Had these last Sun at Pig+Fig from Blair's cellar:
1. JosephPhelpsVnyd JohannisbergRiesling LateHrvst NapaVlly (9.9%; SaH: 26.5%; RS: 8.8%) St.Helena 1979: Dark gold/rather brown color; intense botrytis/apricotty some gout de petrol/smokey/pungent/cedary bit toasty/coconutty/ZagNut-Bar very complex old R nose; quite sweet fairly tart strong cedary/pencilly very strong botrytis/apricotty/bit caramel bit pungent/gout de petrol old R quite complex bautiful flavor; very long/lingering quite sweet lightly tart strong botrytis/apricotty/old R bit cedary/caramel slight gout de petrol finish; would not be mistaken for an old German Auslese but a wonderful example of an old Calif R; not dominated by the botrytis like so many are and has other things therein. $9.88 (K)
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2. Ch. de Fargues Lur-Saluces AC: Sauternes (11%-14%; MeBaC) Lur-Saluces Fargues/Langon 1976: Dark gold/bit brown color; slight oxidizative/nutty strong old Sauternes/cedary/butterscotchy strong botrytis/apricotty quite complex nose; bit drying out lightly sweet bit tart/tangy strong butterscotchy/caramel/creme brulee bit alcoholic some cedary/butterscotch/Fr.oak/caramel fairly botrytis/apricotty slight metallic/drying quite complex flavor; very long/lingering some sweet strong botrytis/apricotty strong caramel/butterscotchy/creme brulee very complex finish; starting to dry out slightly but a beautiful example of an old Sauternes. $22.00 (KK)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Lur Saluces became the winemaker at d'Yquem in 1968 until he was fired in the early 2000's. The deFargues property has been in his family for centuries. A much smaller property, it doesn't have the range to draw from that d'Yquem has. Comparisons are inevitable and I've always found deFargues similar in style but not as big/rich as d'Yquem. But classically a great expression of Sauternes.
Tom