1997 Merryvale Profile

That's the problem with vintage generalizations, isn't it? With the caveat that I'd pretty much stopped buying CalCabs by '97, I will say that I've read of plenty of disappointment with aged CalCabs from that year. However, looking at the CellarTracker notes for your wine, they seem pretty uniformly good (with a few people noting Brett), so it seems like Merryvale managed to avoid the pitfalls of the vintage. I'd also be willing to put good money on Dunn and Chateau Montelena from that year not having fallen apart, too ;-)

Mark Lipton

I can attest to the Montelena and Dunn having tasted both within the last few months. I'm not sure Montelena and Dunn ever fall apart. I opened one of my last few '78 Montelena's recently and it is still quite young.

There were maybe two GSM blends, but no varietal Grenache that I saw at the places I stopped at. It's possible that Beckmen might have had one, but it wasn't in the "Purisima Mountain" flight of wines that I tasted. I will add, though, that I've never been taken with CA Grenaches, finding them far simpler and less compelling than the Grenache-heavy wines from the S. Rhone that I love.

Mark Lipton

I saw your notes on the GSM. I've had a few intriguing California grenache wines most notable from Sine Qua Non and Alban. Both were pure grenache, delicious but really pricey. I was looking for more moderate price levels for a grenache based wine.