Roy Hersh's 1990 & older tasting of "Wines that don't suck"

Roy Hersh decide to host an impromptu tasting of wines from 1990 and older. The single-blind lineup looked pretty exciting, but this was one of those evenings where it just didn't seem like the wines were clicking or perhaps our palates. As nice as the wines should have been, it was a bit of a struggle.

That said, it was a fun evening and a great chance to put faces to names that I had only seen on the bulletin board.

As we got various appetizers ready, Roy poured this blind.

• 1985 Veuve Clicquot Champagne Brut Rosé Vintage

  France, Champagne

  Hmm, on first sniff this offered up faint fecal hints, baby diaper, and a lightly sherried note. It seems a little oxidized. With time the off-putting smells blew off leaving a pleasant but simple note of strawberry. The palate has nice acidity, but overall this seems a bit simple and more than a bit tired.

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After the wines were arranged, we sat down for a somewhat eclectic flight of starter wines.

• 1990 Pol Roger Champagne Vintage Brut 92 Points

  France, Champagne

  Now this is more like it! The nose was initially faint but slowly gets more creamy with a faint whiff of tangerine. Mmm, the palate is glorious and mouthfilling, endlessly creamy with gorgeous mousse and nice lemon and mineral as it finishes out. Really stunning mouthfeel. A minute later you can still feel the slatey finish with your palate just feeling cleansed. If not for the somewhat muted aromatics this would be rated a lot higher.

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• 1989 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Wintzenheim 88 Points

  France, Alsace

  Ahhh, what a nose. Unreal diesel (love it!) dominates initially, but with time this blows off to reveal honey, smoke and minerals. The palate is much more lean than I expected, clearly Alsacian and not German. At first this seemed mostly hard and astringent, but with time it reveals more minerality. While this was a very nice bottle, it has a lean personality and lacks the vibrancy and complexity of some of the greater Alsacian Rieslings I have enjoyed.

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• 1984 Château Bouscaut Blanc

  France, Bordeaux, Graves, Pessac-Léognan

  Deep color with hints of orange. This has a sherried note and clearly seems to be oxidized. I did brave a few sips, and while this had some pleasing nuttiness it was basically burned, astringent and way over the hill.

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This was an unplanned addition to the lineup and our only post 1990 wine of the evening.

• 2002 Zealear Cellars Syrah Bolero 85 Points

  USA, California

  The nose smells of cherry juice, iron, cranberry and pepper. The oaky palate is broad and mouthfilling with reasonable extraction and balance. This was a but klunky but also fun and straightforward. Everyone commented on how beautiful the bottle was (and on the oak).

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Next we dipped into my stash of the 'long lost Il Colle' Brunello for my first taste of these. There is a crazy story behind these wines of a man, on his deathbed, who confesses to his wife that he has a dozen vintages of Brunello from great vineyards literally hiding in a cave. None of these offered the pure fireworks of my benchmark Brunello experience (a 1990 Ciacci), but they were still very interesting. Apparently the 1979, 1985 and 1990 might be real powerhouses of the lineup (a 9-vintage vertical: 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988 and 1990).

• 1978 Il Colle di Carli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  I am not giving this a rating, as the bottle was showing clear notes of being oxidized with lots of caramel. Despite this, the palate was actually quite pleasant on a fresh pour with strawberry and balsamic giving way to cranberry. Very vibrant acidity. A number of people commented that this was their favorite of the three on a fresh pour.

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• 1980 Il Colle di Carli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 89 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  The nose here is sound, slightly meaty with soaring notes of pine resin that hit you high in your nostrils. On the palate this is the most powerful and structured of the wines (which is a little scary for a nearly 25 year old wine) with a nice bit of tapenade flavor. The finish is grippy and tannic, literally sticking your teeth to your gums for a couple of minutes after a sip. I flirted with 90 points, as this was certainly very charming, but the balance isn't quite there with the somewhat intrusive tannins.

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• 1981 Il Colle di Carli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 92 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino

  Mmm, now we are talking Brunello. I was warned by the importer (Josh Hanson at Small Vineyards LLC) that this was the most likely of the Il Colle vertical to be over the hill, but it was anything but! The bouquet soars from the glass with pleasing scents of pine needle, dried herbs, and a spiciness that reminds me of the smell of the hills from a couple of trips to Tuscany to cycle in the summer heat. Mmm, the palate is vibrant and layered with great acidity, not a ton of complexity but just lovely, mature Sangiovese. The finish is smooth with fine tannins. The balance on this wine was excellent, and it was a bottle that I would like to sip by a fire for hours on end.

