Closed out the year (12/17/08) with Some Wines:
1. BuehlerVnyds NapaVlly Zin (14%) 1979: Med.light color w/ very slight bricking; rather
earthy/dusty smokey/tobaccoy/pungent/cedary somewhat peppery slight toamtoey/spicy
very slight raspberry nose; soft/smooth/elegant/graceful/gentle light spicy/tomatoey
slight peppery light tobaccoy/pencilly complex flavor; med. smooth/gentle/elegant
some cedary/pencilly light tomatoey/spicy some complex finish; a gentle/smooth/
elegant old Zin that whispers across the palate; in wonderful condition. $10.00
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2. CongressSprings Zin SCM (EB; 12.5%; 80 yr old Monmartre Vnyd; Dan Gehrs) 1987: Med.
color w/ slight bricking; rather dusty/earthy ripe/tomatoey/cranberry perfumed/fragrant
light toasty/oak complex nose; tart rather citric/cranberry slight metallic/tangy some
tomatoey/stewed bit complex flavor; med.long tart/citric/tangy cranberry/tomatoey
very ripe finish w/ light tannins; seems much riper than the 12.5% indicates;
interesting Zin in nose but not so much on the palate. $8.50
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3. RosenblumCllrs Zin GeorgeHendryVnyd/NapaVlly TW 1989: Med.color w/ little bricking;
lovely tobaccoy/earthy/cedary old Zin/sweaty leather/pencilly fairly complex nose; soft/
smooth/gentle/elegant light cedary/tobaccoy/old Zin slight metallic/earthy complex
flavor; med.short soft/smooth/gentle tobbacoy/old Zin/pencilly finish w/ no tannins;
a soft/gentle old-bones Zin. $12.00
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4. WildHorse Zin "Unbridled" PasoRobles (14.6%) 1990: Med.color w/ some bricking; bit
alcoholic rather tobaccoy/ash tray/smokey bit earthy/tomatoey slight jammy/blackerry
fairly complex nose; tart/chalkey some hard/tannic/astringent/dried out ripe cranberry/
blackberry somewhat tobaccoy/ash tray flavor; med.long tart somewhat tannic/dried out
tobaccoy/old Zin bit blackberry/jammy finish; rather strange Zin that has not come
together particularly well. $16.00
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5. Renwood Zin AmadorCnty (14.5%; #520 of 974 cs) 1991: Dark color w/ no bricking; strong
blackberry/briary calssic Amador Zin light toasty/oak slight musty/corked nose; soft
slight musty/TCA some briary/Amador/blackberry bit tannic/dried out flavor; some
briary/blackberry/Amador some tannic/dried out bit musty finish w/ little tannins;
still clinging to life but marred by a bit of TCA. $10.00
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6. Renwood Zin Grandpere ShenandoahVlly/Calif (14.5%; America's oldest Zin Vnyd;
123 yr old vines; #517 of 624 cs) 1991: Dark color w/ some bricking; very ripe/
tomatoey some raisened/late harvesty some toasty/oak rather cranberry/ripe nose; very
ripe/overripe cranberry/late harvesty/raisened light toasty/oak bit hot/alcoholic
some dried out/tannic/astringent flavor; med.long cranberry/late harvesty/raisened
light toasty/oak rather dried-out/astringent finish; lots of raisened character
and starting to crack up like many late harvest Zins. $12.00
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7. Qupe Syrah StolpmanVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13.5%) 2001: Dark color; rather Rhonish/smokey/
toasty/roasted some blackberry/Syrah very perfumed/aromatic complex nose; tart bit lean
spicy/blackberry/Syrah some smokey/oak Rhonish/roasted flavor; med.long smokey/oak/
Rhonish some blackberry/Syrah/spicy finish w/ light tannins; pretty ready to drink
and will go another few yrs; very lovely Rhonish-like Syrah. $28.00
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8. Neyers Syrah HudsonVnyds/NapaVlly (14.1%) 2000: Black color; beautiful peppery/
cracked black pepper/herbal roasted/smokey/pungent some blackberry/black olive very
Rhonish/C-R complex very perfumed/aromatic nose; tart very rich very Rhonish/roasted/
herbal/smokey/espresso rather blackberry/Syrah/black olive some earthy/meaty complex
flavor; very long roasted/Rhonish/smokey/pungent/espresso some Syrah/blackberry/black
olive bit tannic complex finish; a stunning very Rhonish complex Syrah; very much
like the Cuvee d'Honnore; a steal at $31.00
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And with the Whiskey-Soaked Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake, we had:
9. Johnson's AlexVlly LateHrvst Zin (Lot 1; SaH: 35 Brix; RS: 5%Brix; 15.8%; EB)
1978: Med.dark murky color w/ considerable browning; strong raisened/pruney/late
harvesty some alcoholic somewhat cedary/pencilly nose; off-dry raisened/pruney/late
harvesty bit earthy/dusty stewed some cedary/pencilly bit tired flavor; med.long very
strong raisened/pruney/late harvesty chalky slight oxidized finish w/ some dried-out
tannins; a raisened/pruney mess. $6.79/hlf
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10. SonoraWnry & PortWorks VintagePort (18%; 37.5% TintaCao, 37.5% Sousao,
15% TourigaNacional, 10% Alvarelhoe; RichardMatranga) Sonora 1990: Very dark color
w/ no bricking; intense/huge/grapey plummy/licorice slight menthol/eucalyptus bit
alcoholic light cedary/pencilly quite spicy complex nose; soft some alcoholic/porty
slightly sweet some minty/menthol strong licorice/plummy/grapey quite smooth/lush
bit complex flavor; very long smooth/lush rather grapey/plummy/licorice/chocolaty
slight alcoholic/porty slight chalky/tannic/cedary/dusty/pencilly finish; a lovely
mature Calif Port w/o the alcoholic harshness of Oporto and loads of plummy fruit.
$16.00
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Pontifications from the BloodyPulpit:
1. SonoraPort: This is/was a wnry located in Sonora, in the Sierra foothills to the
west of Yosimite. Started by RichardMatranga. I've not seen much of this wnry since
I bought the btl yrs ago. Stumbled across an article in the ModestoBee that Richard
had been diagnosed w/ Parkinson's in late 2004 and he did not make wine in that year.
Have not been able to find out anything more about his condition. All I can say is
this is one of the best mature Calif Ports I ever done had.
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2. BuehlerZin: The old Zin, from a rain besotted vintage, which I fully expected to be
dead & gone, was in amazingly good condition. Back in the '70's, when JohnBuehler's
Cabs & Zins first hit the market, they were wonderful wines, made by HeidiPetersen
Barrett. They were big/extracted/structured, loads of toasty/oak, very spicy &
peppery. Over the yrs, they have aged remarkably well. This Zin was one of the few
from that vintage that has come together well.
That said....did I like the wine?? Well....yes & no. It was an amazingly intellectual
experience to taste this wine. It brought back wonderful memories of Buehlers past
(as NealRosenthal says.."the finest of wines pave the path to memory"). You're left in
awe that the wine is still good to drink. But was it enjoyable to drink and a
hedonistic experience?? Nope!! It was like your Grandpa on his death bed, whispering
his last memories into you ear, barely audible over the hum of the aspirator. Not an
exciting experience, but one which is laden w/ fond memories. As the wine whispered
across my palate, I pined for something w/ a bit more life, vigor, and excitement.
This is something I find is often true of old wines that have held together. It
leaves me with a feeling of wanting something more. Maybe we've been led down the
primrose path by these old-fogey British writers who rapsodize endlessly over these
types of old bones? Maybe that complexity thing has been put up on a pedestal that
it doesn't really deserve? Maybe we're being led astray by those writers who wax
enthusiastic over these brash/young/tannic wines, with their 95+ point scores and how
this or that wine will knock our sox of at it's maturity? Maybe we're being sold
a bill of goods?? Maybe old wines are not such great things after all? I know...
heresy.
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3. Johnson's AlexVlly Wnry: Here's a winery I've not heard of in a good many yrs. From
their WebSite, they still appear to be in business. But it only has wines from the
mid-'90's...so it must not be a thriving business. I remember stopping in there once
many a yr ago, taking a look-see at their pipe organ, and buying this hlf btl of
LateHrvst Zin. These folks still in business anyone know??
Like many of these old LateHrvst Zins from the '76-'77-'78 drought yrs; this wine
was dead & gone...a mess of stewed/raisened/pruney fruit...not even an intellectual
experience.
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4. Neyers: I've always liked the Neyers Hudson but have far preferred the Cuvee d'Honore
for it much greater Rhonish character; this wine was very good in its youth, but not
a lot of Rhonish character. It's now a dead-ringer for a C d'H Syrah. Kudos to
EhrenJordan on this wine...terrific stuff.
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5. OldZins: On all of these old Zins, the corks were in sound shape and came out easily.
I was struck how little bricking was shown in their color. What was interesting was
at the end of the evening when I went to pour all the leftovers together, they all
showed much more browning and murkey colors.
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6. CongressSprings: DanGehrs made some terrific Zin in his early yrs here from the
MonmartreVnyd. Alas this old vnyd was pulled out in the late '80's.
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7. Grandpere: This wine was made by ScottHarvey in his hey-day at Renwood afore he was
skanked by Smerling and run outta Dodge. In its day, this was a stunning/classic
GrandPere Zin...big/huge/extracted/loads of blackberry fruit. A zin certain to go
out 20 yrs at least. Well......it just didn't make it. It's well on it way to
cracking up into a stewed/late harvest mess.
Scott is now making GrandPere Zin (though he can't call it GrandPere because
Smerling trademarked the name...even though Smerling no longer gets grapes from the
"true" GrandPere vnyd) under his ScottHarvey label. He asserts he no longer likes
that style that he used at Renwood and goes for a much more restrained style of
Zin. The '05 I recently had was one of the best Amador Zins I've had in yrs. Maybe
there's something to be said for that "balance" thing after all??
Tom
Strange, thin, awkward stuff.