@JOATMON I think there are a number of us whose oldest wine was supplied by you, which IIRC you broke out as we raided Scott Harvey’s cellar for a much younger (also 40+ year old) wine.
@JOATMON@mother The 1867 Madeira you provided is my record holder, and unlikely to be broken.
Non-fortified wine it’s the 1973 Pedroncelli Cabernet we drank last year. It edged out the 1967 Barbera we had in Scott’s cellar.
I’d try pretty much anything anyone would be willing to share. But the oldest I’ve ever bought was a early 90’s cab sauv from a winery here in texas…and it had held up what I considered very well. I would love to try more 20 year old wines to continue learning about how wines change.
@MSUMike You may still be able to do that without spending exorbitantly. Way back when, was the Chicago #9 tasting. Still some good reading in there. (
THEME: You Gotta Be At Least 20 To Attend This Party!!!
DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 6 PM
PLACE: Cotes du Rhone (where they serve VERY Cab-friendly fare & which everyone at the last full-blown tasting really enjoyed)
HOST: who else? :P + PSith Master L as my co-pilot
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
- L - for helping me execute this tasting more smoothly than i ever could have dreamed
- WD - wine.woot >>> CWWT#9 >>> 'sall good G!
- rpm - for his guidance on tasting order & procedures
- SonomaBouliste - for his notes on the starting line-up as well as his extra special magnum
- ERMD - for his 'i can't be there in person but i'll be there in spirit' bottle of KR's extra tasty PS
- Cotes du Rhone - for a wonderful dining experience to go along with the vino
- The PSychos - cuz, well, DUH! :P
- all other participants - for coming from near & far to make this a remarkable & unforgettable experience!
FINAL COST:
- STARTING LINE-UP BUY-IN - $30 per person
- DINNER - $40 per person (incl tax & gratuity)
- SUPPORTING CAST BOTTLE - $20 to $30 per person
(*) EACH ATTENDEE BROUGHT ONE BOTTLE OF NON-WINE.WOOT NAPA OR SONOMA CABERNET SAUVIGNON OR CABERNET SAUVIGNON-BASED BLEND IN THE $20 TO $30 RANGE AS BACK-UP ONLY. EXCEPT ZORANDRA OF COURSE. CUZ SHE'S SPECIAL! :P
NOTES:
from wine.woot community winemaker extraordinaire SonomaBouliste himself:
1976 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Sauvignon - They had 2 Cabs that year, Rhinefarm (Estate) and Batto Ranch. It was a drought year, and the Batto Ranch was quite exceptional. I had a bottle maybe 4-5 years ago and it was in much better shape than I expected.
1981 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon & 1981 Neyers Cabernet Sauvignon - '81 was a very hot year, and I would expect those wines would likely be well past their prime.
1982 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon & 1983 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon - Mt. Veeder Cabs were quite tannic and ageworthy. '82 was a more uniformly successful year in the region (at the time, I worked just over the hill at Carmenet).
1988 Laurel Glen Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon & 1988 William Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - '88 was a challenge. Most Cabs were on the lean side and had hard, aggressive tannins in their youth. This led to low ratings, but at least some of those wines have aged and evolved beautifully. Either of these might be wonderful.
1986 Ravenswood Old Hill Vineyard Limited Edition Zinfandel - The '86 Old Hill Zin was massive and incredibly tannic upon release (even more tannic than most mountain Cabs). If well stored, this should be awesome.
1990 Wellington Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Random Ridge (11/24/08, 750ml) - Medium red with a brick edge – a lot of pigment has obviously precipitated. There is still some nice cherry and plum fruit, with notes of sage, spice, licorice, cocoa and brown sugar. There is also an interesting floral aspect, a bit reminiscent of old rose petals. The wine is starting to dry out a bit, but still has a supple richness and good length. There is still some unresolved tannin immediately upon opening, but this softens dramatically after a few minutes. This is likely about as good as this wine will ever get.