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Next we moved a somewhat disappointing flight of Bordeaux where two of the wines clearly seemed to be DOA. (That Angelus was a stunner though!)

• 1989 Château Angélus 93 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  Wow, this was tight, tight, tight. The nose shows cedar, cranberry and rust. Mmmm, the deep palate shows mineral and earth with great density and a bit of tartness. This is still so tannic and powerful yet beautiful and mineral-laden. This needs a long time, but it is powerful and beautiful wine.

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• 1989 Château Clerc Milon 86 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Médoc, Pauillac

  Wow, serious Brett baby! A bit of dill pickle as well. The palate shows spicy cedar, more brett, but alongside the Angelus it is somewhat astringent with a lot less to offer. A difficult comparison.

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• 1989 Château Canon

  France, Bordeaux, Libournais, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

  The nose shows cassis and tomato paste. Time has not been kind to this bottle. Dilute and over the hill.

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• 1985 Château la Grolet

  France, Bordeaux, Côtes de Bourg

  Have you ever seen a dog dry-heave? When mine does it, in a house that is covered 90% in hardwood floors, she *always* does it on our best rugs. So why all the heaving dog imagery? Well, both times I put this wine in my mouth I nearly lost it on Roy's tablecloth. This was truly that insipid. The wine shows very faded color wih spicy dill, pickle juice and cinnamon on the unappealing nose. The palate is surprisingly sweet, almost too sweet, spicy, slathered in wood. It finishes out thin and gets a retch each time. No thanks.

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Next we moved to California (with an Aussie). At this point I know that I was personally struggling. All of the wines seemed to sweet, and I feared that we had simply bounced to one too many locales on the evening.

• 1989 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 87 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This would have been at home with the Bordeaux. The nose shows mint, leather and Brett that takes over with more time in the glass. The palate is fairly tart with red cassis, somewhat searing, not much love, some astringency but a nice core of sweetness. The finish is drying, tannic and somewhat punishing.

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• 1985 Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon Bin 707 85 Points

  Australia, South Australia

  The nose is ripe and grapey smelling with overripe plums. The palate is sweet and somewhat herbal with clear vegetal elements. A drying finish.

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• 1990 Dalla Valle Cabernet Sauvignon 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville

  The nose here is unreal, sappy and sweet with crushy raspberry and violet, surprisingly reminiscent of a Quilceda Creek. The palate continues with the sweetness, a nice core of cassis, yet it still somewhat monolithic and unformed. The finish show impressive structure that coat your front teeth. This one has a long way to go still and is a very nice bottle of wine.

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• 1990 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I have had this wine before and loved it, but on this night I struggled with it. I ended up not giving it a rating. The nose shows nice cassis with hints of brett, a good start. The palate however is cedary, spicy and just way too sweet, almost sickeningly so for me. The finish was young and enamel ripping, punishing. I think with a steak this would have been great, but on its own it was almost punishment, at least for my palate at that point in the evening.

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Well, at least you can count on the sweet wines to salvage your palate, and tonight we had three with two remarkably special treats!

• 1959 Château Guiraud 96 Points

  France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

  Well this was a freaking treat and a GREAT way to get back on track! Thank you so much Rod for bringing this impeccable bottle from the year my Dad graduated from college. The nose show caramel, creme brulee and gobs of botrytis with that faint vinyl smell I often get. The palate is rich and well resolved with maple syrup, orange creamsicle and stunning depth. Who needs actual dessert when you can drink it in pure liquid form? The best part was the nearly endless, beautiful finish. Had I not enjoyed a 1967 Château d'Yquem back in October, this wine would have been my clear benchmark for Sauternes. Awesome!

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• 1970 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage 92 Points

  Portugal, Douro, Porto

  Spirit, toffee, and spice-cake. Hmm, a little too spirity, but Roy felt that was from a bit too much decanting. It had a tough act to follow with the 1959 Guiraud, but it is an awfully nice Port.

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• NV Heitz Cellar Angelica

  USA, California

  A dessert blend of "Mission Grapes", this shows raisin and walnut (that was Rod's descriptor as I recall and I liked it) on the nose. The palate is almost like maple syrup and very reminiscent of that flavor profile with lots of caramel. The finish is searing and hot, less enjoyable.

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Thanks to Roy and everyone for a fun evening.