Cracked this open last night:
1. BabcockVnyds JohannisbergRiesling DryBarrelFrmtd EstateGrown/SantaYnezVlly (13.4%; 24 cs) 1989: Deep gold color w/ slight browning; lovely oldRiesling/valve oil/gout de petrol slight piney/earthy spicy light toasty/pungent/smokey rather complex nose; tart bit celery/piney some gout de petrol/old Riesling light pungent/oak slight nutty/Rhonish/toasted hazelnuts some old Riesling flavor; fairly long light pungent/oak Rhonish/nutty/toasted hazelnuts some old Riesling/gout de petrol rather complex finish; quite an interesting wine that speaks some of old Alsace Riesling, some of old Rhone blanc.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was fermented in old/fairly neutral Fr.oak, but the pungent/oak character is clearly there. Therefore, I guess, I'm not supposed to like this wine because Riesling and oak are not supposed to go together. But I found it a fascinating old bones of a wine and still a pleasure to drink.
Over the yrs, I've had a number of barrel frmtd Rieslings that have been quite good, if a bit eccentric. DavidBruce used to do his Estate Riesling in new French oak and it had huge extract and made for an interesting Riesling that aged rather well. The early Ridge WhiteRieslings and Sylvaners were also barrel frmtd and made for good old bones. Even though the oak was evident, that old Riesling character eventually came thru.
Tom