The wine was a deep purple with no hint of browning, with a rich nose of cedar and black fruits. On the palate, this wine belies its age. I would guess it to be less than 10 years old from the ample fruit and tannins, which are close to perfectly balanced. Flavors of berries and tea with a hint of chocolate meld beautifully. This is a wine near its peak which will likely improve a bit more. 93 points.

Just one more sip.

Waaaahhhhh!!!! I want Board-O's cellar!!!

There are plenty of people who want Board-O's cellar but they never will because they keep drinking all their wines too young.

My question: What did Board-o drink when his wines were young?

(Now THAT leaves an opening.)

Board-o, have your drinking and buying patterns (in relation to wine age) changed since you started collecting? I just started a couple of years back and am trying to add older vintages to drink now, while still buying young for the cellar. It sure is expensive though. Someday, perhaps, I'll be able to just buy new vintages and live (drink) off of my cellar.

Make Cab, not War.

Probably a nice bottle of zinfandel.

When I started collecting, I spent an inordinate amount of my income on wine, most notably red Bordeaux and Burgundy, so that I might lay down wines for aging. I didn't buy a lot of older wines, but when I found some 1945's, 1947's, 1949's, 1952's, 1955's, 1959's, 1961's, 1966's, and 1970's, I bought them if the price was right. In 1978, the price was often right. The wines I drank were these older vintages. Actually, I was fortunate to cut my wine teeth these older wines and some of the younger ones also. The only Zinfandel I was aware of in 1978 was a non-vintage Almaden.

Just one more sip.

my father in law opened a 1980 bv last week with me, and it was on it's way down. still enjoyable altho. i think it wasn't stored 100% correctly, but not horrible either.

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Just because you are a character does not mean that you have character.

I finished my last 1980 about a year ago -- it was sliding south -- still tasty but not what it used to be.

A month ago I drank my only 1985 -- which was approaching peak but not there yet. A magnificent bottle though. Reminded me of the first 1970 GDL I ever tasted.

wahoo. I have an 80 and an 82, I guess I'll drink the 80 and wait a little on the 82.

Fill into neck. Perfect foil and cork. Clear deep blood-garnet hue with a colorless meniscus. Promising bouquet of forest floor, creme de cassis, saddle leather, and a whiff of cardamom. Not much fruit on the palate though. Full-bodied, refined, nicely structured, Old World style, but with a slight medicinal bitterness that would not go away. 88 points.

Seems like the perfect thread, with the perfect participants to ask this question:

Any expectation that the same bottle, from say the last ten years, might be expected to age like this, or has the style changed towards the "drink young" category?

Based on what I've read, the wine was never the same after the winery was sold in 1986 (or was it 1987?). I bought every vintage of this wine from 1970 to 1986 and none since. Almost every vintage of this wine I've ever tasted seemed ready to drink when young, yet continued to improve for decades.

I'll be darned. 24 hours after opening, this wine has improved noticeably. The bitterness is gone, and the wine has become rounder, more supple, with more red fruit coming out of hiding, and even some caramel and roasted cashews. I did not decant this wine when I tasted it yesterday, thinking that breathing in the glass would suffice. I will decant my next bottle of this wine for at least 45 minutes before tasting. 90 points.

Board-O, you may be missing some truly excellent wines by skipping BV after 1986. The 1997 consistently scores in the mid 90's on Cellartracker. I haven't opened one yet, but won't be able to resist much longer. I have also heard good things about the 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, and 1996.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Javachip,

Javachip,

Board-O has a point about the sale of the company. The same can be said about Inglenook after they were sold in 1964 to United Vintners.

But, great vineyards are still great vineyards. I was fortunate to acquire 2 bottles of the 1968 Inglenook Cabernet Cask in 1983. Great vineyard + Great year won. The bottles were awesome.

The only BV Georges de Latour I ever purchased were 3 bottles of the 1994. Two were very good, the third was one of the most beautifully balanced and best cabs I ever tasted.

I wonder what Gallo will do with the Louis Martini assets? Their Special Selection cabs years ago were pretty good.

quote:

Originally posted by Javachip:Old World style

Time to put that term to rest. In the context of '82 wines, it doesn't mean anything. For a time, during the "revolution", it may have made sense. But in 2009, geography doesn't dictate style. There are still classically styled wines made here in CA, and the rest of the new world, and there's plenty of over-ripe crap being made all over Europe.

I wish I had some older Gdl. 1997 is my oldest vintage and I think it's drinking well now yet the tannins and acidity are starting to fade. I picked up some 05 for $30 wholesale at work.

That may be the vintage.

I have none from the early 80s in my cellar. Long gone but have had a few w/in the past year. I too wish I had more. They become really beautiful with time and I didn't have the wisdom to know I should be collecting them back in the day.

I may be entirely wrong, but the 94 for example, isn't really fading away and maybe some of the newer ones will end up aging well too. I wish there were more wines like that in Napa.

Nice note.

quote:

Originally posted by yhn:

quote:

Originally posted by Javachip:Old World style

Time to put that term to rest. In the context of '82 wines, it doesn't mean anything. For a time, during the "revolution", it may have made sense. But in 2009, geography doesn't dictate style. There are still classically styled wines made here in CA, and the rest of the new world, and there's plenty of over-ripe crap being made all over Europe.

When would you say that the "revolution" occurred?

But all right, I'll start saying "classical" vs. "over-ripe crap" instead of "Old World" vs. "New World."

Now, precisely what does "classical" mean?