It’s not dead, it’s just Sauvignon Blanc, which is the same thing.
23 Gamble?
Not sure what you’re asking, but the Riverain was a 2018.
I was asking if it was the 2023 Gamble Vineyard Riverain SB.
That was a BD 15 offer which I purchased
Ah. Nope. Though I would not have put it past my dad to have bought wine from beyond the grave.
Tasted there once years ago. Not sure I remember anything memorable.
Actually, we did have a memorable experience there. We stopped once. Got the standard pours. Wine was only so-so. Everyone was about to leave, and they ask us if we want dessert. Everyone was going huh? Then they bring out a dessert wine. We’re all thinking, ok, bonus pour. But then they say hold on, we’re bringing out dessert. They give us all fresh figs, and tell us to take a bite, and then taste the dessert wine. It was an absolute perfect match. People were throwing money on the counter to buy bottles.
This is a fascinating one - give drink my fair share of Far Niente over the years, but ever with this much ago.
I went through a whole case of this many years ago - but I am more inclined to drink those Cali Cabs young.
Second bottle of older BV GdL from dad’s cellar. It whispered “Jefferson still lives” not knowing that the other bottle of BV GdL that I had opened from the crypt was also dead.
bah, that’s unfortunate, I’m always seeking out 1990 wines for anniversary wines - pickings are getting slimmer and slimmer…
Beringer has done well. Bordeaux of course.
Not dead. In fact this is quite classic, as the vintage kept the oncoming excesses of the early 2000s at bay.
I’d have been surprised if this was dead assuming proper storage. My older Montelena experiences have all been great.
Never sure where dad picked up stuff from prior to 2004 or so.
Nebbiolo from Piedmont
Very much alive and also brings back memories of other Durell Vineyard Syrahs. This one is a little high octane, but still recognizable as Durell Syrah.
Back at the crypt, and frankly there’s not a ton of crypt worthy wines left. Yeah, there’s stuff I don’t want/don’t care about, but obviously problematic wines are becoming hard to find.
Don’t get me wrong, I am glad to have worked through stuff, but I will miss this exercise. No doubt there will be unpleasant surprises that make their way into this thread, but I am not going to open and dump stuff just because.
I did open two bottles just now. One I was pretty certain would be past it, while the other had some hopes. Neither was classically dead in the sense of DOA, but both were certainly candidates for organ donation. Just don’t donate the livers!
The 2000 Chateau Bel-Air still had fruit. Sadly it was also flammable. Bizarre for a wine labeled at 12.5% ABV, but the sheer booziness was offputting. Death by cirrhosis.
I had some hope for the 1999 Rosenblum Rockpile Road Zinfandel, but it was in the same hospital ward as the Bordeaux. The first sip was more fruit than alcohol. The second sip was more alcohol than fruit. The third sip showed the fruit decaying/browning already, and then the color of the wine started to change, going from deep red to brick, and then brownish-red in less than five minutes. It followed the lemmings over the cliff.
There’s a couple more crypt candidates for tomorrow, but we are nearing the time where I hang up my whip and fedora, and ride away from Petra, seeking a more tranquil existence.
How many more bottles do you still have?
About 600 in the cellar, but the vast majority are not problematic.