TN: Old California Wine Dinner....1941-1986

OLD CALIFORNIA WINE DINNER…1941-1986 - Merced, Ca (1/23/2011)

Bunch of valley locals got together last night for a wonderful 5+ course dinner, so graciously put on by the Meyer’s and Gelb’s, to showcase a previous collective purchase of older wines from the Marin Cellar, offered last summer from Benchmark Wines…a very cold cellar of impeccable provenance. All wines, except one, showed really well…a true testament of great provenance and great wines! BIG thanks to Mike for handling the wines, the Gelb’s and Meyer’s for an AMAZING dinner, and to all who attended! What a night!
Reception

• N.V. H. Billiot Fils Champagne Brut Réserve - France, Champagne, Ambonnay, Champagne
  From magnum…75% Pinot, 25% Chard, 50% from 2007, 25% 2005, 25% 2006…wonderful creamy airy mousse, big yeast, caramel crust, graham cracker, dried herbs, fine Cognac…plenty of lemon citrus acidity and apple fruit…loved this! (92 pts.)

Starters

• 1980 Joseph Phelps Scheurebe Special Select Late Harvest - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
  Had along side an '80 Grgich Johan Riesling LH…the Phelps was in great condition, sweeter than the Grgich, but not too sweet. Nice caramel spice, apricot, green tea spice. Drinking well. (90 pts.)
• 1980 Grgich Hills Cellar Johannisberg Riesling Late Harvest - USA, California
  Had along side an '80 Joseph Phelps Scheurebe SS LH…this was a real treat! Lightly sweet, almost savory…lighter yellow color, pears, caramel, some petrol, minerals, lemon. Drank like a botrytis infected aged White Burg! I wish I would had saved some of this at the end of the night…really great wine. (91 pts.)
• 1968 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay Pinot Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley
  My bottle, sourced from the Barney Rhodes cellar…darker apple juice color; sherry, burnt toast…sad to say, this wine was gone. NR (flawed)

Zinfandel

• 1974 Clos du Val Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Loved this. Smooth and silky…dusty spice, dried orange, black pepper…drinking like a Claret with some pepper. (92 pts.)
• 1972 Joseph Swan Vineyards Zinfandel Lot 2 - USA, California, Sonoma County
  This was still quite youthful, dark berry, raspberry fruit…dusty, still spicy yet delicate, some leather, dried herbs. Drank well early on, but seemed to drop off on the finish after 20mins. (91 pts.)
• 1974 Corti Brothers Zinfandel Reserve Selection Deaver/Ferrero - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
  This reminded me of a rustic, unfiltered cloudy, aged Pinot. Lighter strawberry, raspberry, dried cherry fruit…cranberry tart acidity, dusty earth spice, well balanced to the delicate side. I really liked this! (92 pts.)
• 1974 Sutter Home Winery Zinfandel Deaver Ranch - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County
  Along with the ‘74 Corti Bros Zin from the same Deaver/Ferraro Vineyard fruit…this was lite in color, rose’, cloudy Pinot-like…but still had plenty of tasty strawberry, raspberry fruit…red licorice, dusty spice, tart sour skin acidity…a pretty wine, but more simple. (89 pts.)

Petite Sirah

• 1971 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
  My wine, from the Barney Rhodes cellar…13.8% alc. Had with the '73. Deep dark berry, plum liqueur. Had wonderful dusty perfume, with some nuttiness to it. Still has HUGE tannins! Young tasting…dark fruit, plum skin sourness, coffee…dries out in the finish. A glacier wine…one dimensional, as with most PS…but tasty. (93 pts.)
• 1973 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
  Had with the '71. A shyer wine than the '71, not as perfumed…dusty cinnamon spice, dried dark berry fruit/roses, plum liqueur, cigar wrapper(which I dug). Might be a little closed, or just not as giving as the '71. Love how youthful these wines were…this one just not giving up all the goods. (90 pts.)
• 1972 Souverain Petite Sirah Rutherford - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
  Not as dark berried as the '71/‘73 Freemark Abbey PS’ had with it…more sweet strawberry, dried cherry, leather, dusty clove spice. Some dried green leaf, tobacco, smooth. Holding up really well. (91 pts.)
• 1973 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
  Had along with the '71/‘73 Freemark Abbey York Creek…this is classic Ridge! Wonderful ripe Zin-like fruit, bright and fresh red berry, almost late harvest-like. 12.7 alc, which was the lowest of the 3…I would have thought higher? Killer floral fresh bouquet of flowers, dusty dried cherry spice/herbs, coffee, silky smooth. Really drinking well…my fav of all the PS’. (93 pts.)

