established in its current guise when Tom Burgess purchased the property in 1972. The property has 24 hectares across two vineyards on Howell Mountain. As of 2020, it is owned by Gaylon Lawrence Jr of Heitz, Stony Hill and more.