GENERAL - Remember, there aren't many great old wines, but there are a lot of great old bottles. After 20 years or more there is a lot of bottle to bottle variation, primarily ascribable to corks. I would expect some "disappointments", but also some good surprises. Sounds like fun.
thank you, Peter, for taking the time to share these notes with us!
) The secret was that Robert Parker took a while before he started writing about California wines. So there were all these lovely Cabs from the '80s before things went over the top going for $25 or so, because they hadn’t been blessed by himself.
The oldest wine I’ve tried was a 1748 Verdelho Madeira.
It was… educational…
Oldest I expect I’ll ever try is 1720.
The 1802 we opened up for our wedding was excellent.
@JOATMON I think there are a number of us whose oldest wine was supplied by you, which IIRC you broke out as we raided Scott Harvey’s cellar for a much younger (also 40+ year old) wine.
@JOATMON @mother The 1867 Madeira you provided is my record holder, and unlikely to be broken.
Non-fortified wine it’s the 1973 Pedroncelli Cabernet we drank last year. It edged out the 1967 Barbera we had in Scott’s cellar.
@JOATMON @klezman @mother How does a '73 edge out a '67…
@JOATMON @mother @rjquillin Think about it…
Tried a 1908 Madeira and an 1850 Brandy down at Bern’s steakhouse. It was delicious.
@nostrom0 That place is high on my bucket list.
@nostrom0 @rjquillin +1
1869 Blandys Bual Madeira, 1907 Armangnac, and a tired 1967 Oddero Barolo.
I’d try pretty much anything anyone would be willing to share. But the oldest I’ve ever bought was a early 90’s cab sauv from a winery here in texas…and it had held up what I considered very well. I would love to try more 20 year old wines to continue learning about how wines change.
@MSUMike You may still be able to do that without spending exorbitantly. Way back when, was the Chicago #9 tasting. Still some good reading in there. (
themostrighteous
quality posts: 12 Private Messages
THEME: You Gotta Be At Least 20 To Attend This Party!!!
DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 6 PM
PLACE: Cotes du Rhone (where they serve VERY Cab-friendly fare & which everyone at the last full-blown tasting really enjoyed)
HOST: who else? :P + PSith Master L as my co-pilot
STARTING LINE-UP:
1986 Stony Hill Chardonnay (winebid link) (CT link)
1971 J. Pedroncelli Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1976 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1980 Charles Krug Vintage Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1981 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1981 Neyers Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link) (not pictured above)
1982 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1983 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1986 Monticello Corley Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1988 Laurel Glen Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1988 William Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (winebid link) (CT link)
1990 Wellington Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Random Ridge (USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder) (1.5L) (CT link)
1986 Ravenswood Old Hill Vineyard Limited Edition Zinfandel (winebid link) (CT link)
1979 McDowell Petite Sirah (winebid link) (CT link) (not pictured above)
SUPPORTING CAST (*) CONSUMED:
- timbyd - 1991 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- ERMD - 2001 Kent Rasmussen Petite Sirah Reserve Leeds-Chavez Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford)
- tmr + L - 2003 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Kronos Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley) x 2
- ddeuddeg - 2003 Monticello Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Jefferson Cuvée (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- Imagine4vr - 2005 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- zorandra - 2005 Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, North Coast, Red Hills Lake County)
SUPPORTING CAST (*) SAVED BY THE BELL:
- Sparky - 2001 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- bahwm - 2003 Joseph Phelps Cabernet Sauvignon Innisfree (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- baniak - 2003 Trefethen Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll)
- javadrinker - 2003 Whispering Dove Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Stags Leap District
- hld1970 - 2004 Crauford Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon Tattoo Maroon Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- Walstib - 2004 Fantesca Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District)
- tommythecat78 - 2004 Terra Valentine Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mountain District (USA, California, Napa Valley, Spring Mountain District)
- Walstib's +1 - 2005 Bommarito Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- lauratchi - 2005 Calistoga Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- cbecer - 2005 Perata Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley, Yountville)
- oppsie - 2005 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford (USA, California, Napa Valley, Rutherford)
- cheron - 2005 Snowden Cabernet Sauvignon The Ranch (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- oppsie's +1 - 2006 Edge Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Napa Valley)
- joekerjr - 2006 Trefethen Double T (USA, California, Napa Valley, Oak Knoll)
ATTENDEES:
- tmr
- bahwm + ddeuddeg
- cbecer
- cheron98
- hld1970
- Imagine4vr
- javadrinker
- joekerjr
- Loweeel
- MarkDaSpark
- oppsie + 1
- timbyrd
- tommythecat78
- Walstib + 1
- zorandra + baniak
- 19 total
MISSED:
- lauratchi + Joel
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
- L - for helping me execute this tasting more smoothly than i ever could have dreamed
- WD - wine.woot >>> CWWT#9 >>> 'sall good G!
