Cellar Favorite: 1978 Mount Eden Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled

BY BILLY NORRIS | APRIL 6, 2026

Before dinner at David Kinch’s Los Gatos restaurant, The Bywater (Vinous Table coming soon), a generous friend shared a bottle of Mount Eden’s 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Bottled from his personal cellar. It’s dripping with old-school cool, clearly a wine from a different era. At the time, the potential of Bordeaux varieties in this part of the Santa Cruz Mountains was being deeply explored and fully realized. Mount Eden was in a period of shifting winemaking leadership. Bill Anderson made the 1978, with consulting input from Dick Graff. Comprising 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate, the 1978 is shockingly dense and primary, likely due in part to significant late-season warmth. It boasts an almost mocha-like richness, with chocolatey tannins that coat the mid-palate, creating the impression of a much younger wine. Nuances of iron filings, macerated cherry, bay laurel, alpine herbs and cedar box sizzle from the glass, with that coniferous forest element that can be so striking in the Santa Cruz Mountains gaining momentum with air. Fully resolved, yet still lifted and fresh, the 1978 begins to fray at the edges after an hour or so, but what an enjoyable snapshot of the glory days of California Cabernet it is. This should drink well for at least another five years, if not a touch more. 93/Drink 2026-2031

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