I stopped at a local wine store today and ran into Steve Burgess who is in Ohio for a few days selling wine. He and the distributor were kind enough to allow me to taste along.
2011 Burgess Merlot Estate Vineyards- USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice Merlot. Varietally correct. Under $20. I can see this being a popular wine. The nose has oak, chocolate and raspberries. Not complex but tasty. Easy drinking. Nice finish. (88 pts.)
2011 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley- USA, California, Napa Valley
Nice wine. A very nice showing for 2011. Nice cassis fruit, and a bit of earthiness. Has some complexity. Easy to drink. Good value for Napa Cab here. (89 pts.)
2006 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon Vintage Selection Library Release- USA, California, Napa Valley
Plenty of fruit left here. Also some nice complexity. A bit of earthiness. This is very nice. A good chance to back fill some Cab that’s aged for a reasonable price. (91 pts.)
2008 Burgess Reserve Estate Vineyards- USA, California, Napa Valley
This is quite good. I am told its 100% cabernet. The nose has cassis, some oak and some scorched earth. Complex. Lush texture. Lots of nice fruit on the palate. Very good wine. (92 pts.)
2010 Burgess Syrah Napa Valley- USA, California, Napa Valley
Interesting wine. More cooler climate in profile but not quite. Nice black raspberry fruit. Easy to drink. Fair pricing at $26. (88 pts.)
That was one of the first somewhat “premium” wines that liked in my adulthood. Back in the 1990s, my dad gave me an older bottle of their cab, which I think I left one one of those ornamental racks in my kitchen for several years not knowing any better, then drank one day. And it was really good - maybe my first experience with a mature good quality red wine. Fond memories.
Loren, you commented on the value - any sense what the prices were for the three cabs?
I found Burgess on my Napa/Sonoma trip in 2010 and fell in love with the old world qualities of the wine. I purchased a few bottles while I was there and joined the wine club. All was well for a few months until I noticed they were dumping wine on a flash website that was just sold to the wine club for much more.
I really expect wine clubs to “protect” their club members as much as possible and wasn’t thrilled to see this happen. I didn’t really expect Steve to do much about it but was shocked that I was quickly booted out of the wine club for my efforts. So I can’t say I’m a big fan of Steve and he came off completely different than the stories I read about his father.
Sorry for the hijack.
I remember a bottle of the 1978. This was about 25 years ago. Had high expectations, but some weird biological event occurred in bottle. Fizzy with rank sewage aromas and mercaptans. That said, I’ve had other vintages which were perfectly lovely.
The first 3L bottle I ever bought was a 1981 Burgess Cab, mostly because I could afford it and it came in nice wood box. I held it for the longest time. Then around 1998, I brought it to a family gathering. People looked at it and said we’d never finish it. It was perfect in its own way. Mellow, fully mature, not a great wine, but at its peak. It was gone in 20 minutes.
I had the '75 cab about 6 months ago at Tampa’s best resturant and it was outstanding. The '78 I had 3 months ago was really good too, but maybe a step or two behind. Both were still fresh, with balance, and classic ‘mature wine’ notes. Iirc, I picked up a bunch of 95/96/97 cabs during one of the flash sale websites early days for $20ish? Those drank well, but not as impressive as their older relatives. Those bottles are long gone!
I don’t know Steve. But I was lucky enough to have had a few encounters with Tom Burgess back in the 80s and 90s. Tom was a Vietnam veteran and flew C-130s over there. After I came back from Desert Storm I took a few weeks leave and went out to see my son in San Antonio, TX. His mother surprised me one day by getting us seats at a lunch with Tom where he would be pouring his latest releases. When he found out I was a returning DS vet he sat me next to him and we had a wonderful time. I ran into him twice later at different wine events… Once in NC and once again in TX. He was always gracious and his wines were classic old school CA… Smooth Zinfandels, age worthy Cabernets that were not sweet or alcoholic. His Chardonnays were especially interesting and like some other old school CA Chards they actually aged extremely well. The last wine I had of his was with my family back in NJ shortly before my father passed away. So it was probably 2000. Nice restaurant in Morris County with a good list. I saw the 78 Burgess Caberent for a super price… I ordered it. The table went nuts for it… And my father in a moment of great generousity asked the waiter if they had another bottle… They had two left in the cellar he said and we happily drank them. Cheers, Bob
I have some happy memories of Burgess many, many vintages ago. It’s not surprising to read about the 1975,and no disrespect intended towards Burgess, but this unheralded vintage has proved more age worthy than the 1974 vintage.
Hi Leonard! I think it was a 1974 Special Selection or some “reserve” designate that sent me flying several years back. I purchased some on the secondary market and perhaps 5 or 6 years ago, it was still fresh and young and “new.”
I tasted at Burgess back in December, its was a great time. I think we tasted the same lineup as above, with a few added like a 2002 Cab.
Favorite part was that they have library wines going back to 1979 available for sale at very reasonable prices. I bought a 94 Cab and my friend bought a 1990, opened the next and they were outstanding.
BTW, at a separate event as part of the Cleveland Week of Wine celebration, I ried a barrel sample of the 2013 Cab. It was really excellent and a step up from the 2011.
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