Zoe
Tasted Thursday, September 7, 2006 by bsherwin with 2,464 views
Another great CLONYC event. It was interesting to see these wines over a 28 year period. There is certainly a consistency in that the predominant fruit is cassis and there are clear powdered cocoa notes and herbs (which often crosses the line to herbaceousness). There were some good wines here, but other than a nice run from '94-'96, there's nothing that I'd run out and buy. One topic of conversation is whether these wines are made to last past 15 years. Given the experience with the older wines and the way the '94 went south, I think there is some truth to that. Amazingly, given the history of bottle taint, we did not have one flawed bottle.
Thanks to Mike for putting on another great event and thanks to the City of New York for supplying the beautiful brochures.
Thanks to Steve for bringing the Tensley. An interesting little wine that's worth finding. Thanks to Nano for bringing the Tapestry to whet our appetites.
None of these wines showed particularly well. They ranged from the interesting ('78) to the good ('87) to the undrinkable ('80). Lesson learned here is that it's tough to take a BVGdLT out 20 years.
So called because it was high in the middle and round on the ends. There was great consitency stylistically for the entire flight and I had a tough time differentiating them at first. This was clearly the flight of the night and all of these showed very well with the '95 being the standout. I'm not sure there was a stylistic change fromn the '80s, but these wines sure were different (i.e., lively).
Not much good here. The '97 was especially disappointing after the nice run in the mid-'90s.
The quote of the night from Steve about the mediocre 2000. His point was that it took a hell of a lot of winemaking talent to even get what they got. He had a point. Pretty funny quote though. The '01 was a pretty decent wine, but there was nothing special here that would lead you to spend big $$ for this stuff.
2005 Tensley Blanc Camp 4 Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Very nice re-creation of a S. Rhone wine. Lush and full in the mouth with pretty tropical fruits, lime and a slight nuttiness (almond?). The acidity is well used here preventing it from being overly heavy (although it is quite substantial) or flabby. Nice effort.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue
1996 Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve
USA, California, Napa Valley
An easy drinker with some nice, dark aromatics. Slightly astringent on the finish, but it doesn't ruin the overall effect. A good, simple steak wine. Drink up now.
Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue