Newton Unfiltered Merlot 91- after two weeks

This has always been an incredible wine. One of those once in a while wines that always stay with you. I think the 91 Newton is probablythe best Merlot that has ever come out of California. I brought this to Wine group 2 weeks ago and this is the final dregs. Incredibly vibrant and really light on its feet- like Vosne is to Burgundy. Such acidity and tannins cutting through the mature elegant fruit. I am very lucky and probably one of the only people in the world drinking this tonight or even having it in my cellar. I only have one precious bottle left. Tastes like mature, elegant, high toned mature Pomerol.

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Do not tell @Rich_Brown where you live. :slight_smile:

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I remember that wine, not necessarily that vintage. We sold it at a restaurant I worked in 1993-1999 That and the Shafer were big hits and it was a seafood restaurant. I recall selling the Newton to some Shafer drinkers ( or vice versa) and they didn’t like it. I pulled the bottle and gave them the other. That was maybe 1997 so like the 1993 vintage.

The 91 was one of those freak anomalies where a producer makes a wine that they never could do again. Think 90 Montrose or 90 Beauséjour. No other vintage of Newton has come close.

I was the wine buyer (1992-95) at a restaurant in CA and brought in the '91 Unfiltered Merlot and '91 Unfiltered Chardonnay, which were both big hits. The winemaker was John Kongsgaard.

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I brought a bottle of this to a blind Pomerol dinner. People were so impressed they wondered if it was Petrus. Then one guy said, “No, I think it’s Newton Merlot.” I asked how he came up with that. He said Newton Merlot smells like a B-12 shot. WTF?

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1991 may be too young for @Rich_Brown

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Loved those Arietta merlots from the late 90s/early 00s