TN: DavidBruce WhiteRiesling '79...(short/boring)

TomHill · August 19, 2019, 2:43pm

Tried this wine from Blair’s stash last night:

DavidBruce WhiteRiesling SantaCruzCnty (16.2%) LosGatos 1979: Btl over half ullaged away; very dark brown/light PX color; very strong bit gout de petrol/valve oil/quite old R bit alcoholic/fumey/sherry rather cedary/pencilly/Fr.oak slight oxidized very complex old R nose; quite dry bit oxidized/bitter/mousey some old R/petrol/valve oil bit bitter/astringent rather complex flavor; very long some bitter/metallic/oxidized/mousey some old R Auslese/petrol/valve oil finish w/ dreadful hantavirus/mousey/oxidized aftertaste that ruins it on the palate; a rather interesting old R particularly on the nose w/ some interesting things therein but the aftertaste pretty much ruins this wine & makes it undrinkable; of historical interest only.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

Had this same wine back in March:

Tom:

Tried this wine from Blair’s stash last night:

DavidBruce WhiteRiesling SantaCruzCnty (16.2%) LosGatos 1979: Deep amber/oloroso sherry bit murky color; very strong old German auslese/cedary strong toasty/pencilly/smokey/Fr.oak slight gout de petrol/Mosel valve oil quite complex very interesting w/ no overt oxidation (sherry/VA/or acetaldehyde character); slight alcoholic slight nuttu strong toasty/cedary/pencilly/smokey/Fr.oak some petrol/Mosel valve oil rather astringent/bitter some old German auslese quite complex flavor w/ some bitterness; very long/lingering somewhat bitter/astringent rather cedary/pencilly/toasty/smokey/oak some old German auslese/gout de petrol/Mosel valve oil finish w/ some bitterness; quite an exotic/bizarre/complex old white with an interesting melange of flavors & aromas; a bit too bitter astringent/bitter on the palate but a very exotic/bizarre nose.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

This was interesting in that it carried a SantaCruzCnty designation rather than a SantaCruzMtn designation. Don’t know if this has a signifigance or not.
When David planted his vnyd up on BearMtnRd, he put in PinotNoir and Chard (of course), but also CabernetSauv and WhiteRiesling. Those wines of his in te '60’s-'70’s were always about new Fr.oak. The WR was always like no other Riesling in the World. High in alcohol and loaded w/ new Fr.oak. Yet is still had that floral R character coming thru. Though bizarre, I always sorta liked the wine as a unique expression of R from David. Much like I find Quasimodo a rather endearing creature. But it was the kind of wine that would drive Riesling purists into the hills screaming in terror. Sometimes purists miss out on some of the better things in life with their fixation on how a wine “should be”.
I was expecting this wine to be totally dead & gone, riddled w/ VA/acetic/acetaldehyde. It was not at all. Just an old white w/ a bizarre melange of flavors & aromas, but still a unique expression of Dr.Bruce’s take on WhiteRiesling.
Tom

This wine was in much worse condition because more of it had ullaged away (only about a third in the March btl) and pretty much undrinkable because of the aftertaste.
Tom