DEAD or ALIVE?
DEAD or ALIVE?
Yes, sometimes our most prized cellar pieces (bottles of wine so special, we can’t quite bring ourselves to drink them) not only go over the hill, they sometimes die while waiting to be drunk. For an explanation of the photo and the origin of the name “Michigan Vintner” you’ll have to scroll down past years of wine reviews to the very bottom.
A friend mentioned that he and wine geek friends get together frequently and drag out extremely old wines from their cellars to see if they are dead or alive. Unlike most wine clubs that critically evaluate and rank wines on points, medals, stars and so forth, this group simply rates the wines “dead or alive”. Just a few days ago, as Alice and I opened a couple of really old bottles of wine from a deceased friend’s wine cellar the thought occurred to me that this concept might make a fun ongoing blog piece when Alice exclaimed upon tasting the first wine “not dead yet”. Having no aversion to stealing someone else’s idea or benefiting from someone else’s creative thinking (yes, both Michigan Vintner ** and Rude Tasters are stolen identities) the only credit I can take is in the popularizing of them. The fact that I’ve never been invited to a meeting of the Dead or Alive club, further prompted me to exploit the name for my own blog.
Besides all the old wines we’ve accumulated over the years, we purchased a wine cellar from a deceased friend’s widow a few years ago. Our experience told us that many of the wines would very likely be alive, but, a good portion of his cellar was just odds and ends of low priced everyday wines that for some reason he never opened. Enjoying a glass of wine from a deceased friends cellar feels a little bit like sharing a glass of wine with that old friend.
So, this blog column, will not be static. Every time Alice and I open a bottle of wine that based on age or storage conditions is likely to not just be over the hill but quite possibly dead, I will post it to this column. I will make all additions to the top of the column rather than adding it to the end. I will start adding all new entries to “Great Wines from Places You may have Never Heard Of” to the top of that column too so that you don’t have to scroll all through the old stuff to get to the newest entries. At some point when the column’s intent and purpose are obvious, I will reposition, shorten or eliminate this introduction too. Just a reminder, all of the still wines are decanted in order to capture the brilliant clarity, pure bouquet and elegant texture of these old wines. See “Decanting is Essential to Enjoy Older Wines” dated April 02,2017 by scrolling way way way down.
TASTED 12/10/2023
Wow! What a SURPRISE!! I went into the cellar to get a bottle of wine to go with fondue tonight, thinking Australian perhaps because of a DNA connection with a long lost third cousin from Australia, and saw a paper wrapped bottle. I’ll be damned! It was a 2004 Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley Stonewell Shiraz, AUSTRALIA (14.5% abv) that I didn’t even know I had. Many years ago, I had bought a six pack each of Peter Lehmann Stonewall Shiraz and 2003 St. Hallett Barossa Valley Old Block Shiraz. The St. Hallet Old Block was absolutely the finest Australian wine I’ve ever had, yes, even better than Grange. The Stonewell was a fine example, but the last time I opened a bottle which has to be ten years ago, it seemed like it was getting a bit tired. So, a double surprise. First, finding a bottle I didn’t know I had and then tasting it and it rivaled the afore mentioned St. Hallett. As I was decanting the Peter Lehmann Stonewell, the nose seemed fresh and color good. There was as much sediment as a vintage port and likewise, came out of the bottle in slabs when I rinsed the bottle. The wine itself is brilliantly endowed with a black red hue just starting to have any translucence. It is still so pigmented that only the meniscus is at all clear, and this is a 19 year old wine. The smell is classic Barossa while the flavor is Aussie Shiraz in spades, or queen of clubs as is the case here. The omnipresent tannin is both dominant yet sweet and soft. This wine is still massive yet has so much going for it that its size is hardly a factor when enjoying it with a tasty meal. Best Aussie wine we’ve enjoyed in many years.
TASTED 11/8/2023
For November’s zoom group tasting we settled on Zinfandel. Knowing this a few months ago, I purchased a bottle of 1991 Chateau Souverain Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel CA (13.5% abv) $17.99 from the Village Corner Archives. Knowing Dick Scheer, I should have assumed it was still alive or he wouldn’t have had it in the store. But, 32 years is a bit of a stretch for Zin. Well, there was no need to worry. The deep saturated deep blackish color gave me hope. In the glass, it still has a red core with no more than 1/4 inch of orangish meniscus. The nose is huge with forest floor, tobacco, exotic aromatic wood spice and baked plums and cherries. It leaves your nose tingling with an impression of orange peel liquor. Other than its magnificent maturity and complexity there is no sense of age or decline. There is nothing “old” tasting about it. Even the next day the dregs were fine, complex and still had a rich smooth texture. ALIVE and well.
TASTED 6/13/2023
Our ZOOM tasting group is doing German Riesling tomorrow so to be sure that our wine wasn’t dead, we decided to open both our wine of choice and the back-up tonight. The first wine is the last very old bottle of 1985 Schloss Schönborn Erbacher Marcobrunn Riesling Kabinett QMP Rheingau (9% abv) the current price for a current vintage is 22 pounds in Britain, no idea what costs is here. Many years ago the Graf von Schönborn and his wife, Countess of Portugal, came to Gibson’s in Grand Rapids for a very small private tasting with a handful of local wine merchants. Gene Jacobs represented these wines back then and he was as much in awe of the Graff and the Countess as with their magnificent wines. It’s not every day us plebs get to mingle with royalty. They were remarkably warm and friendly and spoke English well. I’ll never forget asking them, being that he was German and she Portuguese, what language they spoke at home. Surprisingly, they spoke Italian at home because they were both proficient in Italian and she did not speak German well and he did not speak much Portuguese. Today, the estate is still run by their son, Paul Graf von Schönborn. Well, this wine didn’t need any memories of rubbing elbows with royalty to command one’s attention. It is stunningly good! Though the cork fell into the bottle as I started to insert an AH-SO, it was totally saturated and providing a good seal so there was absolutely no oxidation apparent. The nose is as Rheingau as Rheingau gets: generous, fat, ripe yet as fine as a razors edge. The flavor was just as classic but starting to show signs of lightening and softening, losing the acidic grip that would have been omnipresent 30 years ago. Not in a bad way, but nonetheless, showing that in a decade or so the palate impression will start to hollow out. Glad we drank it now. Next up is our back-up wine which I staged just in case the Marcobrunner had passed. So, we popped open 2006 Ewald Pfeiffer Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese QMP Mosel-Saar-Ruwer (8% abv) is no longer imported into MI but on line similar wines are going for about $40-50. The cork must have been waxed because there was zero saturation. It looked like a brand new as in inserted yesterday, perfectly clean with zero discoloration and as hard as you’d expect for a brand new cork, not one that is 16 years old. The color of the wine was a pale green-gold and the nose as precise as they come. Initially, I thought it might not be as big as the Marcobrunner Kabinett, but as it slid across the tongue, an explosion of exotic lychee jam with strawberry emerged. However, that was surprisingly short lived for an Auslese. Other than sweet, there really wasn’t a lot of finish. Considering the color, I would have to think it may need another 20 years to present itself well.
