Cronin wines - I really liked his chardonnays.
Several years ago I ran across Thunder Mountain wines on closeout at Trader Joe’s for really low prices. The chardonnays were very good. I’d never heard of them prior to seeing them on TJ’s shelves so I was pretty amazed when I found out what the normal retail prices were like.
Thomas might be thinking about the “Claret” which always came in magnums and was a cab based wine. The “Special Burgundy” was a blend from Carbon, PS etc. Loved both wines and the Special Burgundy aged nicely.
Yet another vote for KL. Local grocery store ended up with cases of 375s that they were trying to clear out… at 60% off. Best wine deal of my life.
Karl Lawrence and Laurel Glen.
Too soon to say if Mayacamas will join the latter, hopefully not.
Hang tight Tom!
My brother and I have already been working on a means to highlight the Gibson Syrah and hopefully restore it to the level that it deserves from a reputation standpoint. Also, in addition to the Grenache Gris, we also sold a small amount of fruit to Morgan Twain Petersen so there is already the makings of something special in Morgan’s talented hands…
Jake Bilbro
Marietta Cellars/Limerick Lane Cellars
Mike,
Thanks for the vote of confidence on the quality and relative value of our wines at Limerick Lane as they currently stand.
Reading your post made me wonder about something… As the current owner of both Limerick Lane and McDowell, both brands and vineyards that have great reputations for potential quality as well as historically ridiculous value, would the original owners of both properties/wineries been better off to position their products as “fair” as opposed to “ridiculous values?” Having first hand knowledge of both of their situations, I can’t help but wonder if their incredible generosity didn’t end up hurting them… Or maybe it was a mixture of generosity and running a business with a slightly less than sharp pencil?
I want to be VERY clear I have utmost respect for both of the prior owners of our properties.
I also know I just initiated a bit of topic drift on this thread but as the producer of Old Vine Red, I think I have a pretty good pulse on how hard it is to make quality wine at a competitive price. I guess I’m wondering if the 1994 Collins Vineyard Zin would still have been perceived as fairly priced at $20 instead of $15 and if it had been, would the original owners still be in business today?
Maybe there are too many other factors to take into consideration…but it is an interesting question to me and one I never really thought about until I read your post so thank you for that!
Jake Bilbro
Limerick Lane Cellars/Marietta Cellars
She was a wine maker there? Never knew that. Might explain why I used to like their wines.
Had an '07 Dain Amber Ridge Pinot just last night. Outstanding. Have one bottle of his wine left.
(Corrected the vineyard. Had one glass left in the bottle, and this thread made me want to drink. As to another thread about wine on the second night - this actually got even better.)
I believe Merry was the first winemaker at Matanzas Creek. The late 70s wines from them were excellent and probably still are.
What no one here remembers La Cuesta? Maybe Tom Hill 
I don’t think I’ve ever had the wine, but I’ve seen a few bottles in old cellars (notably the wine cellar at the Wente restaurant in Livermore). Would have loved to know what those wines were like back then.
That’s great news, Jake. I had little doubt that I’d eventually see great GibsonRanch Syrah again.
Just a matter of time.
Tom
I have a bottle of the '44, which was made by Emmett’s sons. They got out of the business and sold their stock to Mario Gemello who bottled most of those last vintages, but sold barrels of the '44 to Martin Ray.
Since I got bit by the wine bug back in the late 80’s, there are lots of them that have gone by the wayside that I liked. But the one that stands out is Thunder Mountain. I have a soft spot for SCM wineries in the first place and I remember the first offline I ever attended at some restaurant in San Jose and Milan was there. Really interesting guy and it was almost like he had me under a microscope. Wanting to know what I liked or didn’t like about his wines and wines in general. It was sad when he passed rather suddenly and then his family ended up blowing out the inventory for amazing prices. I was drinking and enjoying TM wines for a while…
Jake, that’s an excellent question, and I apologize in advance for the rambling response.
Looking at the 1994 Limerick Lane, I think it would have been fair pricing at $20, but I don’t know if it would have moved at that price. The $15 price was about the same as Ridge Dusi Ranch, and at $20 it would have been priced comparably to Ridge Lytton Springs and 1994 St. Francis Pagani (which got big ratings and press), and not much less than Ridge Geyserville and the Ravenswood SVD zins, just to name a few examples of the competition at the time. While the Limerick Lane was on a par with those wines in quality, it didn’t have the name recognition, marketing budget, or wine press support that these competitors enjoyed.
The 1995 McDowell Estate syrah at $15 to $17 would have been an even tougher sell, as CA syrah did not have anywhere near the popularity as it does now and the McDowell was already priced comparably to Qupe Bien Nacido, ESJ, and Ojai California. Again, the quality was there and the 1995 McDowell is still drinking very well, but it didn’t benefit geographically from the increasing attention that Bob Lindquist and Adam Tolmach were attracting or that Thackery and Steve Edmunds had.
I don’t recall what led me to try the LL, but it was probably a positive note on Prodigy or Compuserve or maybe even a Tom Hill note on alt.food.wine. I know that I bought the McDowell based on a positive note from Stuart Yaniger on Prodigy. In a similar vein, I recall having Marietta Old Vine Lot and some other Marietta wines shipped to me from WineX to Atlanta between 1996 and 1999 or so based on online recommendations I trusted, as they were still great value even after shipping charges.
I’m pretty certain that the expansion of online wine discussion had made a huge difference in allowing smaller and more obscure producers to find a market and get prices that better reflect their quality. I know it isn’t perfect, and am sure that there are still many wineries making wines that are every bit as good as well-known names but are still struggling for recognition and to find a market. But looking at the number of wines I’ve bought in the last few years from producers I never would have known about if I just got my information from WS and WA articles, and how much poorer my drinking experience would be without them, I’m thankful.
I’m equally grateful to people like you and your family, Morgan, Tegan, Mike Officer and others who are preserving and restoring heritage vineyards, and in two of these cases have picked up the torches your fathers carried while making your own contributions and building your own legacies.
Olson Ogden was mentioned but for me it isn’t a memory. I have been drinking the 2009 Olson Ogden Unti Vineyard Syrah and I have to tell you each bottle is everything I want it to be. Just beautiful, perfumed, balanced wines and in no way rustic. I just looked and I only have two bottles left.
God, I used to love those Cronin Santa Cruz Mtn Chardonnays; they were in the highest echelon at that time and were very precious to me.
I am surprised nobody mentioned Long Vineyards, where some legendary chardonnays were made.
The cabernet was wonderful too.
Jade Mountain, when owned by Jim Paras and Doug Danielak made the wine, was fantastic.
Laurel Glen needed some serious vineyard work and I think things will work out well there.
True - maybe the best Chardonnays available when they were produced.
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just popped a '12 Napa Claret tonight. Very nice QPR. Label says since 1965. Their website is still up. Am I missing something?
Yes, I am in cahoots with Morgan Twain-Peterson in the Abrente brand. Also to look for in a few months: Cave Dog, a Merlot/Cab Franc blend I’m now making from the vineyard blocks I formerly used in Bourriquot. First release will be the 2014.
Hi and thanks for the distinction. Look for my 2014 Cave Dog in a few months . . . from the same blocks I used in Bourriquot. 