WTN: Tales from the Crypt

[David M. Bueker]

There’s a lot of good wine in my late father’s cellar. There’s also a hundred or so bottles that should have been drunk up a long time ago. Did some culling the last couple of days. More to come.

2003 Jayson Napa Valley Chardonnay
Extremely dead

2005 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Robert Young Vineyard Alexander Valley
Very dead

2008 J. Rochioli Chardonnay South River Vineyard Russian River Valley
Alive! Still offering some pleasure, even if it was likely better a few years ago. Has a creamy edge to ripe pear and lemon curd fruit.

2002 Catena Chardonnay Mendoza Argentina
Extremely dead

2001 Horton Vineyards Petit Manseng Virginia
Dead plus extra death from plastic cork!

2002 Chateau du Coing de Saint Fiacre Muscadet Sevre et Maine
Faded away to nothingness. Not obviously oxidized, but almost completely tasteless.

2005 Stone Mountain Vineyards Chardonnay Virginia
Bright lemon acidity on top of decaying death. Bizarre!

2005 Jermann W…Dreams… Chardonnay Venezia Giulia IGT
Dead, then risen from the grave to haunt the living

2002 Michael Shaps King Family Vineyards Merlot Virginia
It’s alive! It’s alive!! IT’S ALIVE!!!!!! Good acidity, red fruit, no decay. Not profound, but it was worth drinking. Had a glass and enjoyed it.

[Jenise]

Lol--fun read. Spit coffee over the Horton PM.

[David M. Bueker]

2002 Joseph Drouhin Domaine de Vaudon Chablis
Both dead and nonexistent. On the basis of this wine there is no such thing as the afterlife.

[David M. Bueker]

Fear the Walking Viogniers

2005 Blenheim Viognier Virginia
Deader than dead. Cause of death was being oxidized by falling coconuts.

2002 Michael Shaps King Family Vineyards Viognier Virginia
A second Michael Shaps wine that far exceeded expectations. Not dead. Actually quite alive. Floral and peach aromas. Even some freshness on the palate. Go figure.

2005 Yalumba Viognier South Australia
Preserved by screwcap, but only in its color. Smelled like a highway rest stop restroom that had just been blasted with Fabreze. Oof! Death would have been preferable to whatever happened to this.

2005 Craneford Viognier Adelaide Hills Australia
Less toxic than the Yalumba, but smelled like overripe peaches in an un-airconditioned locker room in July.

[David M. Bueker]

Continued…

2003 Marquis Phillips Sarah’s Blend South Eastern Australia
Corked! Alleluia!

NV Childress Vineyards Pinnacle
Appellation designation unknown, as it had nothing on the label. Vinted and bottled in North Carolina. Could be from anywhere or more likely nowhere. Generic red wine with zero distinguishing features.

2003 Walter Hansel Chardonnay RRV Cahill Lane Vineyard
Waving goodbye from the window as life passed it by. This was probably a lovely wine 5-10 years ago, but now it is flat and lifeless.

2001 Tenuta Carretta Dolcetto d’Alba
Finally a Dolcetto where the structure has fully resolved. Sadly so has everything else. Most redeeming quality was that it was still a lovely color.

2004 Barboursville Vineyards Cabernet Franc Reserve Virginia
375ml of flavor in a 750ml bottle. Zero structure. Zero mid-palate.

2003 Cap de Faugeres Cotes de Castillon
When first opened it was actually pretty nice in a knock back a glass way. Recognizably Bordeaux. Not overdone despite producer and vintage reputations. Collapsed overnight, but for what was a $14 wine I thought it was pretty good when we first had it.

Quite enjoying this thread. When you've got nothing to lose, only upside.
And you lucked out with the corked MP!

[David M. Bueker]

Like zombies, there are always more wines to cull.

Another bottle of 2005 Blenheim Viognier (Virginia) was much better than the prior one, but damning with faint praise and all that. Smelled like canned fruit cocktail that had been sitting out too long. Can’t wait to see what the final bottle is like.

2002 Peter McCoy Chardonnay Sonoma County was unspoiled but lacking in any distinguishing features. What did it taste like? Umm…wine? What kind? Wine kind!

2005 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Durell Vineyard Sonoma Valley managed to combine the aromas of a Werther’s butterscotch candy and rotting lawn clippings in an oak barrel. Yuck!

2002 Thorn Clarke Shotfire Ridge Shiraz Barossa Valley smelled of only one thing - alcohol. There was nothing else left. Do not expose to open flame.

[David M. Bueker]

Just found a 25 year old bottle of Freisa. Shudder!

[David M. Bueker]

Not always so happy hour on Monday 2/27 edition:

1998 Beppe Marino Langhe Freisa
Devoid of flavor. I suspect that was a blessing.

2003 Domaine “La Garrigue” Côtes du Rhône Cuvée Romaine
A little dried herb, a little brushy/briary. No fruit. No interest. Might have been decent 10 years ago, but probably more like 15.

