WTN: 2003 Rodney Strong Alexander Crown Vy Cabernet

[Jenise]

A friend of mine who's ITB brought a magnum of this old stalwart of Sonoma to dinner the other night, excited that he could pick it up at $22/ea his cost. The idea was to decide if it was as good a buy as it looked. Well...it wasn't a slam dunk. Pretty green, in fact, at first and thinner than expected (no, we didn't decant). But not savagely green, not bitter, just a definite tobacco green quality that needed a bit more fruit to round it out. The body was on the lighter side, acidity was a bit high for both California and the usual RSACV but for those of us who drink more European wine than anything else not a problem, and the tannins were silky. (I have no idea what kind of vintage 03 was in Sonoma, but based on this and the far-better Laurel Glen, the only two I've had, I'm guessing it was cool.) After close to two hours, it developed a bit more richness on the midpalate and hinted at the modest black cherry and plum fruit that the remaining half bottle should develop over the next 1-2 days. Not a bad buy when the MSRP on the 750 is around $40ish and I'm certain Gary's going to buy a bunch for his own cellar, but that's a decision driven solely by price. In these recessionary times, it's possible to spend just a little more but get a lot more.

[David M. Bueker]

It's also possible to spend a lot less and get a whole lot more (if you're not wedded to Cal Cab).

A friend of mine who's ITB brought a magnum of this old stalwart of Sonoma to dinner the other night, excited that he could pick it up at $22/ea his cost. The idea was to decide if it was as good a buy as it looked. Well...it wasn't a slam dunk. Pretty green, in fact, at first and thinner than expected (no, we didn't decant). But not savagely green, not bitter, just a definite tobacco green quality that needed a bit more fruit to round it out. The body was on the lighter side, acidity was a bit high for both California and the usual RSACV but for those of us who drink more European wine than anything else not a problem, and the tannins were silky. (I have no idea what kind of vintage 03 was in Sonoma, but based on this and the far-better Laurel Glen, the only two I've had, I'm guessing it was cool.) After close to two hours, it developed a bit more richness on the midpalate and hinted at the modest black cherry and plum fruit that the remaining half bottle should develop over the next 1-2 days. Not a bad buy when the MSRP on the 750 is around $40ish and I'm certain Gary's going to buy a bunch for his own cellar, but that's a decision driven solely by price. In these recessionary times, it's possible to spend just a little more but get a lot more.

Are you sure you have enough liver left for that sort of slumming? I'm overactive today on this Forum because my email server is down and I can't do any work without it. I am about to hang it up and go to camp early (since Lynn is already north delivering a sales presentation) carrying a 1999 Fleur de Bouard, among other bottles, to fill out my new camp wine cooler. Really enjoyed the '98 about a month ago. I hope I still have enough memory of it to compare this one. But I probably won't drink it or the St-Emilion I commented on earlier, tonight, because they will be traveling for an hour to get there. looking forward to some nice Claret, or a Burg, if I can talk Queeny into it, with game hen, the country French way we often do it, grilled outside with honey and mustard.