Mature Californian wines from the cellar
The time comes when you must drink those great wines you've been collecting and storing. Here are some top examples of mature Californian wines hitting their stride...
Most readers will be aware that the vast majority of wines are not built to last any significant length of time, and even fewer would be expected to develop beyond the five-year mark.
Many winemakers also now talk about a fashion for drinking even top vintages much sooner than in yesteryear, and some lament this.
Drinking wines young is a great way of enjoying those primary fresh fruit characters, but cellaring ageworthy wines, or buying them at a later stage, can also offer great rewards as complexity develops in the bottle. And the wine, once opened, offers an opportunity to reminisce over years past with close company.
When the flushes of youth have settled down, they can also be exceptional with food.
The perennial dilemma is when to open that special bottle – the delicate balance between finding the right occasion without waiting so long that your wine silently fragments in the corner of the cellar.
Below are some top mature Californian wines from the last four decades, all of which should be good for drinking in 2018.
See also: Birthday wine buying guide for 2018
Mature Californian wines to try this year
Wines below are a collection of those tasted for Decanter by William Kelley in the previous two years
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Mature Rhône from the cellar
Heitz Cellar, Martha's Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Oakville, California, USA, 1978
1978 is justly renowned as a legendary vintage for Martha's Vineyard, and the wine certainly doesn't disappoint. A bouquet of sweet cassis, loamy soil, tobacco...
1978
Heitz CellarNapa Valley
Diamond Creek Vineyards, Volcanic Hill Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain, California, USA, 1981
The Volcanic Hill is the most powerful and complete of the 1981 Diamond Creek Cabernets, and it is extremely fine. The bouquet of blackcurrant and...
1981
Diamond Creek VineyardsNapa Valley
Kalin Cellars, Cuvée LV Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California, USA, 1995
Reminiscent of an old-school white Burgundy, this wine's complex, refined bouquet of orchard fruit, herbs and wet rocks is followed by an expansive and authoritative...
1995
Kalin CellarsSonoma County
Schrader Cellars, Beckstoffer To-Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Oakville, California, USA, 2001
Schrader's 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon is of some significance, as the first to bear the designation 'To Kalon Vineyard', establishing the precedent that the great To...
2001
Schrader CellarsNapa Valley
Kalin Cellars, Cuvée DD Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, California, USA, 1997
It's simply impossible to distinguish this from an exceptional Gevrey Chambertin. Its beautiful bouquet of red and black cherry, loamy soil, sous bois and sandalwood...
1997
Kalin CellarsSonoma County
Philip Togni Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain, California, USA, 2012
While the 2012 vintage tended to produce open-knit, fruit-driven wines, the Togni family has rendered something more serious: a bouquet of sweet cassis, black cherry,...
2012
Philip Togni VineyardNapa Valley
Cain Vineyard & Winery, Five, Napa Valley, California, USA, 1986
The 1986 vintage was rather overlooked in favour of the riper 1985s on release, but after three decades it may just have the edge over...
1986
Cain Vineyard & WineryNapa Valley
Kalin Cellars, Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Potter Valley, California, USA, 1995
Kalin Cellars routinely produce California's greatest Sauvignon Blanc, and the 1995 vintage was a particular success at this address: aromas of gooseberry, white peach, honey...
1995
Kalin CellarsPotter Valley
Araujo Estate, Eisele Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Calistoga, California, USA, 2003
The 2003 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet is an expressive wine with a projected bouquet of blackcurrant pastilles, black raspberry, spring flowers, creamy new oak and some...
2003
Araujo EstateNapa Valley
Domaine de la Côte, La Côte Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, Sta Rita Hills, California, USA, 2012
The La Côte in 2012 is a bit more red-fruited and high-toned than the Bloom's Field, with a striking bouquet of raspberry, red cherry, peony,...
2012
Domaine de la CôteSanta Barbara County
Dominus Estate, Napa Valley, California, USA, 1992
The 1992 Dominus is gorgeous, bursting from the glass in a blaze of mentholated black cherries, loamy soil and forest floor, and following through on...
1992
Dominus EstateNapa Valley
Kalin Cellars, Sémillon, San Francisco Bay, Livermore Valley, California, USA, 1998
Aromas of candied citrus, tangerine, petrol and beeswax are followed by a textural, glossy palate with bright acids and great intensity and length. Like Kalin's...
1998
Kalin CellarsSan Francisco Bay
Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, SLV Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District, California, USA, 1981
The 1981 Stag's Leap SLV reveals a beautifully pure bouquet of black cherry, blackberry and a touch of sweet liquorice. The palate impression is elegantly...
1981
Stag's Leap Wine CellarsNapa Valley
Marcassin, Blue-Slide Ridge Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast, California, USA, 2000
Marcassin's Blue-Slide Ridge bottling, from a vineyard owned by the Martinelli family, is Helen Turley's most consistently successful Pinot Noir. The 2000 is fully mature,...
2000
MarcassinSonoma County
Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello Chardonnay, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains, California, USA, 2004
Ridge's 2004 Monte Bello Chardonnay is a mature wine, revealing notes of baked apple, honey, candied lemon and toasted wheat. Full-bodied and rich on the...
2004
Ridge VineyardsSan Francisco Bay
Shafer, Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, Stags Leap District, California, USA, 2005
The 2005 Hillside Select has a decidedly red-fruited personality, with aromas of raspberry and redcurrant complementing its deeper notes of cassis, framed by notes of...
2005
ShaferNapa Valley
