Cracked these open from the archives last night. They should have been DOA. They were not.
1. Tria Carneros Viognier (13.5%) 1995: Med.gold color; lovely/complex butterscotchy/caramel/creme brulee stoney/hazelnutty/old Rhone slight oxidized very slight herbal/grassy light floral/gardenia nose; tart some butterscotchy/creme brulee rather stoney/hazelnutty old Rhone blanc light floral/gardenia complex flavor; med.long hazelnutty/old Rhone blanc tart light floral finish; a lovely example of an old Rhone blanc. $18.00
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2. DeauxChapeaux RedRhoneWine Syrah (12%) 1993: Very dark color; beautiful/complex very roasted/espresso/pungent classic NorthernRhone nose; tart/lean mineraly/gamey/dusty classic NorthernRhone/roasted/espresso/pungent/coffee bit tannic/dried out complex flavor; very long slight tannic/dried out classic smokey/pungent/espresso finish; a classic mature NorthernRhone. $15.00
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A wee bloody pulpit:
1. Tria: This was made by Bill Knuttle whilst he was at Saintsbury I believe. I recall it was from an adjacent new Viognier vnyd nearby. It was a very good example of the nutty/hazelnutty slightly oxidized character that on old Condrieu/RhoneBlanc can take on. Of course, if you worship at the altar of varietial typicty and demand that your Viognier be a DollyParton/jiggly/silicone-laden/perfumed/aromatic/peach/pear wine, than this is not your cup of tea. Bill is now doing great things as the winemaker at DryCreekVnyds and no longer is associated w/ the Tria label.
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2. DeauxChappeaux: This was a one-of (I recall) wine put up by LarryStone & DanialJohannes. Made & btld in France. It was a dead ringer for an AlainGraillot C-H w/o the searing acidity. Would be curious as to whose wine it actually was.
Tom