Cabernet

• N.V. El Gavilan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Casa de Sonoma - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
  History in a glass! This is from 1941 fruit, bottled in 1947, and re corked in 1982. At least 51% Cabernet…and who knows what else. Oldest wine I’ve ever had…garnet, rose rim color…sweet and dusty red fruit, tawny maple, cinnamon, tart dried citrus, coffee. Really beautiful and intriguing nose and entry…delicate like a fragile dried rose…no sign of any tannin, and spine left. I was fascinated how the wine just falls off on the palate. But what would you expect at 70? Just amazing to think of what was going on when this wine was born…what a treat. (92 pts.)
• 1986 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
  Had along with the '86 Red Rock Terrace…nice dried Bing cherry, plum fruit…dusty earth spice, porcinis, soft tannin. Really nice aged cab flavors. The better of the two. (92 pts.)
• 1986 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
  Had along with the '86 Gravelly Meadow…dried berry/cherry/plum fruit…more herbal than the RRT…pretty mellow, delicate. Couple steps behind the RRT imo. (90 pts.)
• 1978 William Hill Winery Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
  Probably my WOTN…from magnum, debut release from WH, and probably their best effort. This wine had an alluring exotic toasted wood to it, like mahogany…dark garnet, ripe dark fruits, still HUGE kick of sour skin tannin/acid, dusty cherry spice, some nuttiness. Really deep and complex, alive with acidity, the only knock was a really dry finish. Might have been the bigger pour for getting more out of this wine?..this was really good! (94 pts.)

Dessert

• 1976 Freemark Abbey Johannisberg Riesling Edelwein Gold - USA, California, Napa Valley
  Delicate apricot, baked peach, cinnamon toast, Marsala…still pretty sweet, pears caramel…little light on spice and acidity. (90 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Buzz,

Does the 1971 Freemark PS have enough fruit to outlast the tannins?

How manny more years to settle down?

TTT

P.S. Thanks for SOMEONE finally posting this tasting!!!

I am sure as the day passes many will add cogent commentary to Brian’s ample notes, some photos too I hope!

Great Notes.

Did I miss the '41 note? Too bad about the '68-- great older year. Had a Heitz '68 recently (basic Cab not Martha’s) and while it was running for the door fairly quickly, it was quite enjoyable on its way out.

Dang, I miss drinking older stuff.

Cheers

The NV El Gavilan Winery is 100% 1941 fruit, that wasn’t bottled until 1947 because of the war, and the Winery was later acquired by Sebastiani, recorked in 1982, and finally released. Great read on it here.
http://www.snooth.com/talk/topic/a-second-chance--casa-de-sonoma-cabernet-bottled-in-1947/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Buzz - thank you for posting such comprehensive notes! And thank you again to Greg for hosting - the food was awesome, not to mention the perfect pace of the dinner!

I took no formal notes, but I will add a few impressions…

The Zinfandel flight (as a whole) was probably the most interesting, with the wines all being unique and showing well. The Swan was the most complete wine - I could sit and smell it all day.

I was so happy that the El Gavilan showed well - an absolutely unique and memorable experience that transcends the technical points of fruit/structure/brightness. As Buzz said, history in a glass that was a privilege to experience.

Given that the Ridge Petite was the last dry wine served, well after 11pm as fatigue had set in for most of us - the wine showed incredibly well considering how well it kept our attention. It really showcased that Paul Draper was playing at a different level versus the contemporaries that we sampled in the same flight.

I was lucky to receive a Durand opener the afternoon before the dinner as a late Christmas present. It worked absolutely as advertised - not a single broken cork in the group (save the 1969 Freemark Pinot Chardonnay cork that Buzz butchered… ). It allowed me to pull the corks at the last moment before the food was served in each flight, not worrying about the extra time that might be needed to strain pieces of cork, etc. I’m not sure that we could have organized service the way that we did without it. Some question the cost, but it paid for itself in just this one dinner.

Thanks again to everyone for taking some time out of their schedules to make this a special weekend - I’m glad we got everyone together to experience these wines.

And the pile of corks, on Sunday morning…

Fantastic notes Buzz! We just got home from Merced and I will put up some comments a bit later…it truly was a great dinner and extremely memorable evening. Thanks to Greg for hosting and to ALL the participants!

Cheers!
Marshall

Nice work guys. Some great treats there! That '78 William Hill is fantastic. I’ve also had an early 80’s Phelps Scheurebe that rocked.

This reminds me that I have some old Cali notes from late last year to finish up.

I echo all Brian wrote above but have to emphasize just how well this whole evening went! There was time to mingle, examine the wines and enjoy the excellent cuisine. Planning was just so crisp, kudos to those involved. IMO it will be hard to have a more enjoyable time in 2011!

I liked this more during the games on Sunday after Faust made me go back and drink some again. Not sure why I found this simple Saturday night though it could have just been anticipation and the desire to get on with the show! Sunday we did open a second magnum.

These wines were eye-opening and just a joy to drink with Thai soup Edson and I slaved over! The Grgich was better with the food and lighter on its feet than The Phelps, which was clearly more complex while being more familiar to any Sauternes enthusiast. I think I preferred The Grgich by a slim margin, a theme that would arise again and again over the course of the night. Either bottle would be welcome nearly anytime. Sadly The Freemark Abbey Pinot Chardonnay was toast, only truly bad bottle of the whole show though.

OMG can I have this flight again one day please? Mike D, you missed this brother! Swan was my WOTN though in some respects, like a crazy magnificent finish, I liked The Corti more. An extravagance of riches when a beautiful old Napa Zin like the '74 Clos du Val runs last in any wine flight. All 3 bottles were tremendous and eye-opening, almost makes me feel badly for those who would diss Zin - almost. The Sutter Home was in the best shape of the 3 bottles I have now had the pleasure to taste but still couldn’t compare to those actually in this Zin flight. I would love to speak with Mr Corti one day about this special vintage. Killa flight with a duck risotto by Diana that was to die for.

Wow, was this a Mickey Mantle tape measure HR flight. Told so many close friends back east about these wines already. If a better bottle of The Casa de Sonoma exists I would have to be shown it to believe. Awesome job Mike! 1978 William Hill en magnum was my co-WOTN and just a joy to finally experience. Everything that lives up the hype in our modern existence always just shocks me, and this was a pleasurable shock indeed. Both DC wines were in excellent shape and GM was a really fine example with that signature minerality but unlike Buzz on this night I slightly preferred the RRT. Splitting hairs again as every wine here was in fact memorable. Very nice dry-aged Prime Rib with mashed and Brussels Sprouts provided a Bill Evans rhythm section to the Miles and Trane Cabernets.

If there was a disappointing flight for me this night it was this one. I guess it was unrealistic to think every flight would soar to the heights demonstrated by The Zins and Cabernet. It should be recognized though that yet again Mr Draper shows off his considerable chops as The 1973 Ridge York Creek PS was the best of these. I was worried the Zins would not be able to stay the course as well as the PS bottles we had purchased and IMO that clearly was not the case. These wines were enjoyed with a cheese selection that went quite nicely.

What a ending to this fine night these two 375s made for us! I loved this wine and will be on the mofo via the auction sites looking for more. Thought the balance and flavors truly robust and along with the cooked pear made for a bang up Coda to this evening of very good domestic wine Exposition.

So great to see everyone again and Sunday we had a few good bottles too!

Your notes brought back memories.

When I was vintage racing at Laguna Seca in the early 1980s I always drove home (to BC) via Napa or Sonoma and on one trip picked up a few bottles of 1975 Freemark York Creek PS. It literally took about 15 years before I could see a light through the wine when I held it up to a bare 100 watt bulb! Drank this up last decade and it was lovely. Too bad they don’t make wines like this (much) any more.

Still have some old (78 - 82) St. Jean TBAs, some old Monterey Peninsula Zins and a vertical of William Hill Cab from 1979 on…must get into them.

What an epic tasting that was. Very special thanks to the Meyers for hosting and putting on an unbelievable evening and the Gelbs for being an excellent sous-chefs and the Sai’s for hauling and taking great care of all these treasures. Buzz, you’re beast, thanks for getting your notes up so quickly.

Champagne
Hors d’oeuvres – Bacon wrapped dates with blanched almonds and Brie with cranberry coulis and spiced nuts

N.V. H. Billiot Fils Champagne Brut Réserve - France, Champagne, Ambonnay, Champagne

-A nice way to start the evening with crisp flavors, creamy, doughy, yeasty…yum.

Starter
Soup de jour –Tom Kha Gai

1980 Joseph Phelps Scheurebe Special Select Late Harvest - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena
1980 Grgich Hills Cellar Johannisberg Riesling Late Harvest - USA, California
1968 Freemark Abbey Chardonnay Pinot Chardonnay - USA, California, Napa Valley

-The most surprising group of wines of the night for me. Taste/nose – the Phelps showed more complexity, but with the soup, the Grgich was the perfect compliment, lacy and delicate showing essence of light fruit and a hint of minerals. Both were delish and still kickin ass.

