Notes from another unrepeatable tasting arranged by Albert Givton. These wines were for the most part purchased soon after release, and were stored at 9-10 deg. (fairly cool) ever since. The focus of the tasting was the excellent 1974 vintage in California, 30 years later.
You may look up these wines in the various reviewers' notes, but frankly it won't do you much good. There is little benefit in knowing that Mr. Parker hit a bad bottle of something 20 years ago - it bears no relevance to the wines we were tasting. In fact several of the wines had been tasted and rated very poorly by various reviewers - either bad storage or simply spoiled bottles that were not at all indicative of how these particular bottles would show on this night.
We started out with a real bit of history for a white:
1973 Heitz Lot Z-32 Pinot Chardonnay - amber colour and an absolutely fascinating nose that I spent several minutes pondering before I tasted the wine. Sweet, not maderised, rather like some old Semillons. Silky feel, fruit declining, but bright acidity lightens it at the end. This wine was excellent, like a very old Sauternes that had dried out, and was probably about the last white wine that Joe Heitz put his mind to.Flight 1 (with squab with almond dusted foie gras):
Chappelet - clear garnet appearance, a very good if slightly one dimensional fruit driven nose, sweet entry, good mouth feel, long soft finish. This wine had the freshest fruot of the flight.
Clos du Val - nice fruit in the nose, and the fruit on palate clear and well defined. Still a bit of tannin, but showing an elegance the others lacked. This was the most complex and Bordeau-like.
Freemark Abbey (regular bottling) - the nose on this one was very slightly corky, but spritely acidity right up front enlivened the wine, and there was some nice sweet fruit that followed through on the finish, which had good length.
Mondavi (regular) - asking a bit much for the regular bottling to hold up for
30 years, but this wine had a cedar and light fruit nose, medium body and length, still with a bit of tannin. The fruit was on the low side, but it showed at least decently before it started to break up in the glass.Sterling - light berry nose, and a bit of perfume, tannins alittle forward, but not bad. Interestingly this label was the old style while the Reserve was the new more familiar one. I like the retro appeal of the old one.
Stonegate - warm nose with some fruit, absolutely no tannin, and only a shadow of acidity. Tired and essentially defunct.
Flight 2 (served with veal tenderloin with sweetbreads)
Burgess Vintage Selection - slightly hot nose, full in mouth with sweet tannin at the end - very good wine.
Chateau Montelena - sweet cassis and raspberry nose, rich sweet and very long in the mouth. Excellent!
Joseph Phelps - this was a very interesting wine. By far the lightest in colour, with a stunning nose that would fool you in a blind tasting into guessing Pinot Noir - clear fruit with a herbaceous note (young vines at that point). The wine was delightful and fresh, which was not what we expected from a light coloured 30 year old wine.
Spring Mountain - a very poor pongy dead animal nose, and for those with sufficient intellectual curiosity to actually put some in their mouth, zero fruit but lots of tannin. A desiccated corpse.
Sterling Reserve - Very dark wine - looked like it was 10 years old. Mushrooms, tar and herbs in the nose, and tons of rather astringent tannins in the mouth - this wine is not yet ready to drink, and I'm not sure if it ever will be.
1975 Mondavi Reserve - to make the point that 1974 was a watershed vintage, this wine was poured blind and we kept it for the next flight to compare with the 1974. Warm fruit nose with a slight hit of white pepper, medium to full body with abundant soft tannins and very good length. As the comparison would show, this wine was in good shape, fresh even, but the style had indeed changed.Flight 3 (served with cheese)
1975 Ch. Palmer - yes, another blind offering. Old rubber cement nose, lighter colour than the California wines (except for the Phelps), lean and lacking fruit - one of the 75s that is drying out. I like 75 Bordeaux a lot and have had this same wine in tastings I have organised and would normally class it as one of the best, so this was undoubtedly a substandard bottle.Beaulieu Georges de Latour - odd nose with a hint of coconut (American oak?), medium body and clearly getting a bit past it and drying out, but not without interest. This wasn't half the wine that the 1970 was, tasted several years ago, but then I would think that the 1970 (made in much smaller amounts) would be over the hill by now.
Gemello - Santa Cruz - this one had a minty nose that would have done a Heitz proud, and a layer of spice on top of that. Lots of punch left in this weighty wine, and good length. Very enjoyable and still showing some tannin. Wouldn't want to try this in a blind tasting with a Heitz!
Heitz Martha's Vineyard - Big mint and a bit of tea. Lots of flavour interest here, with excellent concentration and tannins at the end, very well balanced wine.
Inglenook Limited Cask C-12 - nose not bad, but a saddle leather note that was a little out of place, and it was a bit animal in the mouth. Lighter colour than the adjoining wines. Interesting but fading.
Mayacamas - a bit of vinyl in the nose at first, but that subsided and left a sweet coffee sort of thing happening. Full bodied, and a bit less sweet, so it seemed leaner. Lots of tannins and it needs a few more years, but a stunning showing.
Mondavi Reserve - dark wine showing anise, cedar and spice in the nose, huge presence on palate with great concentration and length. This is what I would characterise as a 'complete' wine, lacking nothing (except a presence in my cellar). It got my vote for wine of the night, although the Mayacamas was also right up there.
Then with dessert:
1974 Mayacamas Late Harvest Zinfandel - this monster was 16% alcohol and was still off-dry - the RS at harvest must have been huge! It carried a blue capsule instead of the more familiar red one, and is a rarity as I doubt much was produced. As expected, there was no sign at all that this was a Zin, the varietal characteristics having long ago disappeared with maturity. The nose, aside from the slight heat, was more like a claret, and the wine was deceptively soft with good length. Nice way to end a fascinating tasting.