2000 Chateau Fourcas Hosten (Listrac, Medoc)
Another wine that was likely much more interesting ten years ago. That said it was still sound, but in need of fruit it had when it was released. A clear reminder to drink up, especially with the lower level stuff.

1999 Mapema (Argentina)
Some air did wonders for this, as it was rather nondescript when first opened. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot, it fully tasted like a proper Bordeaux blend with some new world leanings that did not trip into extremes. Still shows some oak, but that’s not shocking given where it came from and when it was made. While I would not seek it out, I would drink this if someone poured me a glass at a party.

[David M. Bueker]

A few more…

One last bottle of **2002 Michael Shaps King Family Vineyards Viognier (Virginia)** managed to be the best of them all, but also showed some of the worst of Viognier, with a lumbering richness and even some residual sugar.

**2004 Domaine Boissard-Lardy Meursault 1er Cru ‘Les Genevrières** was oxidized to hell and back.

The **2004 Maison Champy Bourgogne Signature** was a perfectly correct Bourgogne Blanc, that was just too far past its best. Would be perfectly fine for cooking, but just boring to drink.

My dad’s out of date hard copy inventory did not include the **1998 Abadia Retuerta ‘Primicia’**, and for $8.99 and 25 years it could have just been there in invisible ink. There was zero flavor left in the wine.

The **2003 Robert Chevillon Bourgogne** showed some of the overripe aspects (sweet fruit!) of the vintage, but was otherwise inoffensive - uninteresting but inoffensive.

[David M. Bueker]

Not exactly a crypt wine, but the 1997 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages was elegant in a late maturity way. Medium bodied and still showing some fruit, it also had cedar and earthy tones. My mom, who hates austere wines, enjoyed it. Not a lot of structure left so best to drink soon.

I remember being quite fond of Five Seepages back in the day.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

Back to crypt keeping/crypt cleaning...

Opened the last of the 2005 Blenheim Viognier (Virginia), and it was another bad fruit cocktail left out too long. At least those are all gone now.

On to the 2005 Neiman Chardonnay Napa Valley which smells of oak and alcohol - nothing else. It's more than a little creamy on the palate. Might have been a book club wine back in the day, but not anymore. Could be used for cooking if a note of lumber is required in a dish.

Not exactly crypt keeping, but my dad still had an inappropriately large stash of 1999 Chateau Leoville Barton (St. Julien) in the cellar, so I opened one to check on it. Well made wine from an indifferent vintage. I would have no issue adding a cup to what I was cooking and drinking a glass while cooking. It would never be the centerpiece wine for a nice dinner, but will probably get opened on random Wednesdays with burgers until I run through the five or six that are left.

[David M. Bueker]

Alsace edition:

1999 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes seemed promising for about thirty seconds. It then fell into the pit of despair. “Don’t even think about trying to escape.”

2000 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Herrenweg de Turckheim was dead and gone from the start. Dried flowers on an oxidized pineapple grave. Memorial donations can be made to the Home for Wines with Insufficient Acidity.

I've never cared for Zind-Humbrecht's style. Not enough structure for my taste. I remember one particularly highly touted gewurz vendanges tardive that was completely lacking in structure to the point of that being a decided fault. It sort of did a belly flop on the palate and was tiring to drink.

I'm enjoying the prose of your dead wine reviews. The Vincent Price of wine commentary.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

I would not call it a universal issue with all ZH wines. To me it's more about what has happened especially with Gewurz in Alsace. Not a lot of wines with any level of acidic structure. There is also the fact that ZH has backed off from some of the extremes of the late 1990s/early 2000s.

[David M. Bueker]

2002 Joseph Phelps Insignia was not a crypt wine!

So delicious in an easy, comforting style. After a very difficult week of working through probate, taxes, and such it was just what the doctor ordered. Drink now and over the next few years.

Glad to hear that ZH has backed off from the over-the-top style of the late '90s/early 2000s. The wine I was talking about was indeed from that era.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Such a fun thread. And like Dale, I went 'hurray' over the Marquis Philips. You were spared.

[David M. Bueker]

Such a fun thread. And like Dale, I went 'hurray' over the Marquis Philips. You were spared.

There is still another bottle.

On the bright side, I uncovered a stash of Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon.

[Jenise]

707s! Yes, those should be special.

This thread makes me feel better about the likely over the hill wines I probably have lurking in the cellar. or as my wife calls them "Oh goodie, more stew pot wine!"

I'll be opening one later this week just to see what it is like and will include it in my notes.

[David M. Bueker]

One of the things I did before I left was to create a section of “these will be perfectly good for cooking”wines.

[David M. Bueker]

I was making some “Thai curry” fried rice last night, so decided to open another ZH from my dad’s cellar. The 1997 Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl had better balance and less overt sweetness than the other ZH wines I opened last week, but was still past its best. Overall it just felt tired. The aromas and flavors were correct, but two dimensional. It was the fake Rock Ridge in Blazing Saddles - looked right, but nothing behind it.

“Somebody needs to go back and get a shitload of dimes!”

So I switched to a Holus Bolus Grenache.