Here is the fourth installment in this series. Last Sunday we had a chicken dinner at my Father-in-Laws and it turned out to be a good day for the ongoing experiment with "over the hill" wine. Anyone who missed the prior experiments with Beaujolais, Sauvignon Blanc and Gerwurztraminer can search the TN section of this board with the keyword "experiment" to find them. These experiments involve comparing the dozen or so less than ageworthy wines recently found in my Father-in-Laws basement with comparable newer bottlings. 4 persons were present to taste the wines on Sunday.

The wines tasted were:
1991 Beaulieu Vineyard Beautour Chardonnay
1999 Columbia Crest Grand Estate Chardonnay

The cork of the 1991 was stuck and I had to use a two prong extractor to remove it. It did come out intact though. Of all the wines compared, these were the most similar in color. Both wines were clear. The 1991 was only a slightly darker yellow. The aroma of the 1991 was more sherrylike acording to everyone (a trait which appears to be common in the older whites in these experiments).

The 1999 was more focused. Although the 1991 was still quite drinkable according to everyone. 2 of the 4 tasters actually preferred the 1991 commenting that it had more character. The 1991 still had good fruit although it was leaner and in my opinion not as rich. The main difference was that the oak in the 1991 had faded considerably. Both wines had been aged in oak. However, if you are not a fan of oak this would not be a bad thing. Finishes on both were similar.

VM

I'm surprised by this one. I wouldn't think a 91 CA chard would have anything left to offer. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't the Beatour series the predecessor to the BV coastal? I would have expected it to be barely passable as wine.

I really enjoy reading about these Experiments. Fascinating stuff.

What's #5 going to be?

R3- I believe you are correct about the Beautour being a low end Chard. When we found the wines in the basement they had all been stored on their sides and the temp. stuck around 60 degrees or so in the basement which helped. But I have been surprised myself by the results.

Rothko- Several possibilities for the next one. There are two 10 year old bottles of...gulp...white zinfindal down there. More likely though is a 1969 Spanish red from Duque du Visue which would be compared against a Rioja. The Duque is HEAVILY sedimented. There is also a 1975 Brunello.

VM

Dang, I didn't think they were making white zinfandel a decade ago.

Ten year old white zin....yummmy. Reminds me of the dinner party we had in December that I served Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chard and Hess Collection Cab for 12 people. While drinking some wine before dinner I was laughing with some of the folks about white zin. I went into the kitchen shortly thereafter to find out that one of the guests I was laughing with brought a NICE 1.5 bottle of white zin as a "gift". Talk about embarassing. I learned two lessons. 1. Never joke about wine unless you are among fellow wine snobs, and 2. Don't invite them next year.

Seriously, I have several bottles of 94 Hanzell Chard that I've been assured should age very well. Anyone have experience with this wine. As I have similar amounts of the 95 and 96, I am very interested. Would like to drink them before they become "sherry" like.

See my recent TN fo the '96 BV Reserve Card. Carneros. Not as old as those discussed, based upon tasting it has at least 3-4 more ahead of it, if not more.

Ciao

Where does a guy named Redredred get off commenting on chardonnay!?

As the record will show, I love CC Estate Series chards...so if it compares favourably, where can I get some of this 1991 BV juice?

Bman,

Now wait a minute. Don't get me in trouble. I never said it compared favorably. The farthest I was willing to go was to say it was still drinkable, had good fruit but was leaner, less rich and had lost its oak nuances. My 81 year old Father-in-Law preferred it but he has a soft spot for anything which is closer to his own age. It was not of the same quality as the Columbia Crest in my opinion.

VM

VM, not to provoke a family feud, but your initial post said 2 of 4 preferred the 1991. Of course I trust the views of a fellow clicker over his 81 year old father-in-law, especially one who has over 500 posts (no Board-O, of course, but pretty darn good!). Speaking of which, and not to shanghai your thread, but don't you think the number of posts is a better indication of devotion to the cause, at least, than stars? In my case my whatever number of posts merely reflects a desire to dominate the conversation, but in most cases I think true forum street cred should flow more from posts than stars. I feel a new thread coming on......

Taskman, drank a 93 Hanzel 3mos. ago. I just had to try it, as I purchased the bottle for $17. I was very happy to drink it alone and not share with anyone. Wished the store had some more though, probally had a few more years on it. This wine compared well with the better French offerings.

I've had several Hanzell Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs dating back to 1974. I'd drink the Chardonnays young, as I would all Chardonays.

Bman,

To answer your question, In my opinion the best measure of "devotion to the cause" is not the # of stars or # of posts. It is your member #. The lower the # the more prestigious. Now what was my # again.

VM

board-o, i remember once i was talking about wine$
with elio altare, he mentioned, his best white-
wine of his life were :
montrachet from romanee conti 1904 !!!

i newer had one

tsunami, not only have I never had a DRC Montrachet- I never will. What are they now, $400 or so at release? That's obscene.

VM: I know where that leaves me! But some of us gave up on the forums under the odl system, and only discovered this new improved version later.

P.S. He's almost there..........!!!!!!!

my vote is for the member member #...

can't wait for the white zin tasting...what an experience!!

Panda,

I thought the member # post might get a reply from you. I believe you have the lowest #. I have never seen anything from members 1-5.

VM

PandA, where have you been!? I thought I was suddenly the only Ottawan (is that what we are called?) left in the forums. There was someone else a while ago but I forget his/her name.

Glad to see you survived 9am Saturday at the Rideau St. store, or did you go elsewhere for your discounted bottles? I found what I was looking for at the Glebe store, but still could not resist hitting Rideau Street an hour after it opened. It was still a zoo, but I managed to get some nice stuff.

An update in anticipation of experiment #5.

VM

Bumped in anticipation of Experiment #7.

VM