Rough note; 1996 Elyse Tietjen Cab

I have no recollection of purchasing this bottle but it was laying within reach of my overcrowed and partially blocked cellar door so I grabbed it Saturday while hosting a guest (yes, I violated social distancing prompted by the guest, a medical doctor).
Despite carefully using my best ah-so, the cork fell apart repeatedly. It was a dry crumbled mess. I managed to coax the cork bottom out without dropping fragments into the wine.
It poured light brick red with a lot of translucency but no browning.
I did not take notes but it was perfectly consistent with a somewhat over-aged mid-tier Napa cab. Dead leaves, cigar box, subtle tertiary fruit, nice acidity and resolved tannins.
Perfectly enjoyable and it reminded me of '82 Chateau Julia which I only finished off two cases worth in the last few years.
Back to grabbing an accessible bottle with a confession-I bet I grabbed this bottle out of it’s clay tile tube 30 times over the last 10 years and only hesitated because I only had one of them and I always loved the label.
Silly but speaks to [my] human behavior.
Also to channel my inner Tom Hill, I started buying Elyse back in '87, from the very start, because the zins were fairly priced and distributed here in Ohio.
In Summer of '90, with my wife very pregnant, I knocked on Ray Coursen’s door without an appointment.
If memory serves, he did not have a tasting room and though my memory is sketchy, his winery was very modest and resembled manufactured housing.
He showed us around and was gracious. Not very talkative or gregarious, but also very modest and unassuming.