Tried this last night w/ my leftover pork kabobs:
1. Coturri Zin ChauvetVnyd/SonomaVlly (14.5%; Half planted in 1935/1976; U/U) 1995: Light brown color of PaloCortado sherry; quite volatile/EA/aldehydic some fumey/alcoholic rather PC sherry quite complex nose w/ zero fruit and no identifiable Zin character whatsoever; soft/smooth dry quite oxidized/nutty/PC sherry rather complex/elegant/delicate flavor; long/lingering smooth/elegant/graceful oxidized/nutty/PC or Amontillado sherry delicate rather complex finish w/ this dreadful wet army blanket/wet dog fur/rather putrid aftertaste that goes on & on. On retaste, this putrid finish had totally vanished. Strange. One of the greatest PaloCortado sherries ever made in Calif. $12.00
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And a short/pontifical BloodyPulpit:
1. I first had this wine when Tony showed it at a Zinfandel & Good Eats event at RosenblumCllrs, back in the days when I was going to ZAP. The wine was classic old-vine/dusty Zin w/ huge blackberry Zin fruit and a slight funkiness that is characteristic of young Coturri Zins. I thought it was a simply stunning Zin. This was back before I knew a lot about the Coturri winemaking style (organically farmed grapes picked fully ripe, natural yeast fermentations, no use of sulfer, let any bacteria that wanted to grow in the wine, no fining or filteration, ML fermentation if it wanted to, bottle directly from barrel....that is....natural winemaking). I was turned onto his Zins and other reds and bought a fair amount. I soon found that these wines did very/very strange things w/ age. Because they were/are bottled w/ a witch's brew of bacteria present, there was absolutely no telling what the wine would evolve into. I found many developed weird/fecal/funky character and oxidized pretty rapidly. The Coturri wine sorta became a laughingstock to me. They were often quite tasty & intense when young...but gawd knows what you'd have down the road w/ age. That's still the opinion I hold onto.
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2. The long/dreadful aftertaste was something I'd not seen before. It went on & on and was one of the foulest tastes I've had in a wine. A bit like finding a dead CockerSpaniel out in the rain, wrapping the corpse up in a wet Army blanket, stuffing it inside a canvas duffel bag, and leaving it in your basement a few months. Yup...must be an old Coturri. But, then, when I went back and retried the wine a few minutes later...that utterly foul aftertaste was not to be found whatsoever. Over the next hour, especially w/ the Piminton-spiced Marcona almonds, I could not pick up that character again. Everything else about the wine was pretty much the same. I guess my palate had accomodated or something...I haven't a clue. Will look for it again tonight.
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3. With some threads on "Natural winemaking" and "Worst wine of the decade" being out there, I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring out an old Coturri and make fun of what it'd become. When I first opened it & could smell the VA/aldehydic character, I knew I had succeeded. First taste confirmed what the nose predicted.
But, then, my mind started to wander. We'd been sternly admonished by professional critics not so long ago to "think outside the box". So I took this admonishment to heart..and started to truly think outside the box. What did this wine remind me of (other than putrid CockerSpaniels)?? And then it slowly dawned on me....this is very much like some old PaloCortado and Amontillado sherries I've had over the yrs...probably 25-30 in number I'd guess. It was very similar, maybe even better, than some of those PC sherries I had. As I retasted the wine in that context, I really started to like this strange beast. Especially w/ the Marcona almonds...this Coturri is one of the greatest old Calif sherries I've ever had...and that includes some old stocks from EastsideWnry in Lodi. This is truly exceptional sherry.
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4. So...the important question....how do I score this wine? The professional critics assert that they taste the wines blind in peer groups. If that peer group included (some recent ones, like) Ridge Pagani/Geyserville/LyttonSprings '93/'94/'95; Swan Frati '95; Ravenswood OldHill '91 and Dickerson '95, DeLoach OFS '94; this Coturri would be abysmal in that group. I'd give it only a 37...maybe a 38.
If that peer group included Lustau/Barbadillo PaloCortado/Amontillado sherries, ChristianBros/PaulMasson fino sherries, EastSideWnry old sheries, and the likes; because of its smoothness/elegance and especially its complexity...it'd easily score a 93, maybe a 94.
So which is it...37 or 93??? Beats the heck out of me...that's why I'm not a professional and am destined to remain a mere amateur my entire life. But I do know the critics are right...you have to think outside the box on a wine like this. I've a new-found respect for Coturri wines.
Tom (and most certainly not TFIC)