WTN: Some Rhones from the Archives..(long/boring)

We tasted last night (5/1/13) Some Rhones from the Archives:
1. Donkey&Goat Four Thirteen ElDorado RW (14.3%; U) 2007: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; attractive
strawberry/Grenache some earthy/mushroomy slight spicy/blackberry light cinammon/thyme slight Rhonish/
garrigue bit stewed fruit attractive nose; soft some earthy/mushroomy/ElDorado pleasant strawberry/
Grenache/garrigue/Rhonish flavor w/ lighht tannins; med.long soft bit tangy/metallic some strawberry/
Grenache rather earthy/dusty/mushroomy finish w/ light tannins; starting to show some age but pretty
Grenache fruit; a good mature CdR-level wine.
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2. Donkey&Goat Mourvedre TheProspector ElDorado (14.2%; U) 2007: Med.color w/ no bricking; somewhat plummy/
Mourv/boysenberry/strawberry some earthy/ElDorado rather fragrant attractive nose; soft slight metallic/
tangy strong plummy/Mourv bit earthy/dusty/stewed tomatoes bit drying/yannic flavor; med.long some
plummy/Mourv somewhat tangy/metallic finish w/ bit of drying/astringent tannins; pretty good/tasty
Mourv but showing its age.
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3. Donkey&Goat Syrah VieillesVignes McDowellVlly/Mendocino (14.1%; U) 2005: Med.dark color w/ no bricking;
very attractive blackberry/Syrah slight floral/violets/lilacs some dusty/OV slight mocha/coffee rather
perfumed nose; bit tart strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit dusty/OV some mocha/coffee/smokey flavor w/
bit of a tannic bite; long some floral/violets/menthol strong blackberry/Syrah slight smokey/mocha/
espresso finish w/ light tannins; probably as good as it'll get; quite attractive mature Syrah.
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4. Donkey&Goat Syrah VieillesVignes Mendocino (14.4%; U) 2006: Dark color w/ no bricking; less floral/
perfumed rather strong/blackberry/Syrah slight dusty/earthy bit spicy/cinammon nose; softer slight
tangy/metallic some blackberry/Syrah slight dusty/earthy slight violets pleasant flavor w/ light tannins;
med.long some blackberry/Syrah slight floral bit dusty/earthy finish w/ light/smooth tannins; much like
the '05 but lighter in character and starting to fade; drink up.
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5. Dom. Moulin-Tacussel AC: CdP (MeBaD; 13%) AlberteMoulin 1988: Med.light color w/ fair bricking;
somewhat tired/cedary/pencilly/old red some toasty/charred/oak rather complex nose; soft rather
old/tired strong cedary/pencilly/old Cab smokey/pungent/coffee grounds some toasty/charred/oak
bit astringent/dried out/tired flavor; med.long slight strawberry/Grenache somewhat astringent/
dried out/tired strong toasty/charred/oak mostly cedary/pencilly/old Cab complex finish; still
some interesting things there but on its last legs.
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6. Ch.deFonsalette Syrah AC: CdR (Reserve; MeBalP; 14%) Ch.Rayas 1997: Med.color w/ some bricking;
very strong green olive/garrigue/olive tapenade rather smokey/pungent bit roasted/espresso slight
herbal/rosemary/Herbs de Provence slight blackberry/Syrah very complex nose; soft smooth slight
astringent some green olive/olive tapenade/garigue/herbal/rosemary rather smokey/charred/oak slight
blackberry/Syrah flavor; very long olive tapenade/garrige/herbal slight blackberry/Syrah smooth
complex finish w/ slight astringent bite; lots of very interesting stuff in this wine, but starting
to dry out a bit and probably as good as it'll ever be; lovely old bones. $35.00
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7. Dom. LesGoubert AC: Gigondas (MeBaD; 13%) JeanPierreCartier/Gigondas 1988: Med.color w/ fair bricking;
rather pungent/ozone/metallic/burning metal slight earthy/strawberry some cedary/pencilly rather complex
nose; metallic smell like an empty grapefruit can; bit tart/astringent/bitey some tangy/metallic/
pungent slight tangy/strawberry/Grenache some pencilly/cedary flavor; med tangy/metallic/grapefruity
rather cedary/pencilly slight strawberry/Grenache somewhat astringent/bitey/dried out finish; still
clinging to life but rather on the tired side. $14.00
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8. Dom.deFont-Sane AC: Gigondas (MeBaD; 14%) G.Peysson et Fille/Gigondas 1986: First btl horribly corked.
Med.dark color w/ some bricking; some strawberry/Grenache bit smokey/garrigue/spicy/herbal light earthy/
dusty old CdP fairly complex nose; soft bit flat/underacid rather earthy/dusty/garrigue/spicy/herbal
slight strawberry/Grenache slight astringent/bitey complex flavor w/ smooth tannins; long some cedary/pencilly
light strawberry/Grenache earthy/dusty slight herbal/garrigue complex finish w/ light/smooth tannins;
quite a nice example of a fully mature & then some SouthernRhone that still speaks of Grenache.
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9. Gaillard AC: StJoseph (MeBalP; 12.5%) PierreGaillard/Malleval 1988: Med.color w/ some bricking;
beautiful coffee/roasted/espresso/smokey/classic NR light blackberry/Syrah bit pungent/ozone very
complex nose; very strong coffee/roasted/espresso/smokey/bacon fat bit tart light blackberry/Syrah smooth/
polished complex flavor; very long roasted/espresso/bacon fat/smokey light blackberry/Syrah complex
finish w/ smooth/graceful tannins; a beautiful classic NR Syrah as good as it'll ever get.
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9a. Domaine des Entrefaux AC: Crozes-Hermitage (12.5%; RhoneWineImports/Angwin) Charles Tardy et Bernard Ange/
Chanos-Curson 1988: Med.light color w/ some bricking; strong roasted/espresso/coffee/smokey/bacon fat/
classic NR slight cedary/pencilly/old red/cigar box quite complex old NR nose; soft slight horsecollar/leathery
strong smokey/roasted/bacon fat/coffee grounds/espresso smooth/silky slight floral/violets/blackberry/Syrah
gentle/elegant flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long slight horsecollar rather smokey/espresso/bacon
fat/coffee grounds/roasted slight floral/violets/Syrah finish w/ light/smooth/delicate tannins; a beautiful
example of a fully-mature/complex NR.
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10. Gaillard AC: C-R Cote Brune et Blonde (MeBalP; 12.5%) 1989: Dark color w/ slight bricking; lighter smokey/
roasted/coffee slight floral/blackberry/Syrah/violets bit more aromatic/perfumed/high-toned complex nose;
bit tart light roasted/smokey/coffee/pungent some perfumed/floral/blackberry/Syrah slight metallic/tangy
complex flavor w/ smooth/silky tannins; long floral/violets/blackberry/Syrah light smokey/roasted/coffee
bit tart finish w/ light/smooth tannins; not as big/intense as the StJ and more elegant/high-toned/floral
character; a beautiful fully-mature elegant/delicate C-R. $28.00
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11. Dom.J.Vidal-Fleury AC: C-R Cotes Brune & Blonde (13%) 1988: Med.light color w/ some bricking; light
smokey/roasted/espresso/NR bit cedary/cigar box slight blackberry/Syrah light/delicate complex nose;
tart/lean delicate/light/ethereal light roasted/coffee/NR/smokey slight blackberry/Syrah flavor w/
little tannins; med.short light smokey/coffee/NR/roasted light pencilly/cedary/cigar box light blackberry/
Syrah finish; fully mature and then some and just sort of fading away into the sunset; very delicate/
ethereal and very quiet wine; not much left but what's left is pretty enough.
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12. AlbanVnyds Syrah Reva AlbanEstate/EdnaVlly (15.8%) ArroyoGrande 2003: Black color; very reduced/sewer gas/
stinky nose that clears to very intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah toasted coconut/charred/burnt/oak rather
herbal/rosemary somewhat hot/alcoholic very primary complex pungent nose; some tart huge/rich intense
boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah strong toasty/charred/burnt/coconutty/oak somewhat hot/fumey/alcoholic slight
herbal/rosemary flavor w/ modest/smooth/ripe tannins; long intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah strong
charred/burnt/oak/coconutty fairly hot/fumey finish w/ some smooth/lush tannins; still a huge/intense
Syrah and on the fumey side but the tannins have smoothed out considerably; will probably go another
4-8 yrs. $48.00
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And the usual bloviations from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Moulin-Tacussel: This was one of the original Parker-style CdP's. Big fruit, ripe,
lots of new French oak..a wine I really liked. I was expecting it to be pretty dead &
gone. It was not...but it didn't offer up much joy, either.
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2. Fonsalette: This was one of the very rare "Reserve" bottlings. Made from a plot of Syrah
just outside the CdP area as I understand it. Cuttings came from Chave. This has always
been one of my favorite SouthernRhone wines. Pricing has got a little out of hand. It seems
to age in a unique way, different from NothernRhone Syrahs. This '97 was spectacularly good.
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3. D&G: A few weeks ago, we had the BrokenLeg Syrah '10, '09. '07. The '10 had an unpleasant screechy acidity/
undrinkable. Both the '09, '07 seemed to be moving along faster than I'd have expected. So I was getting a
little worried about my stash of D&G wines, so I pulled these out to try. Guess I needn't have worried.
Though not profound Calif Rhones, they were doing just fine, thank you.
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4. McDowellVlly: BillyCrawford used to farm this vnyd that contained one of the oldest blocks of Syrah in
Calif. Followed them from the very start. I did/I did. Under the McDowellVllyVnyd label, early on, Billy
made some really exceptional Syrahs from those grapes. But then they seemed to lose their way and the
the wines became rather pedistrian. I think GeorgeBursick made those first wines, but I presume he must
have left. I believe he now does consulting winemaking and is associated in some capacity w/ J Vnyds/
Healdsburg.
McDowellVllyVnyds was facing foreclosure back in 2010. I presume it must have happened as the tasting
room in Hopland is apparently closed. When you go to the MVV WebSite, it redirects you to:
www.McDowellSyrah.com , which is a pretty weird WebSite and doesn't have much about wine on it. Strange.
But I hope the vnyd is being taken care of and wonder where the grapes are going to??
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

D&G just seems awfully pricey for what it is. I can do just as well with a good Cotes du Rhone at half the price.

D&G just seems awfully pricey for what it is. I can do just as well with a good Cotes du Rhone at half the price.

Yup, David.....they are a bit on the pricey side for what they are. I, of course, followed 'em from the very start. I particularly liked
their Syrahs from ElDorado...almost as good as Steve's from those same vnyds.
I'm a bit concerned about the direction their winemaking is taking. They seem to be moving in the direction of extreme natural winemaking.
Alice loves them...but it has me a bit concerned. The '10 BrokenLegSyrah (12.9%) has such a screechy acidity that I found it undrinkable.
Think it has a bacterial problem going on in the btl. They recently put out a dessert Chard that was Unfltrd and they acknowledge, more or less,
that it'll start to ferment in the btl and become frizzante. Not something smart to do.
When their Fall Release comes out, I'm going to have to think long & hard if I order.
But, then, I always say that when I get my notice to re-up my subscription to the WS (which I have already started receiving some 7 mo.
afore my subscription expires)...and I always seem to cave in. I am such a wuss!!!
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Their Syrahs are my favorites. But the comparison with Steve's wines stops after about 3 years. Steve's stuff goes into slumber. D&G goes into decline.

I like the aged expressions of Syrah so much that I would rather buy twice as much of Steve's wines than do the crapshoot thing with producers that go to far to the natural end of the spectrum.

Their Syrahs are my favorites. But the comparison with Steve's wines stops after about 3 years. Steve's stuff goes into slumber. D&G goes into decline.

I like the aged expressions of Syrah so much that I would rather buy twice as much of Steve's wines than do the crapshoot thing with producers that go to far to the natural end of the spectrum.

Yup...think we're pretty much on the same page here, David.
Tom