TN: 1978 Carneros Creek Cabernet Reserve

I’ve had nothing but great experiences with older Carneros Creek wines - why did this winery not make it??

[media][Rich Brown on Instagram: "1978 Carneros Creek Cabernet Reserve, Napa Valley. Man, i don't want to jinx myself....but I have been on a roll with aged wine lately! This wine was absolutely incredible! Bottle/cork were in perfect condition and the wine poured a deep purple color with literally no signs of bricking. On the nose and palate, this cab was shockingly youthful, with sweet purple fruit, cassis, and only hints of tobacco and leaves. Truly, I think I opened this bottle at the absolute perfect time as the fruit is fully integrated but still prominent, with secondary notes just beginning to emerge in the background. I've had nothing but great experiences with aged Carneros Creek wines (cabs, zins, and petite sirah), but this one takes the cake. Virtual hug to whoever owned this bottle originally! One more left! #carneroscreekwinery #cabernetsauvignon #agedwine #napavalley #winehistory #wine"]

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Vey cool, Rich.

I sold their wines retail including the non reserve 78 Cab, Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noirs in the 1980s and found them well made.
The marketing problem was Carneros, both Napa and Sonoma and best suited for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

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Thanks Richard! I would have loved to try these wines in their youth, as I’ve been damm impressed with how they’ve aged.

And that makes sense on the marketing front. I assumed that must have been part of the challenge for them from a business perspective.

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Richard…pretty sure Frank didn’t make a Syrah in all his yrs at CarnerosCreek. In '75, he (and MikeBernstein) made a PetiteSirah (a one-off),
forget the vnyd name over on the EastSide in the mtns. Same yr, Freemark Abbey & Ridge made a great PetiteSirah.
But I’m pretty sure Frank never played with Syrah.
Tom

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I have a bottle of that '75 PS. This is one of those off-the-radar producers I picked up and consumed quite a bit of over the years. Great stuff. A bottle of the '79 PN a few years ago was a knockout.

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FrankMahoney started in the wine biz working for Jerry Draper at Draper&Esquin down in TheCite. He developed a love for great
Red Burg there & was determined to make it there in Calif. So he founded CarnerosCreek & built the winery in 1972. The wnry was designed by
PaulCassayre & Mike Forni, who later got into the wnry biz under the name of Cassayre-Forni, making their wine in the barn of a house right next
door to the Swanson tasting room. A guy named Charlie Woods did cellar work for Frank & opened his wnry, Napa Cellars, in a geodesic dome bldg near Mustard’sGrill that
is now just a tasting room.
Frank’s first wine was a '72 NapaGamay that was actually quite nice and put him on my radar. But his passion was PinotNoir & he planted a buncha different clones on his
property & did a very thorough clonal study, one of the first in Calif, for which he gets little recognition. His first Estate Pinot was the '76 and it was terrific.
To have some production until his Estate Pinot vnyds came onto line, he went up to AmadorCnty & was buying Zin (and Cab) from ErnieEsola. They were terrific Amador Zins.
He also started making Cabernet (and a bit of Merlot) from NapaVlly, primarily from the Steltzner Vnyd and some from Beckstoffer.
He also was one of the first to take grapes out of YoloCnty, from the DunniganHills. Sutter Basin Vnyd. Mostly Cab & Zin, but also Ruby Cabernet.

Frank was instrumental in convincing Tony & Joan Truchard to plant their vnyd a bit further up the vlly, on the very north edge of the Carneros AVA.

Frank & Kathleen Mahoney sold the wnry & brand to Mike Mondavi about 2006. Operation was getting a bit too large for him.
He then founded Mahoney Family Vnyds just down the road on Dealy Lane. He planted the LasBrisas vnyd a bit further South, across the highway, in the Carneros.
Ryme make their very good Vermentino from LasBrisas. He also made a very good Nebbiolo from there, but has since grafted over those vines. Nobody can
sell Calif Nebbiolo, alas.
But Frank is still very much in the wine biz.
Tom

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Thanks fellas! I scooped up a magnum of the 75 PS as well and am excited to open it at some point. It doesn’t say the Vineyard name but maybe this will jog some memories
20210418_141312.jpg

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Awesome Tom - i was hoping you’d chime in with some history on the winery! I’m intrigued to try some of Frank’s wines from Mahoney Family Vineyards - any that you’d recommend Tom?

