WTN: Four From The Weekend....

Tried these this weekend w/ dinner:
1. JoasephSwan Sonoma Chard (EB; TW) 1975: Med.dark gold color; rather perfumed/fragrant some melony/celery/Chard light toasty oak complex nose w/ no trace of oxidation; very tart/acid/bit schreechy light melony/celery/Chard very light toasty oak flavor; med.long tart/acid light celery/melony/Chard light oak finish w/ some complexity; in very/very good condition w/ no trace of oxidation; lovely/complex delicate nose but a bit schreechy on the palate.
_______________
2. A.Rafanelli Zin DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (Unfltrd; 14.2%) 1990: Med.color w/ little browning; rather bretty/unclean/barnyardy/horse poop some dusty/old vines slight blackberry/Zin nose; smooth/round rather dusty/old vines pleasant blackberry/Zin light oak flavor; med.long smooth light blackberry/Zin rather dusty/old vines finish w/ light tannins; pretty unclean/bretty in the nose but pleasant to drink
_______________
3. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Heimberg/Turckheim Riesling (13%) 1998: Deep gold color; beautiful Mosel valve oil/gout de petrol rather floral/R complex old Mosel nose; tart very rich/lush beautiful old Mosel/kerosene/gout de petrol light floral/R very complex flavor; very long/lingering tart/rich/lush gout de petrol/Mosel valve oil slight R/floral/celery finish; light R fruit but stunning Mosel valve oil/complex wine.
_______________
4. Baumard Carte d'Or Coteaux du Layon (12%) 2006: Pale yellow/gold color; very clean/bright ripe honeydew melon/CB slight Mosel valve oil bit chalky/minerally nose; tart rather sweet bright/zippy fresh noneydew melon/pear/CB very slight minerally flavor; med.long bright watermelon/honeydew melon/CB/very pear slight minerally finish; lots of bright CB character at a very attractive price. $23.00
__________________________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. SwanChard: I was expecting this, especially as messaged by the color, to be totally dead and gone. It was not. A gentle old bones Chard that sorta flitted across the palate. The TableWine designation suggested it would be a high-alcohol Chard and certainly the legs suggest that; but the very high acidity said otherwise. I expect the high acidity was what kept it alive all these yrs.
__________________
2. Z-H Riesling: I have made my dislike for the fat/porky Z-H style of Alsatian wine frequently over the yrs. I bought this wine 8 yrs ago based on the high acidity and my thoughts of its resemblance to Alsatian Riesling of yore; when the more painful the acidity, the better the R would eventually become. This R justifies that buying strategy, that has served me well in the past. This was one of the more spectacular Z-H/mature wines I've ever done had.
TomHill

[David M. Bueker]

Mosel???

Baumard Carte d'Or Coteaux du Layon (12%) 2006:

Thanks Tom. Carte d'Or 2005 is just hitting the shelves here.

2. A.Rafanelli Zin DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (Unfltrd; 14.2%) 1990: Med.color w/ little browning; rather bretty/unclean/barnyardy/horse poop some dusty/old vines slight blackberry/Zin nose; smooth/round rather dusty/old vines pleasant blackberry/Zin light oak flavor; med.long smooth light blackberry/Zin rather dusty/old vines finish w/ light tannins; pretty unclean/bretty in the nose but pleasant to drink
TomHill

Tom,
A question for you. Rafanelli is 1 of only 2 west coast mailing lists I remain on. The other is Dehlinger. Dehliinger because of the huge asian spice PPNs and the fact that they seem to really integrate after about 5-6 years. My question is about Rafanelli. I consider them to have the best struictured zin on the west coast. The problem, IMO, is that they are not great early, but with bottle age really come forward. The above was 17 years old and seemed to have seen better days. My drinking window is about 6-12 years. What do you think? I also pick up a couple bottles of their cab and have been quite pleased. Do the same with Dehlinger. Any comments on these two cabs.
Walt

Tom,
A question for you. Rafanelli is 1 of only 2 west coast mailing lists I remain on. The other is Dehlinger. Dehliinger because of the huge asian spice PPNs and the fact that they seem to really integrate after about 5-6 years. My question is about Rafanelli. I consider them to have the best struictured zin on the west coast. The problem, IMO, is that they are not great early, but with bottle age really come forward. The above was 17 years old and seemed to have seen better days. My drinking window is about 6-12 years. What do you think? I also pick up a couple bottles of their cab and have been quite pleased. Do the same with Dehlinger. Any comments on these two cabs.
Walt

Walt,
Not much of a Cab drinker & haven't had the Raf Cab in yrs. But do like the Dehlinger Cabs quite a bit.
I'd agree w/ your take/strategy on the Raf Zins. I don't buy them very regularly anymore, but I always thought they were more structured than most Calif Zins and DID need some age on them to really show their potential. They have some some problems w/ brett over the yrs and this '90 was a bit too unclean in the nose for my tastes, but I did like its flavor. Yeah...probably would've been better some 6-8 yrs ago.
Tom