I finally found a single remaining bottle of Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc Sonoma 1993 that had been misplaced. I was expecting it to be too old and had another wine in reserve. However the Ferrari-Carano had no trace of oxidation or other off character. It is now much smoother than I remember it, has a bit of gooseberry fruit, and some flinty mineral character. I think the wine was a bit better when younger, but not much. It has held up better than many fancy California Chardonnays of like age.
Interesting, very interesting. I, like you, found a "lost" bottle of FC in the cellar. It happened to be a '93 Reserve Chard. I, like you, brought it up, but with a backup in hand. It was absolutely fabulous! My wife, who likes her Chards typically young and big, fell in love with this wine. We finished the bottle, watching the sunset. I went from having pity on this poor orphan, to wishing that I had not been so hasty in consuming its 11 sisters so young.
Within a few months, I visited FC and, after their regular tasting, went downstairs to the reserve tasting. I asked about "library" wines, with the '93 R Chard in mind. Seems they held an employee-only "clean out the library" sale, just a few months back. My hostess mentioned that she'd bought 2 cases of the '94 R Chard for US$4/btl. but thought that it was long dead. I related my story, and her eyes lit up. I mentioned that I'd be glad to take one case off of her hands for a decent price, >US$4/blt. but unspecified. She passed on my offer, saying that she couldn't wait to try her "treasure trove" of aged Chard. Bummer! I should have made the offer, BEFORE I told her the story. When will I ever learn?
Anyway, with good storage, there are some domestic (US) whites that do age well. I am surprised at the Fume Blanc, but have a couple of orphan bottles of Grgich Hills FB that should have been consumed long ago. Maybe they'll get opened tonight. Who knows, they might be little gems?
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