Thanks again!

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The Vermentino LasBrisas & the Mahoney Family Estate Pinot would be my rec. The Fleur line is typically quite good QPR wines. Apparently Frank’s started
a vnyd over in the SuisunVlly but not had anything from it yet.
Tom

Perfect, thanks Tom! I’m on it!!

On the nose and palate, this cab was shockingly youthful, with sweet purple fruit, cassis, and only hints of tobacco and leaves. Truly, I think I opened this bottle at the absolute perfect time as the fruit is fully integrated but still prominent, with secondary notes just beginning to emerge in the background… Virtual hug(s).

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As i recall, Frank’s partner was a man named Balfour Gibson, who was associated with Connoisseur Wine Imports. I remember that his son worked at CWI. In 1972 it was Esquin Imports, which was later merged with Jerry Draper’s store.

Although Carneros is not known for cabernet,I have tasted good cab from there, not to mention Syrah and Merlot. The Winery Lake Merlot was excellent.

My question would be, why is it that some wineries endure and others fall by the wayside?? In the early '80s Acacia was the cat’s meow and now it’s just a by-the-glass brand made at Beringer.
They are not making wine this year at Chalone but processing the fruit some where else, I am told. California is littered with ex wineries and brands: Lynncrest, Hoffman Mtn Ranch, the Original Oakville Vineyards, Charles Shaw, Hacienda, Shown and Sons, St Andrews, Cassayre-Forni, Jekel, etc. I think one could buy either the original Byron winery in Santa Maria and/or its successor winery around the corner, which is quite beautiful.

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Not gonna lie buddy. This has to be my favorite one yet [cheers.gif]

Awwww, Mel… walk into any Trader Joe’s & you’ll see Charles Shaw all over the place!!

I think you have the history on Frank’s background right.
Tom

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Tom,
What about Hacienda?? Another Fred Franzia special!!
Fetzer bought the Jekel brand, not sure what happened.
Cassayre Forni became Havens, or was that Lakeside originally??

Who was the guy who ran the ad saying he made only white wines, with a picture of Lenin with a slash across it and the words, No Reds!!

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Wasn’t aware of a Havens/Cassarye-Forni connection.
Don’t know that ad. I never watch TV or even own one. Am I missing out on something?
Tom

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I think John Paul of Cameron in Oregon cut his teeth there but said he realized he’d never make great pinot in that site. My elementary school was just a mile or two away.

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Mike Havens worked for Cassayre Forni back in the day, then for the Truchard’s and then did Havens(with Peter Franus at first)
The 75 PS I still have a bottle and Peter Franus was involved while working with Bernstein at Mt Veeder. My bottle has the Mt Veeder label.
My 2cents

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Tom,

The ad was in wine industry publications etc. He didn’t have the Paul Masson budget.

Mike, didn’t Havens work at Truchard?? Or was that Ken Bernards??

One answer to the ‘why didn’t CC succeed’ esp with their delicious cabernet is that sometimes the production side gets ahead of the marketing side. And sometimes wineries don’t have enough money to do everything right. Nowadays a winery would have a wine club, a VIP room, etc. I did some research and found that Art Formicelli was also involved. He was the primary owner of Connoisseur Wines. Maybe that’s how they thought they would sell the wine.

It does seem to me that ZD made the first noteworthy Carneros Pinot Noir, then it was Carneros Creek. But Acacia took all the air out of the room and maybe there was only enough air for one or two wineries in Carneros.

Mel, Yes Mike was the winemaker for early Truchard.
You are right ZD did make mid 70’s Pinot from Carneros and a couple of other areas. I still have one of them buried in the cellar.

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