TASTED 4/3/2023
Tonight while enjoying a festive shrimp, fillet mignon, mushroom, potato and Brussels sprout fondue, was drink from the cellar night. We’re considering moving to Florida next year and if we do, we need to drink a major portion of the cellar between now and then. So, no more Trader Joe’s or Costco until we get our cellar down to a manageable size. Our old friend Paul Mann was a fan of Idaho wines and I can see why. Tonight we enjoyed a bottle of 2009 Koenig Vineyards Estate Merlot, Snake River Valley IDAHO (14.4 % abv) this wine is no longer made but most of their other reds are about $35. We’ve had their wines in the past but I only remember Cabernet Sauvignon and Meritage which were always big, intriguing and with great depth.. Can’t say I had ever had a Merlot. Well, I cannot imagine why this is discontinued. It is clearly the best Idaho wine we’ve ever tasted. Holy man! I would not hesitate to say it is not only better than any Washington Merlot, but absolutely in a class, emphasizing CLASS, with any Grand Cru St Emilion. The nose is nothing but pure Merlot fruit layered among terroir nuances that ring true to the finest of the finest emphasizing tobacco, tar, brown spices like clove and cinnamon, roasted meat, and cedar. If that weren’t enough, the palate rings the same bell plus charges up pepper, cured meat and concentrated reduced berry essence. The finish is also spicy and lingers with rich texture that you almost don’t notice it is so balanced. What a magnificent wine!
TASTED 1/08/2023
It’s my late mother’s birthday today. She would be celebrating her 95th if she were still with us. Alice always makes a great pot roast and by the smells wafting through the house, today’s would be no exception. So it was certainly an occasion to crack open a wine that I’d been saving way too long. The first one I brought out was a 1997 Domaine du Grand Prieur Cotes du Rhone (12.8% abv) FR was $5.99 when purchased in about 1999 or 2000. My favorite all time wine EVER was the 1996 vintage of this wine of which I had many bottles and found every single one more exciting than the previous. While working at D&W, my home store ran out of stock on the 1996 so I promptly made a chain-wide tour of very single D&W and purchased every bottle I could find. I think I ended up with about 5 or 6 cases that we drank over the ensuing three or four years. This bottle of 1997 was from John Beadle’s cellar and although it was meticulously stored under perfect conditions, the lack of ripeness evident even when it was a young wine spelled early death. Alice said it still had some life to it, but for me the volatile acidity that was starting to take over the fruit and terroir was too far along to call it alive. That prompted me to open the back-up wine which was 20 years older. Why back up a questionable wine with one that was 20 years it’s senior? No matter the age, I can’t say I’ve ever opened a Napa Valley Cab that was dead. And, 1977 was one of the great vintages of the latter part of the 20th century in Napa. So we popped the cork on a 1977 Rutherford Hill Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (12.8% abv) CA today’s cost about $50, also from John Beadle’s cellar. The color was a very dark rich red with almost no browning. The nose is still very classy with prominent baked dark cherry fruit concentrate with noticeable cedar and leather nuance. Clearly, it was not dead. The palate not only confirmed that but suggested it would hold for a while as everything in the nose was magnified, including a mouth-coating soft tannin balanced by fresh acidity. Location does matter!
TASTED 10/31/22
Alice wasn’t thrilled with the Trader Joe’s selection on the wine stand in the dining room so she pulled the disintegrating cork from something that looked a bit more promising. This one may not exactly be a candidate for “Dead or Alive” because unless it was corked, I was about 99% certain that it would be lovely. We have found, however that there is a clear correlation between a wine’s age and being corked. I don’t know the science behind this phenomenon but, because TCA taint is excreted by a very tiny organism, if that organism is literally encapsulated by the cork itself, it would take many years for the taint to reach the surface. Does that make sense? I’ve read a lot about TCA but no one seems to address the fact that when you buy a case or two of young wine, TCA is almost never a factor. Yet, as that same wine ages, more and more frequently one encounters corked bottles. Fortunately, our 2005 Groth Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley CA (14.7% abv) about $50-$60 for the current vintage was not corked. It really put on full display why these wines cost as much as they do and why people are willing to pay the price. As a lover of cheap mass produced wine, I will have to admit that it never tastes like this. The first whiff was full of complex, rich scents of smoke, tobacco, very condensed jelly-like berries and hints of composting forest floor. It is now at that perfectly harmonious stage where the fruit is still omnipresent from from first sip to lingering finish but at every taste bud a new nuance emerges as the wine sloshes over the tongue. Particularly in the finish, a red fruit liqueur-like sensation immerses the palate in a bath of flavor that makes one take stock of the many layers of pleasantly ripe and round essences. This is a great wine that at the time was not considered one of the best examples of the Nils Venge inspired style; only 87 points in 2008, but today I’d go closer to 100! Great stuff.
TASTED 10/3/22
I may have already reviewed this wine because I had a few bottles at one time. Tonight, to celebrate harvesting all the herbs, tomatoes, greens and peppers and putting away all the grow boxes and growing implements, we made a new recipe. “Chicken with Olives” (from allrecipes.com) was the recipe and I followed it other than instead of breasts, I used thighs. They are much moister and more tender and less prone to overcooking. I used a bit more olives and did not use the brine at all. So, what to serve with a yummy dish like that? Alice wanted Cab; I was thinking Italian maybe from the heel or toe of the boot. A bottle of 1994 Estancia Meritage (66% Cab Sauv / 27% Cab Fr / 7% Merlot) Alexander Valley CA (abv 13%) originally about $12 closest thing to this today would be Simi Landslide which sells for about $40 caught my eye and certainly needed to be drunk. It couldn’t possibly be improving and pretty soon it might be dead, not alive. I took a flashlight to the bottle and saw almost no sediment so we did not decant, simply poured very carefully. The cork was totally saturated so I used an AH-SO to remove it. For just a split second both Alice and I thought it might be over the hill, but a few swishes around the glass brought it to life beautifully. The color is burnt Sienna but with good color density, not washed out in the least. After a few minutes Alice even exclaimed that it was actually fruity! Not bad for a 28 year old wine. The nose is enormously complex with condensed fruit, cigar smoke and leather. On the palate, hints of cedar reinforces the very rich mouth-feel. I think it was a good idea to let this wine age this long. Though I never remember it being unbalanced or overtly tannic, it certainly does not lack texture and structure. This old boy is still a big wine and I don’t think it will fade anytime soon. That was our last bottle but we do have one bottle of ‘95 and a ‘97 left. Today, Estancia Meritage has nothing to do with this wine; different winery, different terroir, different ownership, different winemaking team. Originally, this wine was overproduction of Simi Reserve and other high end overruns from the Simi Winery from what is now known as the Landslide vineyard. The vineyard is actually the top of Mt St. Helena over in Napa that thousands of years ago blew off and landed in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. To say the least, it is a unique terroir. The Simi Landslide wines from about 2005-6-7 have turned out to be every bit as good as this wine, maybe better*. I’m not so sure about the future, though, because when a company the size of Constellation owns a brand, what it represents can change on a dime. This is a company that has no respect for terroir or tradition. Yes, the vineyard will be there and those grapes will be made into magnificent wine, but who knows what it will be called tomorrow or how much it will cost? This was one of the best “dead or alive” experiences so far.
*You can scroll down to 6/15/19 below for more on older Simi Landslide.
TASTED 7/10/2022
Here is a wine that although we’ve had it in our glass at least 15 times previously, it was never good enough to put into the “alive” category nor so far past it’s prime to be in the “dead” category. Tonight we just had a wonderful dinner; a beef shoulder roast spiced up with “Slap yo’ Mamma” and green chili’s and diced tomato. Basically it was a kicked up pot roast, but wow, was it ever good. Several weeks ago I brought a bunch of wines that were at an age that they absolutely needed to be drunk out in the dining room. One of those bottles was a wine that, like I said, we were very familiar with. At one time we had a case plus many bottles I had re-purchased from customers who wanted it out of their store. It was always okay, decent but not great nor even memorable. Tonight the 2003 (a very warm, atypical vintage that none of the critics liked; which is why I bought a case very cheap) Chateau Grand Duroc Milon (Cab. Sauv./Merlot/Cab. Fr.) Pauillac, Bordeaux FR (12.5% abv) originally about $20 but bought on close-out for well under $10 which is a second wine of 5th Grand Cru Classe, Ch. Pedesclaux. In a year like 2003 probably the bulk of if not the entire harvest may have gone into this “second” wine. On the back of the bottle, it says enjoy UP TO 5 YEARS! Oops, that was 14 years ago. It was fresher and brighter and with more complexity than it has ever shown in the past. Even the color was black red vs orange tinged burnt Sienna. The fact that I single decanted and (I typically double decant back into the original bottle) served from the decanter may have helped out too. I really thought it was going to be pretty much over the hill. Once again “Bordeaux for Summer” seems to be the best advice. I think old bottles catch a second wind while newer bottles flex their muscles. ALIVE, but, unfortunately, that was our last bottle!
TASTED 4/11/2022
Considering the provenance of this bottle, there was little doubt that it would be alive, but the big surprise is quality, not just “good for it’s age” but flat out unexpected class, breed, complexity, balance and depth that rivals (surpasses?) the very finest wines of France, California or Australia. And, yes, this is a native American grape. A few years back, a friend of ours who owns a vineyard in Missouri was cleaning out some of his old wines to make room for new releases and offered numerous library selections from the Augusta Winery. Today we opened a bottle of 2002 Augusta Winery Estate Bottled Augusta Norton* ‘Cynthiana’ (13% ABV) MO current vintage about $25. At twenty years the color is still black with just a tiny rim of burnt Sienna. The nose is massive and still so fruity that the first thing one thinks of is grapes. As one inhales deeply, the complex array of black fruit, tar, leather, coffee goes on and on with flashes of fresh strawberry jam. On the palate, one tastes a bit of memory from every good wine one has ever tasted. The depth is as mind-boggling as the silky soft texture. This is magnificent!! It goes down as one of the very, very few wines that I’ve scored a perfect 20/20. It is all, with nothing lacking.
*recommended reading The Wild Vine by Todd Kliman
TASTED 8/20/20
Though it has been a while since I’ve added to this post, I have been busy tasting old wines. See “Michigan Vintner Library” above. That was quite a project. However, we did open a couple of really interesting Chardonnay’s recently which we finished up tonight with sole served in a cream-lemon-blue cheese sauce and ginger rice. To me, the star was a 1984 Domaine Rapet Corton Charlemagne Crand Cru Bourgogne FRANCE about $150 for a current vintage. This is a wine that many people might say is over the hill and although I’d agree that it has seen it’s better days, I feel it is still alive and a delicious glass of wine. The nose is showing lots of caramel and toffee with a maderized fino sherry-like quality but it is not oxidized nor showing any sort of bacterial or volatile intrusions. The body is still full with rich nuts, toffee and roasted lemon on the palate still showing fresh acidity and a long baked caramel-like finish. ALIVE With this wine which was just a tad too old for Alice, we finished up a bottle of 2015 Hanzell Sonoma Valley Chardonnay CA about $70. It is included here simply for context. I believe this is the first time I had enjoyed this very historic California Chardonnay if you can imagine that. Why did I wait so long? Fine lemon minerals greet the nose and as one sips, a huge surprise citrus zest grips the palate while a long rich fruit finish feels both creamy and bitter at the same time. This is a really nice wine though I’m not sure it’s a good fit for my retirement budget.
TASTED 2/14/2021
At one time I had three very old vintages of Almaden Classic Selection Cabs from San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey. I don’t recall the precise vintage, but we drank them at least 10-20 years ago. All three were nice enough wines with lots of green veggie nuance juxtaposed by very jammy fruit. When we purchased John Beadle’s cellar a while back, lo and behold, there was another old bottle of Almaden in there. Having been on a bit of a lucky streak with old wines, we felt tonight with our Valentine’s surf and turf it was time. So, I removed the almost brand new 36 year old cork with an AH-SO puller and decanted it. The 1985 Almaden Classic Selection Monterey Cabernet Sauvignon CA price/alcohol unknown (picture is way below at 3/6/2019) still had a somewhat red core though the overall color was more brick-like with a browning edge than ruby, certainly. The nose does have a somewhat burning damp wood smell though supported by scents of mandarin and persimmon. On the palate, the wine is surprisingly light and fresh tasting though the burnt smell does carry onto the palate. There is no tannin left though it still has a freshness perhaps from a pleasantly light acidity. If this were a great wine from a great vintage, the level of maturity might force me to pronounce it dead. But, considering this wine probably didn’t cost more than four or five dollars originally and certainly less than ten today I’ll cut it a little slack. Maybe it’s on a ventilator, but not quite dead yet.
TASTED 2/10/2021
Once again, a Zoom meeting, this time with a Zinfandel theme, prompted us to pull the cork on a 1977 River Oaks Vineyards Alexander Valley Zinfandel Dinner Wine* (53% Zinfandel / 23% Pinot Noir / 23% Early Burgundy aka. Abouriou) (12% ABV) CA marked $1.99 with a red sale tag from GB Russo & Son. Pulled with an AH-SO, the cork was in perfect condition; saturated, but fully and firmly in tact. The deep red color with only a slight burnt Sienna toned edge appeared like a wine 30 years younger. The aroma of ripe strawberries, orange marmalade and wild berry liqueur was nicely enhanced by a earth/cocoa nuance suggesting that we were about to taste a wine reaching the maturity of a ten year old Zin. The palate was full of soft juicy ripe jammy fruit with silky smooth tannin that melted like a dark chocolate truffle. This 44 year old wine is not only still ALIVE, it is absolutely in its prime! This bottle was from the John Beadle collection. Maybe he knew what he was doing when he let this bottle go undrunk for all these years.
*Our group debated the term “Dinner Wine”. One possibility is that term was use to suggest that this was not White Zinfandel. Another is that because so many Zins of that era were 16%+ alcohol and too fat and over ripe to enjoy with food, this 12% version was lighter and better balanced to serve at the table.
TASTED 1/13/2021
We had a Zoom tasting tonight with some friends with a fortified wine theme. I pulled a half dozen badly neglected wines (we almost never drink fortified wines, so, virtually our entire collection of fortified wine is badly neglected) for Alice to peruse. She decided on a 1979 Woodbury Alexander Valley “Old Vines Vintage Port” (abv 19%) CA original price about $10. I don’t believe the winery exists anymore. I attempted to visit the winery about 30+ years ago with no success. I have no idea where this bottle came from but, I do know it has been in the cellar a long time. I decanted it carefully and half expected it to be no good. The only thing I could find about it on line was a blog from Fred McTaggart posted in 2009 in which he suggests it finally was coming around after being a disagreeable wine when young. To our surprise, it is fabulously scented with a very clean light mild floral or fruit liquor spicy scent that although not powerful, it is very persistent and every sniff is more and more complex. The palate is very sweet with a Pedro Ximenez-like feel and exotic apricot-like flavor finishing with such a distinct fig taste that I swear I was grinding fig seeds with my molars. It reminded Fred of Aussie Muscat and it does me to. It actually reminds me of a very very rare Aussie Muscat (Bailey’s of Glenrowan HJT Liqueur Muscat Winemaker’s Selection, nine cases produced) that I would have enjoyed back in the 1980’s. Amazingly, a friend of ours still has some in her cellar. Anyway, as soon as it hit my lips, that wine came to mind. I don’t think it is possible for such a wine to ever die. ALIVE!!!
TASTED 12/02/2020
While at Costco today Alice grabbed a bottle of Bogle Phantom and suggested we drink it with the skillet roasted tenderloin we were having for dinner. In the back of my mind, I thought there might be an older bottle of Phantom still lurking in the cellar, so I suggested drinking that one and replacing it with today’s purchase. To my amazement, the bottle of Phantom in the cellar was 2009. I know that doesn’t sound old, but, this is not a wine meant to age. It followed a very young Zin that we opened from our Costco Advent wine calendar (see “Brian’s Cryin’s” above). On the 2009 Bogle Phantom (Old Vine Zin, Petite Sirah, Old Vine Mourvedre blend) (14.5% ABV) CA $14.69 today at Costco nose, all the typical Phantom smells were present, though with a very rustic earthy overtone. Alice said it was corked, and I wouldn’t ever dispute that (her nose knows) but, corked at a level below my sensory threshold. Color was still black red with no browning. There is also a cedar-like element reminding me of Pauillac for some reason. As it aired out it seemed more and more classy with a bright floral component emerging. On the palate, the cedar was omnipresent with dark earthy forest floor flavors and just enough texture to keep it fresh. The complexity is not unlike a mature Northern Rhone. It is a shame we didn’t drink it sooner, but, hey, you learn something about wine even when it is past it’s prime. Though it would have been much better 4-5 years ago, it is still very enjoyable. ALIVE
TASTED 11/28/2020
Thursday night with Thanksgiving dinner, we enjoyed a bottle of 2012 Louis Latour Gevrey Chambertin (Pinot Noir) Burgundy FRANCE current vintage about $85. It was a real nice wine and went beautifully with the turkey, but, it was way too young. Normally eight years is a good age for Burgundy, but, I guess a village wine from a top producer needs a bit more time. We have four left so (God willing) we’ll wait at least 5 years to try the next one. Everything is there, it just hasn’t mellowed or opened up yet. So, tonight with leftover turkey we opted for a very mature old soldier. We opened another from the John Beadle collection. We decanted a bottle of 1980 Carneros Creek Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon CA (12.8% ABV) This vintage last sold at action for about $40, but, the winery has changed hands and now makes only Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. As I was decanting it, I was encouraged by the very deep red core with slight browning on the edges. The aroma that wafted up was somewhat reminiscent of black cherries and carrot cake with a pleasant cedar, chocolate and berry jam component too. The wine is certainly not over the hill or dead, but, I can see why they quit making Cabernet here and now focus on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Because the Carneros region is very cool, too cool for Cabernet, there is a very persistent core of bitter green veggies. Not offensive but in a way it kind of spoils all the beautiful fruit in the nose with a somewhat toasted pine green herb component that accentuates the tannin so that is does not taste as silky as the very suave nose. I’m pretty sure that this flavor is not a product of age, but, just the personality of the wine. So, it is clearly ALIVE but by no means one of our favorites.
TASTED 11/5/2020
Yes, we do lose track once in a while. We needed a bottle of Aussie Shiraz tonight to enjoy while watching an AWS zoom webinar on Australian Shiraz regions so I went downstairs, initially planning on a young wine and was horrified to see the last bottle of 1998 Penfolds St. Henri South Australia Shiraz (14.2% ABV) current vintrage about $100 staring me in the face. Sure, I was “saving” it for what I don’t know, but, 22 yr old Shiraz, oooops! Well, it decanted off very clear, but not bright and not an encouraging shade of red. The color was a very brick red with a rather brown amber sort of tone. Right after opening and decanting, it was very faded. Good but clearly a wine that should have been drunk some time ago. I don’t remember when we drank the second to last bottle, but, it was still youthful and dark red whenever that was. However, as we enjoyed it over a period of four hours, it came back to life. By the time we drained the last few drops out of the bottle the fruit in the aroma had changed from baked strawberries to spiced fresh strawberries and the palate had changed from apple and raisin pie to sweet berry vanilla Napoleon. I’m glad we gave this old soldier a chance to show what it was worth. If you have any of this, drink it before it reaches 20, but, rest assured that if you lose track of your cellar, it is still ALIVE.
TASTED 10/3/2020
We just picked up some library selections of Augusta Winery Chambourcin and Norton from a grower we know in Missouri. Last night we opened up a 2013 Augusta Chambourcin and it was as fine a wine as I’ve tasted in months; certainly in the Caymus Cab style with massive fat ripe fruit and sweet toasty oak. So, with D&W’s lobster sale today, and still in a mood for Missouri wine, we thoroughly enjoyed a wine from a long forgotten winery in the St. James Missouri area well west and north of Missouri’s best known regions. The last time we visited this foothills winery about 10 years ago, the now 90 year-old winemaker/owner, Heinrich Grohe, had just lost his wife and it appeared that he wasn’t going to be making wine much longer. The vineyards were overgrown and most of the equipment in the winery had seen its better days. I am quite surprised that he is still operating the winery according to information on the web. His wines (both hybrid and native varietals) have always been good solid wines. Somehow, a bottle of 2009 Heinrichshaus Missouri Vignoles MO ($13 for the current vintage) seemed to get pushed aside and pushed aside. Today with boiled lobsters, it was time to see if it was still alive. Wow! This is a great bottle of wine! The nose is ripe lemony with an earthy hint somewhat like pound cake. The label says “semi sweet” but the fresh mineral flavor matched by still vital acidity made it the perfect match for the lobster. Other than the rich complexity, there is nothing about this wine suggesting it is more than a couple of years old. As the wine passes the lips, it initially tastes soft, light and fruity. Yet, as it passes through the mouth, it leaves a rich palate coating mouth feel loaded with baked lemons and creme brulee. I’m not surprised that it is drinkable, but, astounded that it paired as nicely with the lobster as a top flight 3-4 year old White Burgundy. ALIVE!!
TASTED 9/9/2020
Our friends from Northport, Scott and Ruth Walker, put together a Zoom meeting to get together tonight and have a glass of wine bringing a special bottle out of the cellar. So, after looking at several bottles, we decided on a relic from John and Sue Beadle’s wine cellar that we purchased several years ago. I had to wonder why anyone would keep a 1987 J. Vidal-Fleury Crozes-Hermitage Rhone FRANCE (12.5% abv) about $60 for a current vintage, but John kept it until he departed and we’ve stored it for several years since. Certainly an Hermitage might make sense to keep this long, but, really, one would not expect a Croze- Hermitage (a large Syrah based somewhat generic appellation of the norther Rhone) though the producer/negocient, J. Vidal-Fleury is in fact among the top handful of firms operating in the northern Rhone. We brought up a back up because I was pretty sure it would be dead though Alice was 100% certain that it would be alive. Well, ALIVE it is! As soon as Alice put her nose to the freshly decanted wine she proclaimed it’s fine deep complex aroma to be wonderful. Yes, the nose is not unlike a 1983 Chave Hermitage we had about 10 years ago from the Walker’s cellar and maybe reminds me more of the Chave Offerus of today. I hate to use adjectives that sound bad when I’m praising a wine, but, in the same sense that a really superb bowl of marijuana smells like burning garbage, this wine has more of a fresh garbage smell that captivates the nose and requires a second smell. Maybe “composty” would be the word Robert Parker might use, but, either way, it is indeed a wonderfully complex, rich, organic smell that mingles with black fruit , forest floor and pine needles. The palate still has ample tannic grip while still glycerol and palate coating. This is a magnificent wine at 33 years of age. I can’t say it would have been better if it had been opened 20 years ago.
TASTED 9/7/2020
It's Labor Day and Alice is making spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. So, I needed to deliver on the wine side. My favorite Chianti of all time, maybe my favorite Italian wine, is 1999 Castello de Brolio Chianti Classico ITALY (abv 13.5%) today’s price about $70 and I had one more bottle in the cellar. It had been about 5 years since we had enjoyed a bottle. The cork was nearly brand new looking, always a good sign when attempting to extract a cork from a 20+ year old wine. It decanted perfectly clear leaving a very large amount of sediment in the bottom of the bottle. The nose seemed disappointingly old. Not dead by my standards, but, more like a 50 year old Chianti than a 21 year old. Alice immediately proclaimed it DEAD! I was very disappointed, but, what was in my glass, I did enjoy. I had to enjoy it as a very old relic; certainly not as a great Italian Tuscan red in it’s prime. The nose is clearly beginning to oxidize with lots of earthy, dusty smells and not much fruit. The palate is much the same with a ton of tannin still with barely enough strawberry jam-like fruit to tame it. I’d like to give it an alive ranking, but, considering the pedigree and expectations, I’ll have to go with Alice here. DEAD
TASTED 7/19/2020
As usual, I need a little prompting to open an older wine. But, as Alice said, it’s Sunday! So, among the many tagged (all bottles over 15 years have a tag telling me it is time to “drink me”) bottles, I spotted a bottle which Mo Rave and I selected on our trip to Nice in the late ‘90’s. We actually had selected the Chateau Dalem, Fronsac from a lovely French woman named Brigitte Rullier. Though we did bring that wine into GR, her elderly father, Michel Rullier, suggested we also try their “second” wine Chateau La Longua. Though grown on the same property, it lacks the finesse of Dalem, when young, owing to a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. The grand vin, Dalem, is 90% Merlot with no Cabernet Sauvignon. Misseur Rullier told us (as translated by Brigitte) that the rougher La Longua would last longer and with patience, would be a richer wine. As one who actually likes strong sometimes bitter tannin, I even liked it better than the grand vin as a young wine. So, tonight, we opened a 1995 Chateau La Longua, Fronsac, Bordeaux FRANCE (12.5% abv). It still had the D&W price tag ($11.99) on it. The cork was in pristine condition, resembling a waxed Portuguese cork like they use in California. Color is deep burnt sienna just starting to thin out near the edge. The nose greets one with a rich melange of both fruity and leathery smells having great appeal to those who enjoy mature wines. Just at the instant that it hits ones lip, an additional scent of minced fruit confection emerges while a firm grip of fine tannin, orange liquor, and chocolate coats the tongue. This is an absolutely wonderful mature wine; almost too fine to serve with my famous chorizo stuffed peppers (see recipes revised on August 7,2020 and August 6,2020). Yes, of course, this one is ALIVE and well. Alice feels it still has a future, in fact.
TASTED 5/10/2020
One of my wine making buddies, Rich Karelse, lifetime president of the Knights of the Wine Table, sent me an email that he was drinking a 2003 Leon Millot and it was not only still good, but, remarkably so. The fact that he called it a “Millot” and not a Michigan Vintner Red tells me that it was probably a wine that he made from grapes that I sold him. I immediately went downstairs to see if I had any. I did, sort of. Neither he nor I label wines we intend to drink ourselves completely. I did have a 2003 Michigan Vintner, but, It was not specific regarding varietal content, so, I assume mine is a Millot, Foch and Chamborcin blend. So, I opened the 2003 Michigan Vintner Red Lake Michigan Shore, MI and, just like Rich’s wine, it was absolutely delicious showing no signs of morbidity. Had this been a $50 Cab of the same age, I would be telling you that we opened it at just the right time while the fruit was still very much up front and other forest, cedar, and tobacco scents were just starting to show up in a very fine and complex way. Do I dare use that kind of language for a lowly hybrid? The palate was about the same as the nose. The finish still cleansed the palate with bright acidity. Unfortunately, it is the last bottle I have so, I’ll never know how long it would have lasted. I would guess it is about half way between too young and too old. Definitely ALIVE!
TASTED 4/23/2020
Tonight we had strip steaks which we hadn’t had in months served with the Weber Inn’s famous mushrooms in cream sauce (see blog on April 4, 2018). I used Baby Bella’s because I couldn’t get a hold of our favorite morel dealer. They were just as good. With that, we opened up a 1983 Chateau L’Arrosee Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classe, Bordeaux FRANCE (unknown abv, the shipping label fell off). The cork came out easily with an AH-SO puller and was completely saturated at the bottom and rather dry and moldy looking at the top, but, no signs of leakage. The color was still very good; dark red with a burnt edge. Clearly the nose revealed a very old wine (according to Robert Parker’s notes from the 1980’s, it would be best drunk before 2003) with a somewhat stuffy old attic smell though it still offered up pretty engaging fruit smells with hints of cedar and tobacco mingling with root veggies and cooked candied fruit sauce surviving on the palate. The texture is just perfect, balancing very silky tannin with old liqueur and chocolate. Structurally, I’d say we got this just right though certainly had we drank it 20 years ago, the fruit and pure enjoyment would have been much greater. So, ALIVE though way past it’s prime.
TASTED 4/10/2020
I had been looking at this wine way to long. Assuming it was probably over the hill when I bought it from Sue Beadle several years ago, there was no reason to open it. Just having this odd wine in the cellar probably offered more joy than opening it would ever provide. Boy was I wrong! Here is a 1981 Santa Margherita Cabernet Franc, Cabernet di Pramaggiore DOC ITALY (12% abv) with brilliantly baked red hue and a fascinating herbal olivey scent. Yes, it is certainly a little dusty and musty like barnyard straw but, the core of baked fruit is still quite apparent. Even Alice found something to like about this old timer. On the palate, it’s age is less obvious with a pleasantly soft texture and a lasting though not at all full bodied raisin-like fruit essence. I’m sure this was a delightfully vital wine as it was intended to be when it was freshly released around 1983 and for a few years after that. Sound vineyard practices and good wine making clearly shows how a wine made for early drinking still survives and is still ALIVE after 39 years.
TASTED 3/14/2020
This morning Alice saw that I still had a 3L Kirkland Cab on the counter which she says is terrible, though I really liked it, so she pulled out a bottle of 1996 Ironstone Sierra Foothills Vineyards California Cabernet Sauvignon CA (12.5% abv). I fondly remember our visit to the winery in 1997. Funny how time flies. So I asked her if she could pour very carefully or if I needed to decant it. She deferred to decanting. The cork was like brand new but it had thrown a lot more sediment than I had expected though after I poured it back into the bottle is was a brilliantly clear red with a burnt sienna meniscus. As I was pouring, the scent of olives was quite remarkable. It got me thinking about the relationship of terroir among unrelated fruits and vegetables. This particular wine has some Lodi and Calaveras county grapes in it but most of the grapes originate from the delta formed at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers which also happens to be one of California’s most extensive olive groves. Is it possible that the same climatic, microbiological and geological influences that make this a great place to grow olives also influence the olive trees ability to make olives smell like olives? And, if you grow grape vines there, would those same elements of terroir allow the grape vines to inject trace phenols into the grapes that we humans detect as smelling like olives? Something to think about. Especially when you consider that areas like Rioja and Tuscany are known for both wine and olives and those wines are also often describes as smelling like olives. Anyway, the wine itself does smell like olives as well as very old oak cooperage up front with mild red fruit in the background something like strawberry jam or cranberry liqueur. On the palate, it still has very good structure with silky, though quite evident, tannin. Just before the finish a burst of fruit reminiscent of Pimm’s Cup offers brief refreshment before it all vanishes. Though still ALIVE, it won’t be for too much longer though it did work very well tonight with roasted chicken leg quarters with potatoes, lemons, herbs, olives and feta cheese.
TASTED 1/26/2020
We had just received a photo of some older wines our friend, Dennis Moosebrugger, had just enjoyed including a 1977 Lytton Springs Zin which he tells us was remarkably alive, well and complex. So, Alice, prompted me to go to the cellar to see what needed drinking. We came back up with a 1975 Chateau Saint Saturnin Medoc Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux FRANCE (11% abv). I did a little reading and as of 2010, the eccentric winemaker still had a tank of this wine un-bottled which the author, Jancis Robinson said was very fresh and lovely. Well, the bottle we possessed must have been bottled in the 1980’s, I would guess. Not expecting a 45 year old wine that had been bottled at least 30-40 years ago to be anywhere near as youthful, I decanted it once and poured from the decanter to minimize additional oxidation. To our surprise, it too was remarkably youthful, dark in color with classic left bank scents and soft yet substantial mouth feel. I’m awestruck at how youthful it still is. The fruit has clearly outlived the tannin in this normally tannic vintage. The winemaker/owner monsieur Tramier uses no oak whatever and picks relatively late in the season compared to his neighbors. One would think it would be high alcohol and precocious. Not so. Also, unlike his neighbors, he uses mostly Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon and a touch of Cabernet Franc. Again, one would not expect it to be as long lived, yet, I’ve tasted 1975 first growths that were not as vigorous. All in all, it is one of the oldest wines I’ve tasted with this level of vitality. ALIVE!!
TASTED 1/23/20
About a month ago, I opened one of two bottles of Sebastiani Northern California Chianti. What on earth is “Chianti” produced and bottled in California? Who knows? Probably some sort of Dago Red that the winemaker felt was just a little too good to go into their jug wine program but not made from grapes that the general public would recognize. So, it’s anybody’s guess. The fact that it’s appellation is “Northern California” is probably significant. Back then, it probably meant Napa, Sonoma, Monterey and/or Mendocino. All areas to be taken seriously regardless of varietal content. So, the 1978 was drinkable, barely, but not worthy of any comment on this blog. However, today, I opened the 1977. Just as a side note, the price was $4.75 at Russo’s with a red tag sale price of $3.75. The label describes the wine as “Full-Bodied and Warm”. The nose is a lot better than the ‘78 with a rich olive-like essence with spicy red fruit with a slight burnished redwood scent. On the palate, the fruit takes a back seat to very earthy prune-like fruit and (I hate to say it) nuance that tastes like shoe polish smells. Though it improved significantly with air, it is still not exactly alive. I did drink the better part of the bottle, so, I wouldn’t call it dead either.
TASTED 12/22/19
With lunch, I needed a white wine to cook with and saw a bottle of 2002 Michgian Vintner Lake Michigan Shore LRV Pinot Grigio MICHIGAN. I remember clearly the trouble I had making this wine and how satisfied I had been at the way it turned out back in 2004. Who would have ever thought that it would have become a huge, aromatic devil with a big rich mouth feel? Though starting to show it’s age with some nutty caramel notes, the acid is still fresh and the finish clean. ALIVE.
Later on, we attended a king crab dinner with the Piersma’s. As a warm up, we started with a trio of older reds with cheese and appetizers. The first was a 1978 Petrus Pomerol, Bordeaux FRANCE which I feared might be a little over the hill. NOT SO! This wine was astonishingly alive with very rich, forest floor subtleties superimposed on condensed ripe red fruit and a long silky finish. Next we opened a bottle of 1982 Ch. Lynch-Bages Pauillac, Bordeaux FRANCE which felt a little younger and fresher, but, was clearly out classed by the Petrus though, as a nearly 40 year old wine still displayed very fine balance, mature soft texture and a very appealing though not very complex black fruit bouquet and palate impression. Finally, we enjoyed a bottle of 2001 Ch. Des Annereau Lalande de Pomerol, Bordeaux FRANCE. Though fully developed and ready to drink, it seemed like a new born baby by comparison. Again, lovely balance, deep black fruit and a long layered finish of woodsy nuances showed just how enjoyable these right bank wines can be after a few years in the cellar. All ALIVE.
TASTED 11/25/19
1981 Chateau Lynch-Moussas Pauillac Gd Cru Classe Bordeaux, FRANCE and
1978 Chateau Saint-Andre-Corbin St Georges St Emilion Bordeaux, FRANCE
We first opened the Lynch-Moussas. Bringing up a 1981 from the cellar didn’t see like we were digging into ancient history and when I opened the bottle, I expected the best. It wasn’t until I was contemplating my recollection of other 1981’s from back when I was a wine buyer at the AGPH that it dawned on me just how long ago that was. Back in 1983 when I first got to the hotel, there were still lots of 1978, 79, and 81’s still on the market and the 1982’s were still being sold as futures. Lynch-Moussas back in those days was mostly sold in Europe. Most Americans gravitated toward its more famous neighbor Lynch-Bages. Though this wine was a bit older tasting than I expected, it was nonetheless still very sturdy with nice toasty cedar and forest floor scents adding to a background of baked blackberries. Granted, it is no longer a young wine, but, its pedigree still showed and it was not frail or fading either; pretty solid, actually. That inspired me to go even older. Though I’ve had many bottles of Saint-Andre-Corbin over the years due to it’s price being significantly less than the Grand Cru Classe of St Emilion, somehow 1978 just seemed a lot older than 1981. Yet, the wine in the glass felt about the same age. Alice remarked that everything about this wine was just right. It was much more elegant than I recall other bottles I’ve had in the past. It was very fine textured and silky with fine lighter red fruit and hints of herbs. When young, this wine would have been pretty chunky and composty with very firm tannin. It would certainly have been better if we’d opened it sooner, but, it was a long way from being over the hill. Both wines unquestionably ALIVE.
TASTED 10/5/19-10/8/19
2006 Bourillon Dorleans “La Bourdonnerie” Vouvray Demi-Sec, Loire Valley, FRANCE
I’m really scratching my head to remember where I purchased this wine. It is a Europvin Christopher Cannan selection so, at the very least, I bought it in the US. Our local D&W Fresh Market had a sale on lobster, so we had steamed live lobsters, lobster stew, lobster corn fritters, lobster corn hush puppies and lobster salad over the past few days. As much as we love lobster, I believe the wonderfully mature Vouvray that accompanied these creations was the star of the table. If anyone has not enjoyed a mature Vouvray, it is certainly one of life’s pleasures one needs to explore. It’s not too late to put away a few bottles of good Vouvray for the not so distant future. When I was going through wine in the cellar looking for something at least 6-10 years old, I was very surprised to find a 2006 Vouvray. The late Alexis Lichine felt that Vouvray in a good vintage from a good producer is one of the longest lived wines on earth. When I read this back in the 1980’s, we were visiting friends in Washington DC and found a 1949 Marc Bredif Vouvray at Calvert Woodley wine merchants. It would have been over 30 years old then and really opened my eyes to what is possible if you give the wine a chance to age. At that time, I still had several 1976 Vouvrays in the cellar from various reliable but non-prestige negotients that I continued to drink for a decade. None were spoiled and all loaded with complex caramel-like nuances. Even though these wines are made from pretty heavily botrytised grapes in the best vintages, they do not possess the same sort of floral apricot-like passion fruit character of the German late harvest wines nor the powerful baked apple and vanilla pudding flavors one might associate with Sauternes. Mature Vouvray has something more toffee-like. Sort of like Sherry without the oxidation.
This particular wine is grown just down the river from one of our favorite restaurant/hotel properties in the Loire, the Domaine les Hautes Roches. If you ever go to the Loire, don’t miss it! The 2006 Bourillon Dorleans Vouvray no longer possesses the lean citrusy lime peel and stones that one expects from a young Chenin Blanc, but is replaced by more of a lemon custard-like nose with hints of ginger lingering on the palate and finishing with vanilla, caramel, toffee, butterscotch and a touch of coffee. The acid has settled nicely but still sends a refreshing zing throughout the experience with a nice palate memory. I would guess we caught this one at it’s peak. Though it would have been very enjoyable had we waited a few years, with lobster, it couldn’t have been better right now. Needless to say, ALIVE!!
TASTED 6/15/19
2005 Simi Landslide Vineyard, Alexander Valley, Sonoma, CA
This wine may not really be a candidate for “dead or alive” because I was 99% certain that it would be alive. However, it does fit with the theme of great old wine of remarkable quality. Geologically, it is actually grown on a chunk of Napa Valley atop Mt. St. Helena (in Napa Valley) that in ancient times blew off the mountain and landed clear into Alexander Valley (Sonoma County). Notice that when you are standing on the valley floor in Napa valley and looking north, that Mt. St. Helena has a flat top. It used to be a volcano and the peak is what exploded and landed in the next county. Anyway, long story short, the remarkable minerals and unique well drained volcanic soils of this vineyard had been used to make the famed Simi Reserve for many decades. In spite of its almost legendary reputation, the marketing folks at Constellation figured that because the word “reserve” is pretty meaningless, it would be better to market this wine based on terroir than age or winemaking practices. Hence, the “Landslide” designation. I’m not certain that the origins in the current bottlings are still this unique vineyard (they seem to make an endless supply these days) but, certainly, in 2005, it was authentic and quite limited. This wine is stunningly good. I know that I may have already said this earlier this year, but, I don’t ever remember tasting a finer example of Cabernet based wine. It smells and tastes like what I can remember of BV Georges de La Tour Private Reserve from the late 60’s and mid 70’s. The instant that it hit my palate a rich, all consuming, blanket of cedar, pine needles and black currant brought back memorys of all the greatest wines I’ve ever tasted. Though the tannin is very soft, it thoroughly coats the entire mouth with a velvety fat, soft feeling. Alice and I successfully bid on a trio of Simi Landslide from 2005,6 and 7 at last year’s AWS convention in Buffalo. It pays to closely observe what is being auctioned off. I don’t recall what we paid, but, whatever it was, the opportunity to taste one of the greatest wines ever is priceless. I’ll have to try a newer rendition to see if it is still a major cut above the “regular” Simi Cab and if it still shows the impeccable breed and hedonistic joy offered by this bottle. Of course, ALIVE!!
TASTED 3/17/2019
1976 Chateau Grand Puy Lacoste Pauillac Grand Cru Classe, Bordeaux FRANCE
Although the deep burnt Sienna glow in the glass promised more (I believe my most recently tasted ‘76 Bordeaux was a Lafite a few years back that was still rather plump and rich), the dusty musty nose did air out with nice condensed fruit smells, menthol and roasted meat coming through. The palate was more of the same with surprisingly rich chewy texture. Certainly the wine has enough structure to hold for a while, but, the fruit scents are near the end; just barely ALIVE.
TASTED 3/6/2019
1978 MIRASSOU Monterey County Zinfandel unfiltered CALIFORNIA
We are on a run! According to the back label of this 40+ year old Zin, “In Monterey County, the vines produce long-lived, full-bodied vintages, intense in varietal character, hinting of raspberry aromas and flavors. This Zinfandel is well rounded and complementary to haearty meals. Additional aging will see a much more elegant style of wine.” I’m sure the fifth generation Mirassou folks weren’t thinking 40 years when they stated a claim of “long-lived” or “additional aging”. However, this wine did just what they promised. Back when moderately priced wines still hailed from the state’s best vineyard locations, these appellation specific wines did hold up well and actually developed remarkable quality with age. Wow, the nose can only be described as EXPLOSIVE! It reminds me of JL Chave’s Northern Rhones. Yes, even with a $1000 nose, the palate is definitely fading toward bitter and old though still very drinkable. The spectacular nose of exotic roasted herbs, fennel, cedar, pine, mint leaf and concentrated black grape essence does not fully translate onto the palate, but, with a bit of air the edge really smoothes out and frames the phenomenal experience of simply smelling it. We visited the Mirassou Winery back in 1981 and they still offered library selections dating back into the 1960’s at very affordable prices. We purchased several bottles, perhaps the favorite being a 1968 Harvest Selection Monterey County Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not sure if it is just a severe case of nostalgia kicking in or if I am actually enjoying a hint of that wine here. Thank you John and Sue Beadle. What else can an old guy like me say other than, “they just don’t make ‘em like they used to.” ALIVE, of course.
Notice the photo shows unopened bottles of ‘80 Monterey County Zin and NV Central Coast Cab* from Mirassou as well as a 1985 Almaden Monterey County Cab. Don’t laugh; remember what I’ve been saying about yester-year’s inexpensive appellation specific wines. I can’t wait! ABC
*We opened the Mirassou NV Central Coast Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon which probably goes back to 1980 or so on 3/14/2019 to find many of the memories of the ‘68 Harvest Selection Cab still alive in the nose but the very old and dusty palate wasn’t quite up to expectations. It did improve with airing, but, alas, never lived up to expectations. I guess that makes it pretty much DEAD.
On 4/15/2019 I opened the Mirassou 1980 Monterey County Zinfandel. While decanting it, whafts of ripe decadent prune-like smells rose from the cascading deep burnt siena liquid. Upon the first sip, a slightly iodine-like smell emerged and a somewhat bitter impression coated my palate. Though disappointed at the lack of fat and supple juicy ripe Zin fruit that once was, I’m still impressed by the finesse, fruit purity (albeit lean) and exotic green herb nuances. For some odd reason it makes me think of Burgundy of all things. It is not nearly as impressive as the 1978 unfiltered, yet, it is still hanging in there. Though not vibrant, it is still barely ALIVE and still quite interesting.
TASTED 2/25/2019
1983 SYLLA SEBASTE Barolo Riserva Bussia DOCG Piedmont ITALY
Back when this was originally purchased by John Beadle, $16.95 was a lot of dough. Today, this would be something like $50 or more. The color is a little “bricky” with a bit of yellowing at the meniscus. This is typical of any Nebbiolo* based wine after about 8-10 years, and this beauty is 36 so, no surprise there. After double decanting, the wine’s aroma really opens up with surprising power and depth of fruit with classic Barolo terroir resembling the meaty earthy scents of the lamb stew with which we served it. On the palate, sweet, ripe, dried persimmon/tomato jelly flavors dominate. The tannin is smooth yet gripping. I’m sure this wine was bolder and chunkier at one time, but, I’m not sure it was ever any more enjoyable. Yes, it is stunningly ALIVE!
*Nebbiolo is a distant relative of France’s Pinot Noir and though it looks about the same, the body and structure is more like Cabernet or Merlot.
TASTED 2/23/2019
1982 GAJA 1982 Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon Langhe (Piedmont) ITALY
Our friends, Joe and Linda Czarnik recently hosted a wine tasting party for Joe’s clients and asked me to decant a bottle of wine that he had purchased from me some 30+ years ago when I was the Cellarmaster at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. This was the first vintage of Angelo Gaja’s Darmagi Cabernet Sauvignon imported then by the impeccable Paul Mann Vintage Wine Company. A current vintage of this wine sells for about $200 but, this bottle in spite of it’s age, is valued at over $400 because of it’s collectable status being the inaugural vintage of this great wine. I demonstrated proper decanting technique and asked Tony “steady hands” Senna to pour it for the group. Though clearly well past it’s prime, it was not oxidised and actually still had a solid dose of currant-like fruit and velvety plump mouth filling texture. The earth shows up but in a pleasant alluring way, not at all dusty or corky. Speaking of corks, this motha’ must have been all of 3” long and came out in one piece using an ah-so cork puller. If you have one of these in your cellar, I would suggest selling it. Having four hundred bucks in your pocket will likely offer you an opportunity for a lot more fun than drinking a first rate souvenir. To no one’s surprise, ALIVE.
TASTED 2/12/2019
CHEAP RED WINE (by Vin Ordinaire Ltd.) CALIFORNIA
Many years ago, Kathy Piersma’s now deceased father, told a joke with the punch line “you’ve got to be shitting me”! Well, that was exactly my response to Alice when I tasted this wine. Though the wine is a bit brown around the edges, the color after decanting is nonetheless brilliantly clear, deep and concentrated. I’m guessing that this might have been a cult blockbuster second wine from grapes grown in or around the Morgan Hill region near Santa Cruz. I think this bottle probably goes back to the 1980’s or 90’s but I believe this label still exists in the market place. If anyone has tasted a current bottling, please let me know what you think of it. The web site says it is Charbono, Carignane, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petite Sirah. No longer a blockbuster, but, still showing lots of depth and solid texture with layers of very ripe prune and baked cherries throughout. This is another gem from the Beadle Collection that leaves me scratching my head asking, “why on earth didn’t John drink this wine 20 years ago”? Can you believe it? ALIVE
TASTED 2/11/2019
1979 Chateau La Lagune Haut Medoc, Grand Cru Classe, Bordeaux FRANCE
1979 is one of those forgotten vintages. When I was the Cellarmaster at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, we had a boat load of 1979 Bordeaux offerings. I arrived in 1983, just in time to fill the cellar with 1982’s but too late to get in on many of the 1978’s. Fortunately, my supervisor had already stashed away a bevy of 78’s, so that is what we served. Back in those days, Bordeaux was king. Everyone drank French wine! So, with ‘82’s saftely cellard and the last of the 78’s being devoured like freshly shucked oysters, the 79’s became our mainstay for a year or two. I’m sure I’ve had my share of 79’s in my own cellar, but, those had been long gone. Alice and I purchased a cellar from Sue Beadle, widow of John Beadle, a couple of years ago. Can you believe it, he still had several bottles of 1979 Bordeaux in his cellar. The first ‘79 we enjoyed was a really nice bottle of 1979 Chateau Lynch Moussas, Pauillac, Grand Cru Classe that we just loved. It was hardly a significant wine in any respect other than it was not only still alive but quintessential Bordeaux with lots of class but pretty short on body and substance, typical of a good but not great vintage at 40 years. So, we’ve been trying to work our way through our cellar these days; we’re not getting an younger and some of the wines are really old if not near death. So, tonight, with braised short ribs, we opened the ‘79 La Lagune. Like the Lynch Moussas, it embodies picture perfect Bordeaux. By no means is it a big powerful wine anymore if it ever was, but, it has that pedigree and familiarity that just makes you say “oh yea”. It brings back so many memories of drinking really old Bordeaux with our mutual friends John and Sue Beadle. John and Sue were just enough older and had started collecting just enough before we did, that going to their house for a wine tasting was always a huge treat. Besides the wine itself that brought back many fond memories, was the trigger on the label; NICOLAS RESERVE. Our old friend, Jake Rohe, also deceased, represented these wines back then and generously poured these for anyone who cared to appreciate them. Maybe that’s the best part of enjoying old wines is remembering the people who you once enjoyed them with. ALIVE, ALIVE!!
TASTED 12/16/2018
1989 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage Brut, Anderson Valley, CA
Our friend Jack Wainer dusted off this old soldier yesterday at his “class in a glass” Champagne wine dinner. The most recent review I could find was ten years old, so, we were not terribly optimistic that this wine would still be alive. However, after a nice pop, the wine was positively frothy with a fine mousse rising in the glass when poured. The nose is fine, clean and complex while the bubbles simply dance on the tounge offering up yeasty, fruity flavors. I can’t imagine that this almost 30 year old sparkling wine was ever better than it is right now! ALIVE!!!!
TASTED 12/15/2018
1994 Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas, Rhone Valley, France
I’m not sure how this once lovely Gigondas got lost among wines that clearly needed drinking a decade ago. Perhaps the half-bottle format accounts for never having an occcaision for just two glasses of wine at a meal significant enough to open a Gigondas. Whatever the reason for the lapse, I immediately noticed a slight browning in color and as soon as I decanded it directly into our wine glasses, Alice proclaimed it DEAD! Besides subtle earthiness mingled with dead leaves and a faint memory of tomato/carrot-like fruit there really was nothing that brought to mind Gigondas, the Rhone or even Grenache for that matter. I’m much more age tollerent than Alice, but, considering the expectation of a great Gigondas, I’ll agree with her. DEAD!
TASTED 11/29/2018
1981 Redwood Coast Napa Valley Zinfandel
Here we go again. This is clearly a closeout of some overstock from a winery which remains anonymous. There is no such winery as “Redwood Coast”. Yet, the grape source is Napa Valley, so, we can assume that in today’s dollars, this wine is probably a $30 wine selling at a distressed price of maybe $12-15. Back when purchased in 1983, it was certainly under $4 maybe under $2.
Any good? Well, it isn’t dead yet. In spite of the modest 12.5% alcohol, the flavor is very ripe and prune-like with distinct dried fruit (apricot?) overtones not unlike a late harvest Riesling might have. Balance and acid structure is good too. If there is anything that makes the “alive or dead” decision even contemplated is the lack of body and grip. The mouth feel seems to have evaporated decades ago along with whatever tannins were present in the 1980’s. Hardly robust, but, still ALIVE!.
TASTED 10/18/2018
1973 Ridge California Gamay York Creek (Spring Mountain, Napa County)
Well, this one is just barely holding on by its fingernails, but, alive for sure. The somewhat corky, musty bouquet still has hints of strawberry and lightly floral fruit aromas lurking. Though the tastes center around compost, cedar and forest floor, fleeting nuances of beets, carrots and dried berries still show through. Yes, this description may sound dreadful, but, it has perfect balance, very silky tannin and, in general, feels good on the palate and going down the throat. What’s not to like?
Still ALIVE after 45 years. This wine came from a cellar purchased from a divorcee of a prominent local lawyer by a friend of ours (now deceased). Storage has been ideal from the beginning. Once again, a great appellation trumps our expectations of a common grape such as California Gamay known also as Valdiguie or Gros Auxerrois (not to be confused with Gamay Beaujolais).
Tasted 10/18/2018
1980 Beringer Napa Valley Estate Bottled Zinfandel
They just don’t make ‘em like they used to. Back in 1980, brands like Beringer, Inglenook, CK Mondavi and most other wineries of the day, made their wines from the best vineyards of the best appellations managed by the top horticulturists of that era. Today, all of the affordable wines have been dumbed down by using whatever grapes can be purchased cheapest on the open market from mostly Central Valley vineyards that are cropped well in excess of the ideal 4 tons per acre. Here is yet another example of appellation trumping “humble” grape variety.
No question about this one: big prune-like ripe concentrated passion fruit and apricot nuances with an almost Moscatel like complexity invite and stimulate the senses. Lush, still holding on to traces of citrus-like acidity and long soft tannins. Who’d a’ thunk it?
ALIVE after 38 years!
Enjoy in Good Health,
Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner
PS Just an explanation about the picture: An old friend of ours, Bob Long (now deceased) used to signal his host that he had run out of wine by holding his glass up to his ear. Like blind people whose other senses are acute and help compensate for loss of vision, since losing my left ear to cancer, I now find it more satisfying in the metaphysical and psychic sense to hear the wine. When I used to have a perfectly good ear, I really couldn’t hear what it is saying.
**At a Michigan Congressional Subcommittee meeting formed in the 1980’s to promote Michigan Wines, there was a motion to change the name of MSU’s horticulture publication “Vintner and Vineyard” to “The Michigan Vintner”. The motion was voted down (I suspect that to the Sparties in the group “Michigan” Vintner sounded too much like “UofM” Vintner). Anyway, I loved the name Michigan Vintner and the name kept ringing in my ears for days and I actually started picturing myself as the Michigan Vintner. Finally, I registered the name as a DBA and decided to embrace my own persona as the embodiment of the Michigan Vintner.
