Older than I

What an experience. I was away at a conference this past week. Some friends and I have a tradition of bringing some unusual wines to this conference and tasting them together. This year was extra special. I got to taste a wine that was older than I. This was the oldest wine I have ever tasted. I'm talking about a 1964 Rioja Gran Reserva from the great Conde de Los Andes. When a wine is this old you are not sure what to expect. It is a delicate thing at this stage of its life. To think I was opening a bottle that has been sealed for as long as I have been alive. Regardless of how the wine tastes, it is truly like drinking history. I can't describe how amazing it is.

When the foil was removed and we saw the cork underneath we were just a bit concerned. The cork was completely blackened after decades of standing still. The black residue is likely lead tartrates produced from wine seeping through the cork and reacting with the all lead foil.

Very carefuly the corkscrew was inserted into the delicate cork. Twist after slow twist pushed the screw deeper and deeper into the bottle. Oh so gently the cork was pulled from the bottle. I don't think it would have mattered how gentle we were. That cork was destined to fall apart. Yes, it did break leaving a plug in the bottle. Surprisingly the cork looked quite good. It had kept it's integrity over these forty plus years well. Carefully the remaining cork was skewered by the corkscrew and lifted from the neck.

After all these years this rioja finally met air. Into a glass it went. The color was brown, of course, but it had a surprising amount of redness remaining.

After a quick swirl I brought the glass to my nose and inhaled deeply. Sherry acetaldehyde and earthy notes hit my nose like a sledge hammer. There was no fruit present. I could tell that it was still wine. There were no odors that would indicate spoilage, only oxidation.

As I lifted the glass to my lips I couldn't help wonder if the men who picked the grapes ever realized their efforts would last so long. I wondered if the winemaker who produced this wine was still alive. I wondered what the countryside of Spain looked like as the grapes were crushed. I wondered who carefully filled these bottles and sealed them with the cork that we just broke.

The wine hit my palate and I was delighted. Well, the wine wasn't great. I would say it was 15-20 years past its prime. Ok, so I'm making up that number. I think it might have been good at 20 years old but I may be wrong. No, I wasn't delighted by good taste. I was delighted to find the wine was still wine in one form or another. In our old age we all get wrinkled and stained from years of toil. We may not be attractive on the outside but we have wonderful wisdom of the ages on the inside. That is how I thought about this wine. The fruit was depleted long ago. It still had a good acid but it tasted a bit flat. Left behind like a rotting corpse was a wine tasting of forest floor and age old compost. It was earthy and pungent. It tasted a lot like chewing on a brown paper bag that had been dumped in the compost bin. It was not offensive. I think that's about all you can ask of an old timer like this. Truly an experience that I will remember for a long long time. Thank you Richard.

Languedoc

2003 Mas de la Barben syrah blend from Languedoc. This was a bit of a disappointment. I expected better from this wine. I could tell straight away when I poured it in the glass that it would not live up to expectations. It had a red brick color that was a little on the light side. The nose was vegetative with spice and a strange chemical component. Someone described insecticide for this wine and I think it does remind me of an ant spry we used to use. It was funky on the palate as well with barnyard and leather flavors. It had a good acidity and a pretty nice up front attack but the good flavors disappeared rather quickly leaving you with the taste like licking a saddle. Certainly an unusual wine. It is just ok. I don't think I would buy it again.

A Bordeaux Rosé

I picked up this 2006 Bordeaux rosé as part of a Wine Library TV secret four-pack. I never got around to drinking it with Gary V but I did enjoy it anyway. It was not a serious wine but was nice to have out on my patio with some grilled foods. It had nice strawberry flavors and was not sweet at all. I like my rosés dry, thank you very much. This one was dry. It had a bit more body than I expected which was nice. Overall it was a pretty decent bottle.

Wine from Michigan

Yes, Michigan does make some pretty decent wines, especially white wines. About a year ago I was traveling through southwest Michigan and found a winery outlet just off of I-94. The Round Barn winery produced this pinot gris that was really very interesting. It had a great color, first of all. Not too dark but not too light. Definitely had some substance. The aromas of apples and honey and fruit loops greeted me when I brought the glass to my nose. It had a nice crisp acidity with flavors of pears, pineapple and bananas. The nice thing about this wine was how long it lasted in your mouth. Long lingering fruit eventually gave way to a fresh clean finish. I would score this one maybe 89 points. I liked it and now I remember why I bought it.

A Grand Cru

I don't often drink grand crus but this one came as a good deal from Wine Library. For $20 I think I got a good bargain. This was a very nice wine. As you can see from the back label, it is composed of 80% merlot, 10% cabernet sauvignon, and 10% cabernet franc; a classical Bordeaux blend if I've ever seen one.

First of all I was blown away by the color. You can see below it was a deep, rich, dark, purple/red color. You definitely could not see through it. On the nose I was presented with earthy musty notes mingling with ripe red cherries. Solid tannins, big fruit and hints of smoke greeted you on the palate. It also had a slight greenness to it. After a couple hours in the decanter the wine opened up beautifully.

Spanish Tempranillo

2004 Campo Viejo Crianza tempranillo from Rioja.

Light in color with an interesting nose of rusty nails and red plums. The prune fruits come through a little bit on the palate along with a nice acidity and light red fruits. Nothing serious here but a decent quaff for the price. 82 points.

A great QPR zin

I found a very nice value for under $10. I've had Kenwood before and it has always been a pretty ok wine. But this 2005 zinfandel really kicked it for the $9 I dropped for it. It was solid and interesting and quite tasty. Even the color was dark almost inky purple. It was black cherries for days and days on the nose combining with hints of purple plums and spices. Those flavors came through in the mouth as well. Black cherry mixing with spicy apple pie and plums. It was quite smooth with soft tannins. The fruit was pretty big but not over the top. It didn't reach that thick jammy stage. It was quite balanced and a very good value. I'd even serve this one to guests. I think it's good drinking now. I'm not sure how long it will last. Probably not more than a few years.