We had last night (11/16/19) Another Tasting from Blair's Cellar:
1. Kistler Chard DuttonRanch/RRV (TW; #29349 of 59,844 btls) GlenEllen 1988: Med.gold color; strong
toasty/Fr.oak/caramel/butterscotch slight melony/Chard slight nutty quite complex nose; fairly
tart bit nutty/oxidized very strong caramelized/butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak light melony/Chard
rather complex flavor; very long/lingering strong Fr.oak/butterscotchy/caramel light melony/Chard
finish; loaded w/ toasty Fr.oak but still recognizable Chard in there; in incredible shape for a
30 yr old Chard; beautiful drinking.
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2. Moulin Touchais AC: Anjou (13%; NeBalP) Doue la Fontaine/Loire 1964: Deep bronze/golden color;
beautiful complex oldCheninBlanc slight nutty/walnutty somewhat quiet almost undescribable nose;
lightly sweet fairly tart slight nutty/walnutty oldCB quiet very complex old-Loire incredible flavor;
very long/lingering bit walnutty slight molasses cookie lightly sweet very complex oldLoire quiet/
low-key finish; not a very intense wine and on the quiet side but incredibly complex and difficult
to come up with descriptors; this is MargotFonteyn tripping across your palate in SwanLake;
amazing stuff. $16.00 (HH)
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3. JosephPhelpsVnyds JohannisbergRiesling NapaVlly LateHrvst (10.7% SaH: 29.0%; RS: 10.5%)
StHelena 1982: Dark golden brown color; some Mosel valve oil rather cedary/pencilly strong botrytis/
apricotty rather old Rheingau quite complex nose; light tart fairly sweet strong botrytis/apricotty/
Mosel valve oil/buttery/oldRheingau quite complex flavor; very long/lingering rich/heavy body fairly
sweet strong botrytis/apricotty/oldRheingau quite complex finish; a strong resemblance to an old
Rheingau of the Auslese/BA level; beautiful old Calif Riesling.
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4. Georg Albrecht Schneider Niersteiner Oelberg GWT&Silvaner Beerenauslese (10.5%; EA)
Nierstein/Rheinhessen 1976 Med.some browning color; bit herbal/hay mow/dead leaf pile light botrytis/
apricotty bit dusty rather strange/complex nose; fairly tart light botrytis/apricotty/peachy bit herbal/
hay mow lightly sweet bit strange/unusual bit complex flavor; very long some dusty/herbal/hay mow light
botrytis/apricotty lightly sweet some tart bit complex finish; a rather unusual/atypical BA w/ not a
lot of botrytis; not a bad BA but just sorta strange. $10.94
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5. Scarpa Freisa della Selva di Moirano Castelrocchero e Bricchi di Moirano (12.5%) Nizza Monferrato 1982:
Very dark some browning color; quite dusty/earthy slight pungent/tarry bit old Nebb bit complex nose;
very tart rather dried-out/tired dusty/earthy quite tannic flavor; very austere/tannic/dried-out flavor
w/ lots of drying tannins; somewhat old Nebb/interesting nose but pretty brutal on the palate. $6.39 (CB)
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6. JosephPhelpsVnyds Zin AlexVlly (14.5%) St.Helena/Napa 1980: Med.rather browning color; quite tired/oldZin
cedary/pencilly slight Zin/berry/spicy nose; very tired/oldZin/cedary/pencilly slight berry flavor w/
modest drying tannins; still a bit of Zin fruit hiding in there but pretty much on its last legs. $6.50
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7. Montevina Barbera SpecialSlctn AmadorCnty (EB; 14.5%) Plymouth 1980: Very dark some browning color; rather
cedary/pencilly/oldZin slight Barbera/spicy bit tired nose; rather tart/tangy very cedary/pencilly/Am.oak/
old Zin slight spicy rather dried-out flavor w/ light tired/astringent tannins; speaks of old Barbera w/ a
whisper but pretty much on its last legs. $6.37 (CB)
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8. CaymusVnyds CabSauv NapaVlly (13.0%; EB) Rutherford 1982: Dark color w/ slight browning; fairly cedary/
pencilly/oldCab some blackcurranty/Cab bit complex nose; bit tired oldCab/blackcurranty quite oaked/toasty/
cedary/pencilly some dried-out flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering cedary/pencilly/oldCab
strong toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; plenty of oldCab/cedary/pencilly character but clearly in the
twilight of its yrs. $14.85
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9. DunnVnyds CabSauv HowellMtn/NapaVlly (13.0%) Angwin 1982: Dark color w/ some browning; some cedary/pencilly/
oldCab bit earthy/mushroomy/HowellMtn fairly complex beautiful oldCab nose; bit dried-out/tannic fairly
cedary/pencilly/oldCab some earthy/dusty/HM rustic pretty rugged flavor w/ some dried-out/hard tannins;
very long cedary/pencilly/oldCab some dusty/earthy/HM Cab bit rough/rustic finish w/ modest hard tannins;
a pretty classic HM/mtn Cab w/ a very attractive oldC ab nose but pretty rugged on the palate and on its
downside. $18.80
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10. JosephPhelpsVnyds Insignia NapaVlly (13.2%; 60% CS/30% Merlot/10% CabFranc) 1984: Dark color w/ some
browning; beautiful complex/cedary/pencilly fragrant some blackcurranty/Cab quite complex nose; bit tart
strong cedary/pencilly/oak/oldCab bit blackcurranty/Cab somewhat complex flavor w/ light smooth/gentle
tannins; very long/lingering some blackcurranty/Cab rather cedary/pencilly/oldCab/oak fairly complex finish
w/ light smooth tannins; quite a lovely old Cab w/ some Cab fruit let but probably starting its decline.