Zinfandel
Seared Hudson Valley duck breast on a wild mushroom risotto

1974 Clos du Val Zinfandel - USA, California, Napa Valley
1972 Joseph Swan Vineyards Zinfandel Lot 2 - USA, California, Sonoma County
1974 Corti Brothers Zinfandel Reserve Selection Deaver/Ferrero - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Shenandoah Valley
1974 Sutter Home Winery Zinfandel Deaver Ranch - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Amador County

-I would love to recap this flight again if I could. The Swan was such an exceptional wine; treating everyone with velvety texture, imperial bouquet, red fruits…but the Corti made the flight for me. It had the Swan profile and more. Allow me to pontificate, actually I won’t, just trust me that it was damn good.

Purifier
Meyer Ranch pomegranate and orange sorbet


Cabernet
Aged prime ribeye with reduction sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and baked Brussels sprouts

N.V. El Gavilan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Casa de Sonoma - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
1986 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
1986 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Red Rock Terrace - USA, California, Napa Valley, Diamond Mountain
1978 William Hill Winery Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder

-The Gavilan is in a different category. I was truly impressed that none of the wines (‘cept for the F.A.) had any flaws given their age. Storage? Structure? It could be a combination of both. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the Gavilan was the highlight, not for the earth shattering taste/nose but its significance. The wine believe it or not showed signs of fruit. I remember telling someone that if tasted blind, I would’ve guessed “older chateauneuf.” I was fortunate that I was able to try a sound (x-fingers) wine from the 40s.

The Diamond Creek pairs were brawny with several years to go. Monsters compared to the other wines. The RRT was more my style – offering rich bouquet (fruit, spice), meaty yet delicate, slightly dusty.

William Hill – freakin unbelievable. Sublime aged cab in every possible way.


Petite Sirah
Cheese course with Meyer Ranch walnuts, apricots, raisins and baguette

1971 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
1973 Freemark Abbey Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District
1972 Souverain Petite Sirah Rutherford - USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford
1973 Ridge Petite Sirah York Creek - USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District

-I remember talking to Glenn that this flight was unfortunately unmemorable for me (minus the Ridge). It could be my palate at this point but this didn’t wow me like the others. The Ridge thankfully restored my faith in the grape with its soaring nose of red fruits/spice/potpourri. The remarkable mouthfeel was accompanied by a young profile taste…truly one of the most memorable wines of the evening.

Dessert
Poached pears with caramel reduction along with a dollop of OMFG El Portal whipped cream

1976 Freemark Abbey Johannisberg Riesling Edelwein Gold - USA, California, Napa Valley

-unfortunately, I was more focused on the poached pear and that OMFG whipped cream. From what I remember, it was unctuous…I know…mellow taste/nose – fruit, acidity, with a nice finish. A nice cap to a wonderful evening.

Co-WOTN – 80 Grgich Riesling, 74 Corti Zin, 78 William Hill Cab, 73 Ridge PS

Boy what a great night… Thanks to Mike Sai for organizing all those amazing wines and to Marshall and Diana for their huge help in organizing the food.

I can’t improve on the previous wine comments. I will say the 1941 Casa de Sonoma El Gavilan was an amazing treat. It’s hard to conceive that when the sun was shining on these grapes, the attack on Pearl Harbor had not yet occurred.

I concur that with only one exception of the Freemark Abbey Pinot Chardonnay, all these wines were delicious and I was amazed how good and structured these wines were. Who’d have thunk???

Again, thanks to all the attendees. It was a very fun and educational evening. Greg

Glenn; Being the technical whiz I am… I will try to get some photos up eventually.




Cheers!
Marshall

To that point, I spoke last night with the person that cataloged and shipped the wines when we purchased the Marin Cellar. He confirmed that this bottle was in the ‘cold chamber’ - being held at 40 degrees since the original collector purchased the bottle - presumably directly from Sebastiani when the bottles were released. I think that we can be confident that this was the best bottle of Casa de Sonoma that we will ever have the chance to experience!

Here is a look at that bottle.


Cheers!
Marshall

Here is the damage…wish I could get it a bit bigger.


Cheers!
Marshall

Damn!!! I actually did it!

Cheers!
Marshall

Seems to be a common complaint from people that drink too much California wine…

Gracias, Bill!!