- rpm - for his guidance on tasting order & procedures
- SonomaBouliste - for his notes on the starting line-up as well as his extra special magnum
- ERMD - for his 'i can't be there in person but i'll be there in spirit' bottle of KR's extra tasty PS
- Cotes du Rhone - for a wonderful dining experience to go along with the vino
- The PSychos - cuz, well, DUH! :P
- all other participants - for coming from near & far to make this a remarkable & unforgettable experience!
FINAL COST:
- STARTING LINE-UP BUY-IN - $30 per person
- DINNER - $40 per person (incl tax & gratuity)
- SUPPORTING CAST BOTTLE - $20 to $30 per person
(*) EACH ATTENDEE BROUGHT ONE BOTTLE OF NON-WINE.WOOT NAPA OR SONOMA CABERNET SAUVIGNON OR CABERNET SAUVIGNON-BASED BLEND IN THE $20 TO $30 RANGE AS BACK-UP ONLY. EXCEPT ZORANDRA OF COURSE. CUZ SHE'S SPECIAL! :P
NOTES:
from wine.woot community winemaker extraordinaire SonomaBouliste himself:
1976 Gundlach Bundschu Cabernet Sauvignon - They had 2 Cabs that year, Rhinefarm (Estate) and Batto Ranch. It was a drought year, and the Batto Ranch was quite exceptional. I had a bottle maybe 4-5 years ago and it was in much better shape than I expected.
1981 Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon & 1981 Neyers Cabernet Sauvignon - '81 was a very hot year, and I would expect those wines would likely be well past their prime.
1982 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon & 1983 Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon - Mt. Veeder Cabs were quite tannic and ageworthy. '82 was a more uniformly successful year in the region (at the time, I worked just over the hill at Carmenet).
1988 Laurel Glen Sonoma Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon & 1988 William Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - '88 was a challenge. Most Cabs were on the lean side and had hard, aggressive tannins in their youth. This led to low ratings, but at least some of those wines have aged and evolved beautifully. Either of these might be wonderful.
1986 Ravenswood Old Hill Vineyard Limited Edition Zinfandel - The '86 Old Hill Zin was massive and incredibly tannic upon release (even more tannic than most mountain Cabs). If well stored, this should be awesome.
1990 Wellington Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Random Ridge (11/24/08, 750ml) - Medium red with a brick edge – a lot of pigment has obviously precipitated. There is still some nice cherry and plum fruit, with notes of sage, spice, licorice, cocoa and brown sugar. There is also an interesting floral aspect, a bit reminiscent of old rose petals. The wine is starting to dry out a bit, but still has a supple richness and good length. There is still some unresolved tannin immediately upon opening, but this softens dramatically after a few minutes. This is likely about as good as this wine will ever get.
GENERAL - Remember, there aren't many great old wines, but there are a lot of great old bottles. After 20 years or more there is a lot of bottle to bottle variation, primarily ascribable to corks. I would expect some "disappointments", but also some good surprises. Sounds like fun.
thank you, Peter, for taking the time to share these notes with us!
NV Les Vignerons de Maury1928 Solera Vin Doux Naturel