$24.00 (K)
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11. Ch. L'Arrosee AC: St.Emilion GrandCruClasse (MeBaC; 12.3%) Francois Rodhain 1981: Dark color w/
some browning; rather cedary/pencilly/oldBdx no fruit rather tired oldRed nose; soft rather
tired/oldRed fairly cedary/pencilly/oak flavor w/ light drying tannins; pretty much dead & gone.
$15.00 (K-L)
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12. StonyHill Semillon de Soleil NapaVlly (13%) St.Helena 1978: Deep gold/bronze color; intense
grapey/passito bit figgy ripe Semillon/orange marmalade slight pencilly/oak somewhat complex
nose; quite sweet soft strong passito/orange marmalade bit figgy/fig newton slight earthy bit
pencilly/cedary/oak some complex flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet strong passito/orange
marmalade some figgy/Semillon/very ripe bit pencilly/oak complex finish; a great example of a
mature passito wine; no signs of oxidation and amazing for a 40 yr old white; will go yrs longer.
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13. Ch.Climens 1er Cru AC: Barsac (MeBaC; 12.5%) L.Lurton/Barsac 1980: Rather dark bronze/gold color;
strong butterscotch/caramel/creme brulee/Fr.oak some earthy light peachy/apricotty/botrytis fairly
complex nose; lightly tart strong botrytis/apricotty rather butterscotch/creme brulee lightly sweet
fairly complex flavor; very long some botrytis/apricotty strong butterscotch/creme brulee complex
finish; no signs of oxidation and in great shape for a 40 yr old Climens; not as much botrytis
showing as I expected. $9.13/hlf
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14. Mayacamas Zin LateHrvst (17 1/2%) 1972: Med.dark rather brown color; strong raisened/pruney/
overripe bit oldZin/cedary rather tired nose; fairly sweet very tired/raiseney/pruney old LHZin/
cedary bit alcoholic flavor w/ light tannins; lots of tired/raisened/pruney character w/ no
fruit and not much fun.
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More sturpslattle from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Scarpa: DarrellCorti brought in the first Scarpa around '79. From the '76-'78 vintages. I liked
them quite a lot. Don't recall what this was like in its youth. But given that Freisa is the parent
of Nebbiolo and are often fairly tannic, I was expecting more of this wine. Somewhat interesting nose
but pretty brutal on the palate.
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2. Montevina: In its youth, like many of us, this wine was spectacular. One of the last from the CaryGott
era at Montevina and one that helped establish Montevina's reputation for Barbera. Was expecting a bit
more of this wine.
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3. Cabs: I was expecting a bit more from these Cabs. They should, given their pedigree, have been spectacular.
They were not. The Insignia was by far in the best shape of the three.
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4. These were more wines from the BlairSwartz cellar. Thanks for daughter Stacey for sharing them with us. And
thanks to Laura at Pig+Fig for hosting us that evening.
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5. Mayacamas: In 1968, Mayacamas and Ridge made the first Calif LateHrvst Zins. They were a huge hit, pushing
the boundaries of what you could do with Zin. The Mayacamas '68 was made from NapaVlly Zin, but don't know
what vnyd. Their 2'nd was this '72. Though not labeled as such, it was made from Ed&Kay Baldenelli's
ShenandoahVlly OV Zin vnyd. Now owned by VinoNocetto.
It was pretty typical of old LateHrvst Zin, mostly raisened & pruney w/ no fruit. But an interesting taste
of history.
Tom