1990 Durney Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Grown, Carmel Valley, Monterey County.
Being a Carmel Valley native, it was will some pride that I was able to find this bottle, thanks to my friend, wine lover and noted photographer Nic Coury, and share it with my tasting group, where it showed fantastically well, even being a bit past its best at this point and drinking like a nicely aged left bank Bordeaux. Opened, decanted and filtered through a port funnel, as the cork disintegrated in the process, this garnet/brick 1990 Durney Cabernet Sauvignon, which certainly would have benefited from being opened a decade ago, still has some freshness and structure with some dried/dusty dark berry, currant, plum and cherry fruit, along with some stewed notes, sous bois, leather, old cedar, coffee grounds, bay leaf, pipe tobacco, green pepper and loamy earth. The palate is medium full and ripe in tannin and there’s delicate incense carried onto to lingering finish with impressive fruit essences. This is a local treasure and a historic wine in Monterey County, with these vines having being established in the late 1960s in Carmel Valley, long before the official AVA was founded in 1982, and though little records survive it is certain that these Durney wines were old school and traditionally crafted using de-stemmed grapes and saw loads of extraction with lengthy macerations, after which the Cabs got between 18 months to two years in wood. Set on loamy, sandy soils with white shale, the vines were mostly dry farmed, relying on under ground Cachagua springs and the cool marine layer at night to provide healthy conditions, along with the hot Summer days here, for grape growing, again allowing for Bordeaux like character to shine through in the Cabernets. It should also be mentioned that Durney wines, especially the Cabernet Sauvignons, “were quite austere and tannic,” (when young) as explained by my friend Bernabe de Luna, a Monterey County sommelier who has lots of experience with these wines, which has given them the long lifespans and made them nice cellar gems. Locally we are always on the look out for the Old Durney bottlings, and I was able to try a few lately, this one, as well as the 1993, which was one of the first under the Hellers, that was also brilliant.
The Durney Vineyards were the original pioneers of Carmel Valley’s wine region and the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard planted by Bill Durney at about 1500 feet above sea level in the Cachagua area starting back in 1968. Back in the 1970s, they was only Durney and the famous Chalone Estate flying the flag for quality red wines, in fact Durney actually made it to the president’s table, with the Durney Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon being served in the White House during the Reagan Administration. The Durneys first, and then the Heller Estate and then most recent the Massa Estate, had close to a hundred acres, with all organic Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah, Malbec, with Riesling added later, and Petit Verdot vines here, but it is those 1968 Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc which are the most legendary and continue to be sought after today. While the old Chenins are pretty much deacon arrival now, the Cabs, like this 1990 are stellar still and deliver very rewarding performances. According to the Massa family, old documentation they found, indicates that the vineyard was planted in 1969 (a year later than thought) by Mr. Durney on its own rootstock. The story that was past down, goes that Durney bought the vines from the Mirasou family, who it is believed brought them in from France. Regardless of minor details, these old Durney bottles are cherished and are now becoming very rare treats, as this beautiful 1990 proved recently. I was quoted in the SF Chronicle a few years back, highlighting the significance of the Durney Vineyard and hope for its preservation, which has been in some doubt since the Massa family sold the property and it remains to be seen what happens. Lots of people have tried hard to continue showing off this vineyard in recent years, including Ian Brand, who personally made some lovely Massa Estate (old Durney) Cabernet and who turned on the grapes here here to some other modern California stars, Ryme Cellars, Raj Parr, Bedrock and Jaimee Motley to name a few. Another friend, Alex Lallos, another, like me a Carmel Valley native, has kept the faith with these older Durney Cabs and has shared some of his own bottles with me over the years and has long promoted the quality of these unique Monterey wines, for which I’m also grateful.
($79-100 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive