This Old Bottle

Rude Tasters dive deep into the cellar to resurrect long forgotten wines

Why on earth do we save these wines so long?   Is it curiosity to see just how long they will last?   Do we really think that a wonderful experience we enjoyed 30 years ago can be relived if we save a bottle damn near forever?  If we drink it, will it make us the same age as the last time we drank it?   Do we think that a wine of value might just be too good for folks like us?   Considering the vast majority of these wines* were way too old to enjoy for any reason other than a glimpse into our wine collecting histories, we must be nuts to keep wines this long.   I think the fallacy early on was that they would get better with age.   That was somewhat true; that is a LITTLE time in the cellar would be beneficial.   But, why would we save wines best drunk from 1995-2000 until 2019?   There is no shortage of these wines in our cellars.  Bob Roosenberg and Ellen Carmody did an heroic job of sorting the wines (double blind, of course) into a warm up flight, three flights of four and a dessert wine.

*only 4 or 5 out of 16 were still very good

Alice and I have started in earnest to drink up our cellar but we have a long way to go and, at our age, time is running out.   The other night we opened a 1989 Branaire Ducru, St Julien Grand Cru Classe with a lamb loin, which, by the way was $7.99 lb at Aldi.   The wine was very good still.   Thank God we drank it before it tasted like most of the wines we experienced at the recent Rude Tasters.

I have some reason to believe that there are possibly some inherent reasons why many of the wines tasted at This Old Bottle on Wednesday tasted so tired.   First of all, in order to put on the tasting somewhat expeditiously, we asked everyone to decant (or double decant back into the cleaned out bottle) the wine prior to arriving.   Many of us had gone out to dinner that evening, so, actually decanted our wines late afternoon some 4-5 hours prior to the tasting.   I did taste one of the wines that I had brought freshly upon decanting it, and although it was very composty, it still seemed lively and vigorous.   That evening, I didn’t even recognize it.   It was so old, feeble and dusty tasting that it was not too enjoyable.   I also have concerns about moving the wine.   We all drive to the tasting other than our hosts.   Open container laws being what they are, most of us stuck the bottle(s) unceremoniously in the trunk to slosh around and change temperatures a couple of times.

I say these things because easily 80% of the old wines that Alice and I have been opening lately are quite good.   Maybe 5% or so, just too old to drink and get dumped and about 15% okay but clearly not showing at their best.   Of course, these are opened and consumed immediately.   Am I on to something?   Maybe the trick is just open them up and drink ‘em at the drop of a hat.   No need to save them for special wine tastings.   How many times have I saved wines of consecutive vintages or contiguous adjacencies thinking I would do a vertical or horizontal tasting some day.   Well, that day never arrived and now, we just drink ‘em without regard for breaking up a monumental tasting of great wines.

Because wines this old really don’t show anything like they originally were intended, we have decided not to rate or rank them as a group.   So, all of the notes and scores are mine alone.  It’s hard to pin a number on a wine that is clearly not what it used to be, so I’ve given more or less a range.   Even though some of these wines are not clinically dead yet, many have been taken over by dirty musty flavors that suggest that they should have been euthanized long ago.

WARM UP WINES

1985 Grgich Hills  Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley CA  Very deep, almost opaque, color of shades of burnt Siena around the edges and almost black at the core.  The nose is still sweet and ripe showing no signs of drying out.  It is still full bodied and plump with soft tannins in the finish.  It is very much alive and well.   Well into the 90+ point range.

2004 Patriarch Charmes Chambertin Grand Cru Burgundy FR  The color is amber brown much like the color of a tawny port.   The nose is unusual in that it has a very fresh herbal cilantro/parsley/kale type of smell superimposed onto a slightly composty red berry scent.   The palate is the same as the nose, again, quite fresh with exotic berries, though, somehow, still very odd.   I’m guessing that maybe five years ago it may have been more seamless and balanced.  I would rate it something less than 90 points today.

NV (circa 1993-4) Michigan Vintner Red Hybrid Lake Michigan Shore MI  Yes, that Michigan Vintner.   It had been sitting in Ed and Linda Cox’ kitchen for the past twenty five years.   Well, I’m surprised it was at all drinkable.   I did not recognize it.   The color was still very dark red while the nose was a bit dusty and dirty but still sweet and ripe.   My guess is that it was a blend of Chambourcin and Millot from Lawton Ridge Vineyard near Kalamazoo.   Though certainly not dead, it had been invaded by dried out dusty flavors.   No point rating it based on the fact that it really was not too enjoyable.

FIRST FLIGHT

2011 Narmada Petit Verdot (Senandoah Foothills) VA   Though not very old, it certainly exceeded most of our expectations.   Keep in mind, we all assumed that it was a very charming old wine (Napa Cab maybe) that tasted like it was less than 10 years old.   The deep red color and firm forthcoming black fruit showed class.   The palate was fine balanced with good length.  I had it over 90 points.

1991 Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon Puente Alto CHILE  This was a major disappointment.  Even though I brought it, I did not recognize it.   The firm somewhat compost fruit and rich mouth coating flavor that I experienced about 4:00 pm had faded in an old dusty shell that tasted more like semi-skunked beer than a $100+ wine that is consistently among the Wine Spectators top 100.  Like many of these wines, there is no point in scoring it.

1996 Fess Parker Rodney’s Vineyard Santa Barbara Syrah CA  Hands down this was the best dry red of the evening.  It was perfectly aged with plenty of ripe black berry exotic fruit, sweet complex oak subtleties and fine, classy, purity.  It was at that perfect age where the tannin still grips the palate yet melts away with a smooth silky texture that lasts.  I would say this was well worth aging and I have no idea if it was ever better, but, I’d be pretty close to 100 points as it is now.

2010 Michigan Vintner Red Hybrid (Chambourcin/Cab Franc) Lake Michigan Shore MI  I didn’t recognize this one either.   It seemed much older than its brother in the warm up flight.   In the nose there was a burnt quality not unlike the smell of an overloaded electric drill.   It also finished with kind of a burnt sugar flavor too.  Though there was still a bit of fruit and acid in there, it was way too old.   This had stayed an extra year in oak which when it came out of the barrel in 2012 was really very nice and quite delicious.   But, that ship has sailed.  No rating.

SECOND FLIGHT

1999 Ridge Dusi Ranch Zinfandel Paso Robles CA  Though certainly not showing any signs of death, this was not a wine which gave much joy.  The nose reminded me of Calamine lotion and the palate was hot and bitter.  Alice liked it’s jammy/jelly-like taste.  It had surprising structure for a 20 year old Zin, but that’s all I can say about it.  At this point, I wouldn’t go over 80 points.

1994 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley CA  Though very old, it still showed the correct smell for a mature Cab.  However, the tannin was oxidized ruining the finish.   No score.

1985  Mongard Mugneret Eschezeaux Grand Cru Burgundy FR  Very fine, classy and elegant though clearly past its prime.  The color was nearly transparent and everything about it seemed frail.  It was one of those wines that if enjoyed at home and consumed right after opening, it would have probably been quite enjoyable.  But, it was clearly too old to make the trip to the tasting.  It would be hard to go over 85 points for the wine in my glass.

2005 Cellar #8 Merlot CA  For a generic Merlot nearly 15 years old, it wasn’t bad.  There was, however, something annoying about the nose sort of like processed cheese food or at least non-organic in nature.   Other than that it was pleasant enough with a bit more air.   It was probably not a highly acclaimed wine to begin with and hadn’t improved.  80 points at best.

THIRD FLIGHT

1988 Masi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Veneto IT  The nose was all cream sherry and tawny port.   Unfortunately, the palate was flat with nothing left.  No rating.

1987 Robert Pepi Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley CA  Old and rustic but well bred making me think of Chianti Classico.   What it lacked in elegance, it more than made up for in balance, complexity and just plain drinkability.   I’d give it 90+ points.

2004 Dei Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Tuscany IT  The nose still showed some youth and vigor while the mouth-feel was quite firm still.   Though considered a great and long-lived vintage, I’m afraid that the fruit is well on its way down while the structure is still pretty hard and by the time it softens up, the fruit will probably be gone.  Time will tell.  I’d put it in the mid 80’s point wise.   I forgot to ask if whoever brought this wine has more.   It would be interesting to see if it will improve with even more aging.

1994 Domaine du Pegau Cuvee Reserve Chateauneuf du Pape Rhone FR  There is something quite medicinal in the nose here.  It shows finesse, complexity and many layers of flavor but is marred by mostly dried out fruit.  It’s best days are gone.   I would put the points in the low 80’s today.

DESSERT WINE

1971 J B Becker Eltviller Sonnenberg Riesling Beerenauslese Rheingau GR  To call this a white wine is a misnomer.  The color is a very dark orange with brown edges.  The nose is nothing short of phenomenal.   Like passion fruit, it smells of everything from apricots to nuts and kirsch.   On the palate, it is still very fresh and lively with a very long sweet textured finish.  This wine could have lasted several more decades if the cork would hold up.   Truly a treat and would receive my highest score.  100 points, I guess.

FINALE

2006 Duval Leroy Cuvee Paris Champagne FR  As if we needed another wine, we celebrated our hostess’, Ellen, retirement.  This wine is quite full bodied, yeasty and mature though still very pale colored and showing a very fine mousse.   Goes to show good Champagne will last a few years.   I would score it well into the 90+ point range.

Whew!   We made it.  17 wines in 2 ½ hours!

Enjoy in Good Health,

Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner