A few of us got together Sunday at JohnBalagna's to taste a few wines:
1. Season'sGreetings from the FoxFamily VidalBlanc/SeyvalBlanc Belen/NM (14%) P&B by TonyFox/LosAlamos 2010: Med.gold bit cloudy color; somewhat earthy/rustic very ripe/grapey/musky/almost muscatty very slight hybridy/stony/loamy nose; very soft rather earthy/loamy/stony some overripe/grapey/musky bit coarse/grapey slight dusky/muscat-like bit alcoholic flavor; med.long soft very ripe/grapey/musky/earthy/stony somewhat coarse finish; could use more acid and probably not going to go anywhere because of the low acids; dominated by very ripe grapey character and some coarse/rustic and little of that hybridy character that Vidal & Seyval often show; performing well above its pay grade. $nc (vTL)
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2. PierreSparr GWT Mambourg AC: A (CuveeCentenaire; VendangesTardive; 13.5%; #12389) PierreSparr/Sigolsheim 1981 or 1983: Med.dark color; beautiful GWT/lychee/spicy/cinammon/nutmeg/slight GWT hair oil slight smokey/forest fire very complex stunning old GWT nose; very lush/rich/mouthfilling beautiful GWT/ripe/lychee/slight hair oil some smokey/nutmeg/cinammon slight tart/tangy beautiful/complex old Alsave GWT flavor; very long/lingering rich/lush/ripe very strong lychee/GWT/hair oil/bit quiet quite smokey/cinammon/nutmeg bit soft very complex spectacular finish; a beautiful example of a complex old Alsatian GWT that should go another 10 yrs or so and just quietly fade into the sunset. $12.00 (HSL)
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3. JosephSwanVnyds Zin Sonoma (TW) 1981: Med.dark somewhat murky color w/ some browning; strong cedary/pencilly/oldZin slight blackberry/Zin rather complex nose; bit tart/tangy/metallic strong cedary/pencilly/oldZin slight bretty/horsecollar/leathery/unclean lighht licorice/blackberry/Zin some smokey/toasty/oak flavor w/ light/drying tannins;long tart/tangy/metallic very pencilly/cedary/oldZin some bretty/unclean/earthy bit tired finish w/ light/drying tannins; still clinging to life and more an intellectual experience than a sensual experience. $9.50 (vBS)
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4. Novy LeonMillot WillametteVlly/OR (13.6%) 2007: Dark color w/ slight bricking; strong smokey/pencilly/toasty/classic Siduri oak slightly volatile/fumey rather earthy/dusty/herbal little fruit but no plastic/hybridy character slight rosemary/root beer/thyme quite interesting nose unlike a Siduri Pinot; rather tart/lean/hard quite herbal/rosemary/pungent some coarse/earthy/loamy/dusty some smokey/charred/oak flavor w/ light hard/rough tannins; med.long rather smokey/charred/oak/smoked hot dog rather earthy/loamy/pungent/herbal rather tart/hard/austere/coarse finish w/ light/rough tannins; pretty strange/atypical Siduri red but quite an interesting if rustic wine; maybe you can make a silk purse (or at least a wool) purse out of a sow's ear. $19.50
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Stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. JohnBalagna took my first wine appreciation class back in Feb 1973. We've been tasting together ever since. He founded SanYsidroVnyds and was forced to change his wnry's name to IlSantoCllrs. At 93, he's getting pretty feeble...but his mind is still sharp as a tack. We get-together every few months to taste some wines w/ him at his home.
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2. TonyFox is a home winemaker I've known here in LosAlamos some 15 yrs or so. He learned his winemaking skills working w/ John at IlSanta, over the yrs.
I served this wine blind. Tony had no idea I had a btl of this (gifted me by a friend) and was pleasurably shocked when I unveiled it. I was expecting it to not be very good. I was wrong. Though not a profound white and a bit on the soft side; it showed none of the kinda placticy character I often get in hybrid wines.
The grapes were harvested from a vnyd in Belen at a very high ripeness (25 Brix) in late Sept. Normal harvest for these grapes would be late Aug. He had to do a lot of acid additions to bring the must into a proper range.
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3. Sparr: A terrific example of an old/fully mature/very complex old Alsatian GWT. The vintage date was a bit confusing. The small strip label declaring it a VT stated it as a 1981. The PierreSparr vintage date label on the shoulder stated 1983. I'm presuming that this wine was bttld late, they didn't have any of the 1981 vintage date labels left, so they slapped on the 1983. And that the correct vintage is 1981.
This was a btl from my orphan stash in the garage that spent 20 yrs under totally uncontrolled temps. It was not only still alive, but spectacular in its development. Go figure.
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4. Swan: Joe's original came from the old Teldeschi (not sure if it was Mike or Ray) vnyd and Joe proudly put Teldeschi on the label. Used that vnyd source for over 10 yrs, I think. Joe was an old curmudgeonly pinch-penny. When his Zins became famous w/ Teldeschi on the label, somebody came along and offered Teldeschi more $$'s for the grapes. I heard rumors that it was MikeOfficer wanting old-vine grapes for his 3'rd grade winemaking ScienceFair project. Anyway, pinchpenny-Joe refused to match Mike's offer, so lost Teldeschi as a source of Zin in about 1977. After that, he would no longer reveal his source of Zin grapes for fear of being outbid for them again. So not sure whose grapes this '81 was from.
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4. LeonMillot: There was a north-facing block in one of Adam's OR Pinot vnyds that was never able to ripen Pinot there. So they went ahead and decided to plant a French hybrid there in hopes of getting it to ripen. I think Adam bought it for only 1-2 yrs, though. It was probably the most expensive LeonMillot in all of Oregon and I'm sure Adam paid top $$ for it.
Tom