TN: DavidBruce Zin Calif LateHrvst Sweet '71...(short/boring)

TomHill · February 19, 2019, 7:14pm

Tried this wine last night:

DavidBruce Zin Calif LateHrvstSweet (17.5%) LosGatos 1971: Light rather brownish color; rather raisened/pruney/overripe slight fusty/funky/earthy/root cellar very slight boysenberry/Zin rather complex bit alcoholic slight toasty/Fr.oak nose; soft slightly sweet strong raisened/pruney/overripe bit alcoholic/hot some dusty/OV very slight boysenberry/Zin rather dried-out/tired flavor w/ light gentle dried-out/bitter tannins; very long very raisened/pruney/overripe slightly sweet rather dried-out bit bitter light toasty/oak very slight boysenberry/Zin finish w/ mild dried-out tannins; a rather dried-out/tired overripe/pruney/raisened Zin that offers up little pleasure other than a nice trip down memory lane.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

In 1968, both Ridge and DavidBruce made the first LateHrvts Zins (at least labeled as such) in Calif. Both were pushing the boundaries to see what Zin could deliver. In '69, David Bruce made the first (to my knowledge) Zin Essence, a high-alcohol/very sweet Zin.
In '70 & '71, David made a series of LateHrvsts from Zin/Grenache/PetiteSirah/and Carignan. Some were labeled LateHrvst, LateHrvst Sweet, and LateHrvst Essence. All were above 15% alcohol, going up to 18.5% alcohol. They were huge/extracted/black as the ace of spades/high-alcohol/tons of new Fr.oak. The late John Brennan,who ran a tasting group in SanDiego, wrote two successive books of TN’s on Calif wines in the mid-'70’s. He still owes me for a pre-payment on the 3’rd Edition, which never made an appearance. John predicted these wines would peak in the 2020-2030 time frame. When I tasted thru all these around '81 and wrote an article for PhilipSeldon’s Vintage Magazine on “David Bruce LateHrvst Wines at 10 yrs of age”, many of them were already cracking up on the shoals of overripeness. In the late '80’s, we tasted thru a bunch of them w/ Dr.Bruce on the rooftop pavillion at Kokoman Circus in SantaFe when David was here for SantaFe W&CF. Many were already pretty shakey. So much for wine experts and their predictions for wine maturity.
The grapes for all these DavidBruce’s came from the MaryCarter vnyd down in the Gilroy/CienegaVlly area. I’m not sure that her vnyd still exists, I know that she does not still exist.
This was a wine from BlairSwartz’s wine cellar. He still has one of the Grenaches down there. Not a pleasurable wine, but a nice trip down memory lane. Old folks like these sweet remembrances.
Tom

ToddFrench · February 19, 2019, 7:26pm

Too bad it didn’t have any enjoyment for you - would have been a really fun little piece of history. Love that you happen to know about those 60’s Late Harvest Zins…

TomHill · February 19, 2019, 7:48pm

Hey, Todd…I’m a LosAlamos guy…we just make stuff up!!!

LarryA just got at auction a btl of the Ridge LateHrvst Occidental Zin '70, that he’s going to share w/ me.
That was a legendary wine in its day. But could be, like many of us legends from way back then, its time has come&gone.
Tom

Rich_Brown · February 19, 2019, 7:54pm

Thanks for the note and the history Tom! I opened a bottle of this 71 Late Harvest Sweet back in 2016 and it was totally shot. Sounds like yours was at least somewhat drinkable…while mine definitely was not. Bought at auction so who knows how it was stored.

I still have a 1970 late harvest ‘dry’ that I’ll probably open soon…obviously with pretty low expectations.

TomHill · February 19, 2019, 8:08pm

Well, Rich…I thought maybe the r.s. would work as a preservative on this wine. I recall it was about 2%-3% r.s.
But I guess the r.s. can only do so much.
When you open yours, make sure you have a backup.
Tom

Rich_Brown · February 19, 2019, 8:22pm

Yep, I hear you on the RS, as I’ve had REALLY good luck with 1970’s LH zins from Ridge and Mayacamas (looking forward to hearing about the Ridge Larry acquired)…but not so much from David Bruce. On a side note, also opened a 1970 Petite Sirah from David Bruce a few years ago that was also completely DOA. Again, bought at auction so you never know…but my track record with this producer is pretty rough.

TomHill · February 19, 2019, 8:27pm

Thanks for the note and the history Tom! I opened a bottle of this 71 Late Harvest Sweet back in 2016 and it was totally shot. Sounds like yours was at least somewhat drinkable…while mine definitely was not. Bought at auction so who knows how it was stored.

I still have a 1970 late harvest ‘dry’ that I’ll probably open soon…obviously with pretty low expectations.

Well, Rich…I thought maybe the r.s. would work as a preservative on this wine. I recall it was about 2%-3% r.s.
But I guess the r.s. can only do so much.
When you open yours, make sure you have a backup.
Tom

Yep, I hear you on the RS, as I’ve had REALLY good luck with 1970’s LH zins from Ridge and Mayacamas (looking forward to hearing about the Ridge Larry acquired)…but not so much from David Bruce. On a side note, also opened a 1970 Petite Sirah from David Bruce a few years ago that was also completely DOA. Again, bought at auction so you never know…but my track record with this producer is pretty rough.

