1970 Joseph Swan Vineyards "Gamay" Sonoma County

Community Tasting Notes (6) Avg Score: 96.3 points

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  9/2/2020 - La Flama Blanca Likes this wine: 100 Points

  Let me begin by saying the previous positive reviews are spot on. Most I couldn’t have said much better, so I will recycle some of the thoughts below as they have stayed true almost 10+ years later...This wine is now 50!!!!
  
  I’ve cried twice in my life. Once in 1990 when I thought Splinter died in the original TMNT, and then again when I pulled this unicorn from the cellar and saw the cork floating inside the bottle!
  
  I had stood the bottle up a little over a month ago because I noticed light signs of seepage...another FML! At least I knew the cork was still in tact not too long ago, so what to do?! Break that bottle OPEN!!!
  
  Out of frustration and a feeling of hopelessness, I passed the opening duties onto a buddy of mine. I’m certain those of you out there whom have gone through similar anxieties when opening up a wine, especially as rare and legendary as this, know the feeling. Dr. Latour puts his nose to the decanter and gives me the “wild eyes” and I know we’re in for a different kind of wine experience!
  
  You might ask, “Why the quotations around Gamay?” Well, it’s because the varietal is actually Valdiguié 🤯 a grape grown primarily in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of Southern France which was referred to as Napa Gamay back in the OG Cali days.
  
  It is considered by many to have been the greatest wine Joseph Swan ever made. The nose was perhaps one of the absolute most insane aromatic experiences I’ve had. The ink like color, aromatic intensity and vibrant fruit flavors are unbelievably youthful. At 13.6% this must have been picked fairly ripe.
  
  Straight up powerful and primal nose of wild blackberry kirsch, OG Cali Menthol, and wild game don’t even begin to describe the wicked perfume this expelled. The body of the wine is like Syrah / Shiraz but without the jammy viscosity. The palate bursts with exotic flavors of black raspberry, eucalyptus, animale and a touch of licorice. The smell and taste will live with me forever!
  
  If you have one, I will fly to you and contribute generously...Easy Top 5 Wine Experience for me. This is a WOW specimen!!!

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  10/11/2011 - BradKNYC wrote:

  Mostly California Wines from the '70s at John Gilman's. (John Gilman's.): Holy hell! Nobody expects the Swan Gamay! This is seriously good stuff that a few folks know about, but it's generally talked about in hushed tones. To be honest, it's not really Gamay, but a grape called Valdiguie. Yeah, go look that one up. Apparently, Valdiguie is permitted to be labelled Gamay Noir, was formerly permitted to be labelled Gamay and was known for a very long time as Napa Gamay. (Thank you Steve Edmunds for this info!) The nose was pure blackberry before a little eucalyptus snuck in. On the palate, it's a bit one note, but it's a helluva note. Blackberry kirsch that's just so sweet, powerful and lingering that it almost elicits giggles. Like the nose, it picks up a light eucalyptus note and there's some black licorice, but this really all about the young and vibrant fruit. Coarse and rustic in texture with still big tannins on the finish. Forty-one years old and it's still young. Just wow! Wine of the night in an evening full of nice wines. Low A.

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  8/18/2011 - gutt22 wrote:

  Brownish-red color. This is definitely on its last legs and past its prime. Composting leaves, wet earth, and not much else on the nose. In the mouth, some liveliness is left in the acidic structure, but there's little fruit and mostly earthy, complex notes. An interesting wine from a historical point of view, but its best life seems to have passed. C+

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  5/15/2006 - jamiekutch wrote:

  San Francisco MONSTER Offline - 31 Notes, Pictures & Review of the Evening: 13.6 Alc. Mouth coating. Long lingered out finish. Sticks to your cheeks. Beef, black fruit. Amazing depth and dark fruit note. One of the Wines of the Evening! Several thought this was a petite syrah and definitly not a Gamay.

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  5/1/2006 - PaulH wrote: 97 Points

  Old California Wines with Francois Audouze (Jack Falstaff Restaurant - San Francisco, California): Deep, purple/black color and so dense it looks like printer's ink. It has a vibrant nose of black fruit and meats. Sitting in the glass, it looks like primal wine. The palate is amazing, mouth-coating isn't exactly right.. more like exposed tissue coating! It tastes like raspberry jam, except that it is not sweet. It has depth and intensity like a Shiraz, but it doesn't taste stewed or overripe. The finish goes on forever. The label reports 13.6% alcohol, and sure enough it proclaims "GAMAY" in big black letters. This is a legendary wine and now I know why. A 1975 review suggested decanting for three hours before drinking. The secret to this wine appears to be that "Napa Gamay" of circa 1970 is actually, Valdiguié and it was picked fairly ripe. Swan only made one other "Gamay"—in 1971 and it was a pale imitation of the 1970, reportedly because the grapes were picked too soon. Most "Napa Gamay" has been pulled up, and the odds of anyone ever seeing a wine like this again is quite slim. I saved the empty bottle as a trophy. Wow.

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