Susan & I tried this w/ her Risotto alla Funghi:
1. JosephSwanVnyds Chard NorthernSonoma (EB; TW) 1982: Deep gold/burnished bronze color; rather nutty/toasted hazelnuts/smokey/peencilly/oak bit oatmealy/toasted grains slight lemon curd quite complex nose; tart nutty/toasted hazelnuts caramel/creme brulee light smokey/pencilly/oak celery/celery seed slight old Riesling/valve oil slight nutty/old Sauternes slightly bitter quite complex flavor; very long slightly bitter creme brulee/caramel smokey/pencilly/oak oatmealy/old Sauternes/old Riesling some celery very complex finish; some oxidized character but no acetaldehyde/sherry/maderized/vinegar character whatsoever;
a very interesting old Calif Chard that was a real pleasure to drink.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Stumbled upon this in my archives and figured it was maybe time. The cork was sound and came out cleanly. Only a slight bit of ullage.
The wine was quite difficult to describe. Obviously some oxidative character that would have led many to dismiss the wine as too old. I, being much more open-minded about old wines than most, found it an absolutely fascinating experience. It had some character that reminded me a bit of an old Sauternes or, more accurately, an old Ygrec. Also a bit like an old German Riesling. Maybe the closest thing in my experience would be an old/dry VinJaune from the Jura w/o the sherry notes they sometime display. Still have a btl of the '80 remaining. Probably should try it sometime; before it...or I....croak.
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2. Risotto: Susan, a risotto novice, made this from boletes that were harvested in the JemezMtns that afternoon by a wine friend; using some ho-made duck stock, w/ a little bit of dried shitake stock thrown in. A little proscuitto, a little gruyere, a little fresh thyme. The rustic/woodsy flavor married wonderfully w/ the Chard.
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3. JoeSwan: I first met Joe back around 1973, after I had a few of his Zins that I had got up at LiquorMart/Boulder, and wrote him a note raving about them. He immediately added me to his mailing list, w/o my even asking. He was kind of a crusty/no-bullshit guy, probably did not suffer fools gladly. In my first visit there, he introduced me to this guy working there with him; name didn't register. Some guy by the name of JoelPeterson. Turns out I met him again a few days later in a wine shop down in TheCite I was visiting that was run by PhilReich. We've been friends since then. Now...drinking his son's Zins...makes me feel kinda old. But we know that's not the case.
On a subsequent visit, or maybe that first one, Joe wanted to show me his first Estate Chard. Joe was a bit of a...pinch-penny. To save a few $$'s, he bought some old Bourbon barrels, took them apart, scraped out the insides, then reassembled them. Turns out his scrape job didn't go deep enough. The Chard ('75?) picked up a weird/charred/Bourbon flavor; a bit like a ratafia made from Cognac. It was an absolutely fascinating wine, but Joe was convinced he had ruined it...and never made that mistake again. I had my last btl in the late '80's. It was still amazingly good...if a bit weird.
I continued to buy Joe's wines into the late '80's, when he passed on. I've had some wonderful experiences w/ them over the yrs. And still immensely enjoy Rod&Lynn's rendition of them.
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4. This Chard was a wonderful example of what an old wine can be. If you read any/most of the authoritive wine books; they all tell you that a wine turns to vinegar when it gets old; usable only for (a very bad) salad dressing. That's a bunch of horse-puckey. I never recall having an old wine that I would characterize as vinegar; save a few old Toplos Zins...which went to bottle in that condition. So much for the pronouncements of the "authorities"!!
Tom
