Tried these two last night:
1. JekelVnyd JohannisbergRiesling LateHrvst MontereyCnty (EB; 8.8%; Botrytis effected; SaH: 30Brix; RS: 16Brix) 1980: Very dark/murky brown/cloudy color; very strong raisened/pruney some botrytis/peachy/rotted apricots classic old TBA very complex nose; rather tart/tangy raisened/pruney very/very sweet botrytis/peachy/apricotty quite complex flavor w/ slight trace of oxidation in the back taste; an amazingly good (given the conditions of the btw) example of an old Calif TBA.
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2. Felton-Empire GWT LateHrvst TepesquetVnyd/SantaBarbara (Botrytis infected; SaH: 37%; 8 1/2%; RS: 21%; "capacity to age & improve in the btl for The next 3-5 yrs") 1979: Very dark/creasote/PX-like/near black color; very intense grapey/raisened/pruney very strong botrytis/peachy/apricotty bit earthy very complex aromatic nose; intensely sweet quite tart/tangy intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty some raisened/pruney very complex flavor; very long/lingering very sweet very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty/raisened very complex finish that goes on&on; an even better example of an old Calif TBA w/ no GWT character that I can identify (the so-called "wine experts" in LosAlamos claim that botrytis destroys the varietal character of a wine..but whatta they know??)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Took these to dinner last night w/ PietroButtita/Roso d'Oro; Kerri, and KenZins/HarringtonWnry at EnotecaMolinari in RockRidge/Oakland. The food was wonderful at this little hole-in-the-wall. The wines were delicious..the company extraordinary. A Giornata Fiano and Ramata and a Ronchi di Cialla Rosso (Schioppetino/Refosco) '07 from the list. Tyler took wonderful care of this table of wine geeks. Owner, Joe, accommodated us on every count.
The Jeckel was a very interesting "scientific experiment". This was from my orphan stash. It was stored neck down. Over the 18+ yrs, more than hlf the hlf btl had ullaged away. Lots of sticky gunk on the neck. The wine should have been totally dead & gone, according to the "wine experts". It definitely was not. It showed a slight trace of oxidation in the back taste, but otherwise was a classic old Calif TBA.
The Felton-Empire Wnry was started in the late '70's on the old ChaffeeHall vnyd in Felton. JimBureagard/LeoMcClosky/BillGibbs were the folks behind it. They made some pretty good wines in their day. This was from the TepesquetVnyd out in SantaMaria, near BienNacido, that LouisLucas planted…a pioneer in SantaBarbarawho never gets the recognition he deserves.
Tom