Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Sanford Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard (Santa Rita Hills) 2001

A couple of years ago, I wrote that this wine was:

...a very fine Pinot, but its firm acidity and potent - albeit well-integrated - tannic backbone mandate some additional cellar time for it to fully develop.

With two additional years of bottle age, the tannins have mellowed and the wine is in prime drinking condition.

Cherries, blueberries, mushrooms and truffles, tea, and a whiff of grape stems.

Grade: A-

Spottswoode Family Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) 2004

A brilliant success. The huge bouquet sends perfume cascading around the room. The flavors are intense and deep, but when paired with a rich sauce (buffalo sirloin steak au poivre) it has enough acidity to be refreshing. The tannins are present in considerable force, but they’re sufficiently ripe and well-integrated to allow the wine to be enjoyed now.

Chocolate, espresso, cassis, truffle, and a dash of sweet dark berries.

I had only this bottle in my cellar.  I’m going to go find some more, however. Although it’s great to drink to now, it has all the ingredients for extended aging. I’d love to see what it’s like in, say, 2024.

Grade: A

Who wears stiletto heeled peep toe pumps to a vineyard?

Somebody who hangs out with David Beckham. Not too forget Posh herself.

Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Napa Valley) 1990

At age 18, inspection of the bottle offered worrisome signs, as there was evidence of minor seepage under the foil. Plus, the cork was deeply stained. As it turned out, however, the wine was truly exceptional.

It’s thrown an immense amount of sediment, requiring careful decanting and leaving the wine a medium intensity ruby color with just a hint of brick at the rim.

The bouquet is intense, offering classic fully mature Cabernet markers. Cedar, dried black fruits, tobacco, espresso, and nutmeg.

The palate is fruitier than the bouquet, although there’s plenty of cedar and leather too. Black currants, prunes, and plums.

The question is whether to drink my last bottle at age 20 or 25. I’m leaning towards the latter. I think it’s got enough stuffing left to keep going.

Grade: A

Ridge Geyserville (Sonoma County) 2001

When last noted in 5/2006, I opined that this wine was “Drinkable now, but unusually firm tannins still need some time to resolve.”

With two more years of bottle age, the 2001 Geyserville now stands as a brilliant example of what a great winemaker can achieve with Zinfandel (74% with 18% Carignane and 8% Petite Sirah) sourced from a great vineyard in an excellent vintage.

As with the best mature Zins, the 01 Geyserville has shaken of the brambles and blackberry off youth. Indeed, on first taste, my wife mistook it for a classed growth Bordeaux. I can see why.  The lovely bouquet suggests black fruits, mocha java, soy, and toffee. On the palate, the wine lingers through an extended finish.

I’ve got six bottles left in my cellar. I plan to space most of them out 1 per year or so for the next five years, leaving the last to 2021 just to see what happens to this remarkable wine. Most Zins don’t evolve, they just sort of keep going. But this one has already evolved, so I want to give it a fair chance to keep developing.

Grade: A

Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) 2006

A splendid white wine. Honeydew melon and freshly mown grass. Crisp but not aggressive. Grade: B+

Buying Older California Cabernets

There’s an interesting article in today’s LA Times on buying older, pre-cult California Cabernet Sauvignons:

In this overheated atmosphere with collectors from all over the world vying for the big names in old wine, one corner of the wine market—California Cabernet Sauvignon vintage 1985 and older—remains stocked with affordable treasures, according to experts on rare wine.

A handful of savvy connoisseurs collects these wines—not to fill their cellars with bragging rights, but to drink. Bidding on these older California wines in online auctions offers novice enthusiasts an avenue for exploring the pleasures of mature fine wine.

“It’s the last undiscovered top-quality wine in the market,” says David Parker, president of online wine auction house Brentwood Wine Co. ...

“Among the established old-wine buyers, the folks setting the high prices for wines at auction, the prevailing attitude is that California wines last 10 years and then fade,” says Scott Torrance, wine specialist at Christie’s in Los Angeles. “They are misinformed. Most of these buyers have never experienced the older vintage California wines. These wines are wonderful when they have been stored well.” ...

Acker’s Kapon has developed a list of “best bets” when it comes to buying “classic” California wines. Beaulieu Vineyard, Heitz, Dunn, Ridge, Chateau Montelena, Robert Mondavi, Foreman and Spottswood are the names to watch, he says.

I’ve picked up a number of older California cabs from Winebid.com with mixed success. Pretty much anything I’ve bought from the 1990 vintage onwards has been fine to superb. Pre-1990 bottles have been mixed. Some clearly were stored improperly at some point and others were just past their prime. But every once in a while, you get a real gem.

I stick to BV Private Reserve, Heitz Martha’s Vineyard, Ridge Montebello, and Mondavi reserve when buying pre-1990 wines, although I’d probably spring for pre-1980 Louis Martini reserves if I came across them. I only buy wines whose fill level are still in the neck and show no signs of seepage. And then I keep my fingers crossed.

Thought for the day

BBQ unfortunately is bad for you, but nobody wants to live forever, especially if it means not getting to eat steaks that are slightly charred on the outside and red and bloody inside.