It was not a good showing for the case of Pinots from the orphan stash:
1. DeLoachVnyds PinotNoir OFS RRV (EB; 13.5%) 1986: DOA; totally shot; turned a very murky/brown color in a few hrs. $25.00
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2. AuBonClimat PinotNoir TemperanceHillVnyd/Oregon (TW) 1985: Med.light color w/ some bricking; rather toasty/smokey/oak fairly cedary/pencilly/Burgundian/oldPinot light earthy/dusty fairly complex/interesting nose; lightly tart/tangy smokey/charred/toasty/Burgundian/oak some pencilly/oldPinot flavor w/ light bitey tannins; med.long metallic/tangy tobaccoy/cedary/oldPinot some toasty/charred/Burgundian/oak finish w/ light bitey/tangy tannins; on its last legs but still some interesting old Pinot vaguely Burgundian character; more of an intellectual interest than a sensual pleasure.
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3. Raymond PinotNoir NapaVlly (EB; 13.8%) 1979: Light brown coloe; very maderized/aldehydic nose; pretty much shot.
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4. GaryFarrell PinotNoir RRV/SonomaCnty (TW) Healdsburg 1986: Light color w/ some browning; earthy/dusty/muushroomy/tobaccoy/smokey tired/oldPinot nose; dreadful tired/aged/aldehydic flavor; pretty much shot.
$17.85 (Groetzingers)
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5. Fleur de Carneros PinotNoir Carneros (13.2%) CarnerosCreekWnry 1987: Very light/murkey/brown/sherry color; very aldehydic/sherry/maderized nose; nothing of any interest here.
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6. Carneros Creek PinotNoir LosCarneros (12.5%) Napa 1986: Med.dark color w/ light browning; some earthy/dusty bit mousey/hantavirus/funky rather toasty/smokey/oak bit tobaccoy/oldPinot some complex nose; bit tart light tobaccoy/cedary/oldPinot slight Burgundian/smokey bit musty/fusty/oldRed flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long tobaccoy/Burgundian oldPinot/cedary bit musty/funky finish w/ light tannins; a bit on the tired side but not dried out nor really shot.
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7. Tulocay PinotNoir HaynesVnyd/NapaVlly (13.8%) 1985: Med.light rather bricking color; rather interesting smokey/pencilly/Burgundian smoked meats/earthy nose w/ no fruit; soft some smoked meats/Burgundian pencilly/cedary/oldPinot flavor w/ light metallic/tired tannins; some interesting things therein but pretty tired & on its last legs.
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8. RiverbreakCllrs PinotNoir SantaBarbaraCnty (12.5%) Lompoc NV (miid-'80's): Med.light color w/ slight bricking; rather tired/light toasty/oak/smokey/Burgundian bit earthy some complex nose; tart/tangy slight smokey/oak no fruit flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; slight tangy/metallic/oxidized tired finish w/ smooth tannins; not much left here but what's left is not too bad. $6.80
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9. Williams-Selyem PinotNoir SonomaCnty (13%) Fulton 1987: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; rather smokey/toasty/oak some earthy/black cherry/PN/black cherry cola slight alcoholic some cedary/pencilly/oldPinot complex nose; soft/lush/round bit toasty/smokey/oak light black cherry/black cherry cola/PN bit earthy/dusty slight tangy/metallic some cedary/pencilly/oldPinot flavor w/ light smooth/velvety tannins; med.long smokey/toasty/oak slight cherry/Pinot/black cherry cola complex finish w/ light smooth/silky tannins; has some fruit left and interesting things therein and quietly fading into the sunset w/o creating a ruckus.
$24.00
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10. AGE Bodegas Unidas Siglo (EB; 12%; comes in a burlap wrap) Fuenmayoor/Rioja 1969: Med.color w/ some browning; rather oxidized/tired/earthy bit maderized nose; tart/thin/lean very tired/dried-out/oxidized earthy/metallic/tangy flavor w/ light tangy/metallic tannins; some oxidized and not much pleasure left but in better shape than I expected for a cheap '69 Rioja.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Half of these were stored upright, half upside-down. Most had a lot of crud under the capsule, but the ullage was mot that bad, by & large. The upside-down ones mostly had fragile thoroughly soaked corks, some of which started to break up on removal.
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2. Tulocay: Back in the day, BillCadman made some very excellent Pinots, mostly from the (other) HayneVnyd there in Coombsville. It was easily his best wine, though he also had some very good Cabs. I guy who doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
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3. RiverbreakCllrs: Had forgotten about this label. This was a second label BrianBabcock used for some of his lesser wines, and priced to sell.
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4. AGE Siglo: This was an old-time Rioja producer back in the '60's & before. I gather it's no longer in business. Presumably a Tempranillo blend. Founded in 1881. Apparently a Pernod-Ricard property.
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5. Most of these Pinots were either shot or pretty decrepit and were of more intellectual interest than of sensual pleasure. The W-S was then only one that offered up any sort of pleasure.
Tom
