1990s Guess the Red Blindtasting

Introductory comments by tasting organizer Ross Bott:
In our "Guess The Red" format, we have eight wines each from a different varietal, but all from the same vintage. In addition to ranking the wines, we try to guess what the varietal is for each. For those of you who have not been to one of these, these tastings tend to be a lot of fun, and excellent practice for learning to distinguish the difference between the different varietals. Tonight we'll try six wines from the 1990 vintage, four from California, one from Italy and one from Spain. All wines are 100% varietal.

The 1990 vintage in California was a long, relatively cool one. Hang time for the grapes was higher than normal, which produced extracted wines that showed as structured and slightly stern when young. Wine Spectator describes the vintage as : "Small crop but many deeply concentrated wines that have aged well", and this is certain be my recent experience with wines from the vintage -- many are developing very nicely and just reaching their peak now. In Europe, 1990 was a great vintage, with a warm "California-like" summer and a dry autumn which produced ripe, deep wines of great promise. Both Tuscany and Piedmont in Italy and the Ribera del Duero in Spain all had great vintages.

Here's the lineup, with some tasting notes:

MERLOT: 1990 Matanzas Creek, Sonoma Valley (13%): "... knockout wine ... should offer up to a decade's worth of hedonistic drinking. .... luscious palate, and a wonderfully rich, toffee, coffee, and berry fruit flavors married brilliantly with sweet, toasty new oak." (93/100, Robert Parker)

CABERNET SAUVIGNON: 1990 Hambrecht "Bradford Mountain", Dry Creek Valley (13.5%): "... a nice core of currant and plum fruit, shaded by hints of spice and smoke. A solid wine" (Wine Spectator) This was the first Cabernet produced by Hambrecht Winery, founded by Bill Hambrecht of Hambrecht & Quist high-tech banking fame, who funded the winery and brought on Bill Peterson. The winery was renamed Peterson Winery a few years later. Ridge used the Bradford Mountain Vineyard for a series of very fine Merlots during the mid-1980's.

SANGIOVESE: 1990 Frescobaldi "Castello di Nipozzano - Riserva", Chianti Rufina (12.5%): "A solid. fruity, forthright red with ample plum and berry flavors and firm tannins." (Wine Spectator)

TEMPRANILLO: 1990 Pesquera "Tinto", Ribera del Duero (13%): "Bright and flavorful, with a solid core of black cherry and currant flavors, shaded with a toasty, anise edge. A chewy wine, concentrated and almost jammy" (89/100, Wine Spectator)

PETITE SIRAH: 1990 Rosenblum "Palisades Vineyard", Napa Valley (13.5%): No reviews available for this tiny bottling. The Palisides microclimate is at the northern end of Napa Valley where the two mountain ridges forming the vineyard narrow to the tip of an upside down V. The narrowness of the valley seems to trap the summer heat, and the area is ideally suited to big Petite Sirahs and Syrahs.

SYRAH: 1990 Sean Thackrey "Orion", Napa Valley (13.1%): "Sean Thackrey's limited production gems are among the most original expressions of winemaking in California. Thackrey hit the jackpot with the 1990 Orion, another impressively-endowed wine with a gorgeous fragrance of smoke, blackberries, toast, minerals, and pepper. Rich, with layers of fruit, this multi-dimensional wine reveals gobs of tannin that are nearly concealed by the wine's superb extraction. Full-bodied and impressive, this great Syrah should age effortlessly for 12-15 or more years." (92/100, Robert Parker)

• 1990 Bodegas Alejandro Fernández Ribera del Duero Tinto Pesquera 89 Points

  Spain, Castilla y León, Ribera del Duero

  Group's #1 (my #3) – 21 pts; 0 firsts, 4 seconds, 3 thirds, 0 last places – dark red color; black fruit, ripe plum and cherry nose, that changes to a savory, tart black fruit nose; tangy, tart black fruit and graphite palate with depth; medium-plus finish

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• 1990 Matanzas Creek Winery Merlot Sonoma Valley 92 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley

  Group's #2 (my #1) – 22 pts.; 4, 1, 0, 1 – medium garnet red color with pale meniscus; sweaty, pepperoncini and sage nose, that changes over 15 to 20 minutes to a nice roasted meat nose; big, tasty, tart black fruit, pepper, sage and cherry palate; medium finish

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• 1990 Sean Thackrey Syrah Orion 82 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #3 (my #4) – 27 pts.; 3, 0, 0, 1 – dark ruby red color; floral, lavender, clove and graphite nose; tight, disjointed, sage and pepper palate with dry, puckery, medium finish

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• 1990 Rosenblum Cellars Petite Sirah Palisades Vineyard 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #4 (my #2) – 30 pts.; 1, 1, 2, 2 – somewhat opaque dark cherry red color; focused roasted meat, beef jerky and smoke nose; peppery, roasted meat and white pepper palate; medium-plus finish

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• 1990 Hambrecht Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Bradford Mountain 78 Points

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley

  Group's #5 (my #5) – 31 pts.; 0, 1, 2, 0 – dark red violet color; puckery, sweet leather, tart cassis and pepper nose; off-putting, tart and vegetal cassis palate; short-medium finish

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• 1990 Marchesi de' Frescobaldi Chianti Rùfina Castello di Nipozzano Montesodi Flawed

  Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Rùfina

  Group's #6 (my #6) – 37 pts.; 0, 1, 1, 4 – medium brick red color; TCA, cassis and leather nose; TCA, tight, tart red fruit and cranberry palate; short finish

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