WTN: Tales from the Crypt

[David M. Bueker]

Doing a bit more crypt keeping this week. Some wines were just generically over the hill. Some never had a hill they could climb. This wine started life in a hole, with nowhere to go but down.

1997 Cilurzo Petite Sirah ‘Reserve’ (Temecula)
I called stagnant pool. Mom said “swamp water.” Thankfully no creature could survive in it, as we did not have the means to destroy such a monster. This was a bad wine when it was young. Aging it for 25+ years just made it worse.

[David M. Bueker]

Since yesterday was a rather bittersweet father's day I figured I would open something from my dad's cellar. Oh well.

In fairness, my dad did pick this up on the secondary market, but the cork looked great (no crumbling, no streaks on the sides), the fill was good, and all signs pointed to an old, but intact wine. Not to be.

• 1990 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve - USA, California, Napa Valley (6/18/2023)
  Do not resuscitate.

[David M. Bueker]

• 2001 d'Arenberg Cabernet Sauvignon The Coppermine Road - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (7/22/2023)
  From the bigger is better period in Australia, this is more measured than a lot of wines from that period. Kept at a cooler than summer room temperature, it held the alcohol in check, which allowed the red currant and berry fruit to shine alongside some cedar and tobacco developed notes. Medium bodied and with only a touch of tannin showing it was quite drinkable, and a very pleasant surprise surprise from my late father’s cellar. Good thing too, as there are several more bottles!

[Jenise]

Don't know that I ever had the Coppermine, though I likely did as I liked d'Arenberg wines quite a bit. Usually more traditional than their neighbors in the Mclaren Vale.

[David M. Bueker]

Coppermine crossed my path a few times, but it had been well over a decade. Dead Arm was a more frequent tipple. I also have a bottle of Laughing Magpie waiting to be checked on.

Then there’s the fact that any time I see Coppermine I inevitably think of Steve Earle’s song Copperhead Road.

[David M. Bueker]

So I brought some of the crypt home with me. Tonight’s specimen is the 1999 Catena Zapata Malbec Lunlunta Vineyards (Mendoza, Argentina). Cork is good, color is good. Hey maybe this will be OK.

Have you ever been to a fair, where there are stands selling cotton candy? Remember that sickly sweet smell with an edge of burnt sugar? At the same fair there’s a stand selling sweet funnel cakes. The stands are right next to each other, so the aromas mingle. That’s exactly what this wine smells like! It’s not quite so bad on the palate, but the aroma is so overpowering I can’t stand to be near the glass! Oh my gosh this is a carnival side show of a wine. Not dead, but better if it was!

[Jenise]

I'm laughing! This is why I avoid Argentine malbec. And while I know they're not all like this (at least, nowadays), fear of those carnival flavors keeps me away.

The Peeps of the wine world?

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

More like Circus Peanuts.