After two '88 Chards went down the drain, we scored big time w/ these two:
- Calera Viognier SanBenitoCnty (TW) Hollister 1989: Deep golden/burnished bronze color; lovely smokey/honeyed slight nutty/toasted hazelnuts/old Viog/peachy bit alcoholic quite fragrant/perfumed complex nose; soft some toasty/smokey smooth/lush very honeyed/honeysuckle/mead/peachy light nutty/old Viog slight earthy/mushroomy quite complex flavor; very long/lingering soft/lush/smooth bit toasty/smokey slight earthy/smoked chanterelles slight nutty/hazelnuts quite honeyed/mead/peachy very perfumed complex finish; no signs of oxidation except for the color; a beautiful/complex old Viog that still offers up great pleasure to drink.
- HillcrestVnyd GWT UmpquaVlly/Oregon (13.7%) Roseburg 1985: Deep golden/burnished bronze/bit brown color; beautiful lychee/spicy/nutmeg/cinammon slight hair oil/GWT/rose water light smokey/nutty/toasty bit honeyed very complex nose; fairly tart totally dry strong lychee/nutmeg/cinammon/spicy bit hair oil/GWT slight nutty/smokey rather honeyed quite complex flavor w/ slight bitterness; very long/lingering lychee/hair oil/old GWT/spicy/nutmeg very honeyed complex finish w/ slight bitterness; a beautiful complex old GWT and a dead-ringer for a 30 yr old ClosGaensbronnel.
2a. HillcrestVnyd GWT UmpquaVlly/Oregon (13.7%) Roseburg 1985: Dark murkey/brown color; some smokey/old GWT bit wet wool rather shy somewhat interesting nose; very oxidized/oloroso sherry/wet dog fur/wet Army blanket flavor w/ strong bitterness; a rather interesting/complex fairly pleasurable nose but quite oxidized on the palate.
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- When I pulled out the first btl of GWT from that refugee case, it seemed awfully light. When I looked at the btl, I realized it had no cork in the neck and that the cork was floating in the remaining 1 cup of wine in the btl. All the wine had leaked out, save a small amount in the side, and it was protected by only the (lead) capsule. That was the 2a. wine.
- Where the heck’s my vinegar??? We are told by “the authorities” that any old wine that is exposed to air turns to vinegar and is useable only for salad dressing. This 2’nd btl had absolutely no signs of either vinegar/EA nor acetaldehyde (often mistaken for vinegar). Maybe these “authorities” are not so authorative afterall??
- Calera: JoshJensen was one of the very first Viognier producers in Calif. He made them in a big/alcoholic/soft/hugely aromatic/very ripe style. Since then, he’s reined in his style on Viognier and it’s not nearly as overblown as they used to be.
Back in the early '90’s (by crackey), at the Taste of Vail in early Spring, they held the Nation’s first wine seminar on Viognier. Attending were DanMcGrath/JoshJensen/BillSmith/BobLindquist/JohnAlban. The Calera (may have been this very wine) stood out for its very ripe character.
At the end of the seminar when they fielded questions from the audience, this doofus stood up and asked: “Josh…how do you go about making a DollyParton Viognier”, with the appropriate hand gestures in front of his chest. It brought the whole crowd (of about 40) down. And thus did the term “DollyParton Viognier” enter the Rhone-wine lexicon. “DP Viognier” was once used by Guigal at an HdR seminar in reference to his LaDoriane Condrieu. But he was rather bashful & chagrined to use it and hadn’t been trained in the proper hand gestures.
Tom