TN: A few in a cellar

J

Jeff Grossman

Jeff Grossman
Jay Miller, The Liquidator, yours truly, and sundry passersby at the storage place.

Tue-Boeuf 2007 Touraine "La Guerriere" - Light and cheerful. Gamay and cot and something else? Jay comments how variable this wine is from year to year.

Mondavi 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Brilliant and dark. Smells glorious. We decant. Still full of life. Dark berries. A hint of cough syrup, maybe. Modest tobacco and a bit of leafiness add to the complexity. Jay says he eventually gets a bit of cigarette ash. This bottle would be splendid with food, duck or perhaps a simple beef dish. (Jay's roast chicken from Bouley Bakery will have to do.)

Sonoma Vineyards 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon "Alexander's Crown" - The little booklet hanging off the neck contains a sincere and earnest exhortation to pay no heed to the excessively high alcohol content (13.7%) and just enjoy the beautiful wine now or in 20 years. Signed, Rodney Strong. The wine is heavenly. Less complicated than the Mondavi, just pure cabernet fruit, not really so ripe, it is pleasure in a glass. Special stuff.

Qupe 1996 Syrah - Terribly odd. It has all the right flavor profile components -- the bacon fat, the olives -- but they're all jumbled strangely and lack depth. Reminds me of a peppered beef jerky stick made by a Japanese company... everything (fat, pepper, meat) was reminiscent of what it should have been but wasn't the real thing.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman: TN: A few in a cellar Sonoma Vineyards 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon "Alexander's Crown"
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Jeff, Good call!

I can't recall any bad 1974s...maybe a few lackluster but not any bad ones.

We had a 2-day 1974 retrospective not too long ago with 60 - 70 different bottlings. Truly remarkable wines with almost no exceptions!

. . . . . Pete
 
Just to clarify, I didn't mean that I find the Guerrerie variable quality-wise (though I'm not hugely fond of the 2006 and I know FLJim didn't like the 2003 although I did), just that it can seem like a very different wine from year to year.

I actually have notes on these wines back home where I don't have internet access.
 
Thanks for the notes, Jeff. Sorry i bailed, but with all the dinners and things lately, the gym was beckoning.

As you know, I have special feelings for the '91 Mondavi as it was the wine that got me into wine. Never had a bad showing of it.

Would've loved to have tried the '74 Sonoma Vineyards. Not sure if Jay brought the '77 to a '70's dinner almost three years ago, but here's my note on it from 1/07.

1977 Sonoma Vineyards- Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander's Crown, Sonoma County, California
Now here's an interesting, if not muddled nose. Red fruit, sassafras, eucalyptus and brown earth aromas are both pleasing and slightly jarring. In many ways it's like a country bumpkin relative to a city slicker. It's a little rustic and chunky, with a bit of mid-palate sweetness, though it turns a little austere and drying on the finish. A wine with a bunch of faults, but you can't help but think about the good things. B+/B.

I know Jay liked it more than I did and JBL, in a response to my post, mentioned that the '74 was below the radar.
 
I didn't taste any sassafras or eucalyptus in the Sonoma V. Maybe those grew up around the vineyard more vigorously in '77 than in '74?

Both wines were really good. Jay got the SV at auction and I think he has none left; I got the Mondavi at auction (many years ago) and I have one more bottle.
 
originally posted by Jeff Grossman:
Sonoma Vineyards 1974 Cabernet Sauvignon "Alexander's Crown" - The little booklet hanging off the neck contains a sincere and earnest exhortation to pay no heed to the excessively high alcohol content (13.7%) and just enjoy the beautiful wine now or in 20 years. Signed, Rodney Strong.
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Tasted the 2012 version a few days ago. 15% on the label, 27.4% on the nose. I got a buzz just smelling it.
 
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