Well, one of the problems with the DavidBruces is they got a lot of exposure to small oak barrels for a fair number of yrs.
So when they went to btl, they had already picked up a fair amount of exposure to air. Least that’s my theory anyway.
Tom

Rich_Brown · February 19, 2019, 9:15pm

Well, Rich…I thought maybe the r.s. would work as a preservative on this wine. I recall it was about 2%-3% r.s.
But I guess the r.s. can only do so much.
When you open yours, make sure you have a backup.
Tom

Yep, I hear you on the RS, as I’ve had REALLY good luck with 1970’s LH zins from Ridge and Mayacamas (looking forward to hearing about the Ridge Larry acquired)…but not so much from David Bruce. On a side note, also opened a 1970 Petite Sirah from David Bruce a few years ago that was also completely DOA. Again, bought at auction so you never know…but my track record with this producer is pretty rough.

Well, one of the problems with the DavidBruces is they got a lot of exposure to small oak barrels for a fair number of yrs.
So when they went to btl, they had already picked up a fair amount of exposure to air. Least that’s my theory anyway.
Tom

Interesting! As always, appreciate the education Tom!

ToddFrench · February 19, 2019, 9:25pm

Thanks for the note and the history Tom! I opened a bottle of this 71 Late Harvest Sweet back in 2016 and it was totally shot. Sounds like yours was at least somewhat drinkable…while mine definitely was not. Bought at auction so who knows how it was stored.

I still have a 1970 late harvest ‘dry’ that I’ll probably open soon…obviously with pretty low expectations.

Well, Rich…I thought maybe the r.s. would work as a preservative on this wine. I recall it was about 2%-3% r.s.
But I guess the r.s. can only do so much.
When you open yours, make sure you have a backup.
Tom

Yep, I hear you on the RS, as I’ve had REALLY good luck with 1970’s LH zins from Ridge and Mayacamas (looking forward to hearing about the Ridge Larry acquired)…but not so much from David Bruce. On a side note, also opened a 1970 Petite Sirah from David Bruce a few years ago that was also completely DOA. Again, bought at auction so you never know…but my track record with this producer is pretty rough.

I bit that ‘late harvest dry’ will taste good in a Berserkers t-shirt! (of which you have several!)

Rich_Brown · February 19, 2019, 11:42pm

Sounds like an ideal time for a selfie

Wes_Barton · February 20, 2019, 2:28am

Had one a couple years ago and another a few before that. Both excellent.

Wes_Barton · February 20, 2019, 2:31am

I visited it last year. Two sections/blocks just a little ways up Redwood Retreat. The part that Bedrock gets is called Under the Mountain.

Also, according to Bruce in “Wines and Winemakers of the Santa Cruz Mountains”, this wasn’t the only vineyard he sourced from in the Hecker Pass area. Only Zin from the other(s), though. Apparently, the grape broker he used was a real shyster, so Bruce thought grapes coming in that late from that subregion was to be expected, but that was/IS actually false. The guy pulled other shenanigans of buyers, like slip in a bunch of less expensive grapes into the mix, like Mission. Don’t think he could’ve pulled that one on Bruce, though.

Mel_Knox · February 22, 2019, 6:56am

Tom,

What was the 68 Mayacamas Zin called?? Not Late Harvest?? I know it hit the scales around 18% alc…

TomHill · February 22, 2019, 1:45pm

Yup, Mel…Late Hrvst, too. Forget it.
Tom

Drew_Goin · November 16, 2020, 8:13pm

I just found a 1977 Frank Prial article on Zinfandel that mentions a 1972 David Bruce Zin that he presumed must have been a late harvest bottling. How would he not be able to tell?

NY Times
“Wine Talk: Zinfandel: A Favorite of Wine Lovers”
by Frank Prial
May 25, 1977

“…The Bruce 1972 was, to my mind, the finest of 11 zinfandels at a recent tasting put on by some colleagues in the Wine Writers Circle. The label did not signify, but the wine gave every indication of being a late‐harvest wine, that is, one made from grapes left on the vine to their peak of ripeness. It was inky‐dark, intensely flavored and highly tannic, with a rich, powerful bouquet. It was a wine to be savored by itself, like a port and,. as such, probably didn’t belong in a tasting of table wines…”.

TomHill · November 16, 2020, 11:20pm

I just found a 1977 Frank Prial article on Zinfandel that mentions a 1972 David Bruce Zin that he presumed must have been a late harvest bottling. How would he not be able to tell?

NY Times
“Wine Talk: Zinfandel: A Favorite of Wine Lovers”
by Frank Prial
May 25, 1977

“…The Bruce 1972 was, to my mind, the finest of 11 zinfandels at a recent tasting put on by some colleagues in the Wine Writers Circle. The label did not signify, but the wine gave every indication of being a late‐harvest wine, that is, one made from grapes left on the vine to their peak of ripeness. It was inky‐dark, intensely flavored and highly tannic, with a rich, powerful bouquet. It was a wine to be savored by itself, like a port and,. as such, probably didn’t belong in a tasting of table wines…”.

Well, Drew… in '72 (a rain-besotted vintage), David made only one Zin. I recall it being well above 15%. But he didn’t label it as LateHrvst.
Tom

Rich_Brown · August 15, 2021, 3:07am

Welp. You were spot on Tom. 1970 Late Harvest Dry was completely shot, with only alcohol/fumes left…but guess that’s not shocking considering the 17% abv!