Started work last night on a case of Z-H '93's from my orphan stash:
1. Dom.Zind-Humbrecht GWT Turckheim AC: Alsace (13.5%) Turckheim 1993: Dark gold/murky brown color; rather oxidized/aldehydic/musty/fusty/wet dog fur unpleasant slightly old GWT nose; dry/austere quite bitter/aldehydic rather oxidized/near Amatillado sherry flavor; very bitter & a totally shot wine. $16.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Yesterday I retrieved this case of Z-H '93's from my orphan stash in the garage. I had high hopes for this case as the German & Alsatian whites I've had from there have, as a rule, been survivors. This case had been "stored" w/ the wines standing upright. The cork was in the btl solidly and came out w/ some difficulty w/ the Ah-So. The cork was solid, had some resilience, and seemed in good condition, did not crumble. But, when I poured the first glass; my hopes for this case plummeted. Yup...totally shot.
So I retrieved the 2'nd btl to add to my case destined for the streets of SantaFe. As I started to place it in the "streets" case, I held it up to the light. Hmmmm....looked pretty clear and very little browning, unlike the previous one. So...what the heck...went ahead & cracked this btl. The cork situation was identical to the first one...intact/solid/resilient. As I poured the first glass, my heart leaped for joy...looked promising.
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2. Dom.Zind-Humbrecht GWT Turckheim AC: Alsace (13.5%) Turckheim 1993: Med.dark gold/light bronze color; rather cinammon/nutmeg/oldGWT some lychee/GWT/floral/slight hair oil/spicy complex mature lovely nose; soft/lush/Z-H fat strong cinammon/nutmeg spicy/lychee/GWT/floral fully mature complex lovely flavor w/ very slight bitterness and no signs of oxidation; very long soft/fat/lush strong nutmeg/cinammon/mature GWT some lychee/GWT/floral/youthful finish w/ very slight bitterness; no signs of oxidation save the trace of bitterness that worsened as it was chilled down from room temp; a lovely fully-mature old GWT that was a definite pleasure to drink...which I did down to the last drop. $16.00
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And a second BloodyPulpit:
1. I went back and compared the two corks. They were virtually identical, save for a few minor scuff markks on the edge from the Ah-So blades. How could that be?? I've got no idea why one btl was shot and the other one wasn't. They both had identical fill levels, which was about 3/4 " from the cork. Go figure.
I examined the remaining 10 btls. Fill levels are excellent and colors all look nominal. Maybe got some good drinkin' comming up??
Tom
