Purple plastic cork, but it’s not completely oxidized. Instead it has reduced to kirsch flavored lighter fluid with an acid streak a mile wide. How the heck did they get an Alder Springs Cab to 14.8% alcohol in 1999?
1999 Chateau St. Jean Merlot
Alas that this was not opened ten years ago. It would have been perfectly nice, if not profound. Today it’s a faded memory of a missed experience. Don’t let this happen to your wine!
Those B&H wines were Parker darlings back in the day…even with the high ABVs, wish they had used conventional corks so we could have seen how they aged.
I went through the Parker hyped Aussie phase to from late 90s to early 2000s. Last retail purchase was 05 Carnival of Love which was not to my liking and gifted what I have. However I still look for RunRig at auction. Those wines are well balanced and almost singular, although I opened a pretty putrid 2003 this weekend. The only bottle that has been bad. I still have some 96 and 98 Grange.
1999 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes
Underneath the veil of dirty mushrooms was a perfectly correct aged, sweet Pinot Gris. That dirty mushroom element was evil.
2003 King Family Vineyards Late Harvest Viognier ‘Loreley’
Did I expect anything from this 21 year old botrytis affected Virginia wine? No? I still got less than I expected. It was clearly bad wine. It was in fact so bad that it was impossible to put into words exactly how it was bad.
I binge bought so much Z-H around that period and have been largely left with one disappointing bottle after another. Many simply lack any charm and just show way too much alcohol.
2000 Château Beau-Site - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (10/28/2024)
From my late father's cellar, this was opened as a 2000, 2003, 2005 Beau-Site check-in. Not surprisingly this was the most fragile of the three wines - fully mature and in need of near term drinking. It was still enjoyable, just getting a little thin around the edges. Nothing oxidative or remotely funereal, just probably time to focus on yelling at clouds.
2003 Château Beau-Site - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (10/28/2024)
From my late father's cellar, this was part of a 2000, 2003, 2005 Beau-Site check-in. More depth than the 2000 that preceded it, this did not show any roasted character, just a plummy rather than cassis fruit, and the structure was still suffused beneath the fruit. Light to medium bodies despite the hot vintage, I was quite happy having a glass of this with dinner. Drink over the next 3-5 years.
2005 Château Beau-Site - France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Estèphe (10/28/2024)
From my late father's cellar, this was part of a 2000, 2003, 2005 Beau-Site check-in. Not surprisingly, this was the strongest of the three in terms of both remaining good drinking, and overall balance. Classic Bordeaux fruit/tannin structure, cassis and a touch of cedar, and just a hint of tobacco on the finish made this a promising showing. Another half glass later on was just as good, so not worried about holding this a while longer if necessary.
2001 Balgownie Estate Shiraz - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Bendigo (10/28/2024)
From my late father's cellar, he still had several bottles of this, so I decided to open one to check it out. With zero knowledge of this wine I had zero expectations, and this time I was happily surprised. Still quite fruity, though not to the point of jamminess, this had backbone, as well as some leathery elements coming through on the finish. Seems like it has a ways to go yet, so I have time to either drink these and/or find a friend to share them.
Good find David. These guys have made good wines for a long time. 2001 a very hot year from a region that can get pretty ripe, but not surprised that it’s still going strong.
