Marietta Old Vine Red Lot 28

andreasx;
Board-O is a major proponent of this wine, along w/the Marietta Angeli Cuvee. I had this back in Feb. at our Wine Clubs' Valentines' Day Formal...IMHO this wine is the King of QPR. You should taste this w/a chocolate mousse cake, I'm tellin' ya!!!

[ 06-20-2002, 09:08 PM: Message edited by: kybo ]

Kybo,

I've had a 97 Angeli Cuvee recently as well. There's certainly a resemblance between the two wines. Sort of like the Lot 28 is the Angeli's little brother. And I sure will give it a try with some chocolate mousse cake if I can come up with a good recipe. Thanksfor the suggestion.

AX

andy, I'm glad you liked it. Isn't it amazing what Marietta can produce for about eight bucks a bottle? I haven't had a wine that good ever from anplace in North America, other than CA, OR, or WA at any price.

As for the '97 Angeli Cuvee. At the June 15th dinner, that's what I brought for my grab bag wine, which mletson picked. I looke forward to his unbiased review.

Down to my last bottle of the Lot#28, what an enjoyable wine for the price. I've not tried the Lot #29 in the market today - any comments?

I didn't even know the 29 was released yet. Please post tasting notes if you get any. I use Cotes-du_rhone (approximately the same price) for cooking. I can't get myself to use the OVR. It's too good.

Great discussion here! I'm a newbie, but am wondering...is this the same as the Marietta late harvest Zin? I've had that....about $12 for a 375 and it is also very nice! The only problem I've had is I can't find Marietta anywhere? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

DR. DRAB

dr.d, it's not the same wine. By the way, I didn't know Marietta made a late harvest Zin and I've never seen a Marietta 375.

Yup!

It's official....I've had the late harvest, and it's just like you describe the lot 28.....dark, rich, jammy, and WONDERFUL! And it was in a 375. A wine driniking friend of mine got it in Healdsburg CA. and shared it with me. I was blown away at how wonderful it was, and we searched all over for more in San Francisco, but to no avail In fact, I have yet to see any Marietta in any of the wine stores I frequent! Maybe I'm not looking in the right places....I probably am stuck in the Bordeaux isle too often!

Marietta's wines are usually hard to find. their Zinfandel, Cabernet, OVR, Syrah, and Angeli Cuvee are wonderful wines, especially for their relatively low prices.

Agree with Board-O. Don't miss the '99 zin, cab & syrah - especially the syrah. It's reminiscent of the '97 syrah, but with more structure - don't open until 2003-2004.

To add to the confusion, the Seattle-area distributor for Marietta does not list a late-harvest Zin, but does show a 375ml "Port Lot #1", which would retail for $12 to $13.

Can somebody tell me please, what the numbers (28...) mean? I understand that this is a NV wine. I could grab the #27. Any advice? If it's as good as the 28 is praised I'll buy!

phyl, grab a bottle of the 27 and try it. We had one a few months ago and it was its usual fine self. The numbers refer to succeeding batches of wine. The 29 is the next bottling after the 28.

Thanks, Board-O, I'm already off to the shop... I love jam!

I recently had a bottle of the Lot 28. I did not decant. I found the wine to be cloyingly sweet, like drinking cough syrup. I let it sit for an hour in the glass with no improvement. I finally poured the bottle down the drain. Is there any phenomenon which would explain this? My experience was very different from everyone else on this board. I previously had the Lot 27 and enjoyed it.

The OV Red Lot 29 was released in April. We thought it was not as intense as the 28,but then again the wine is just a pup. It may be that it had not settled from the bottling. Have 2 cases and think all it needs is some time.

Mr. Q, I don't understand the cloyingly sweet comment. Are you sure you didn't have a bottle of the Port style wine? The 28 does have a hint of sweetness in its copious fruit, but not even remotely close to cloying.

This was the Lot 28, Board-O. The taste was very unexpected, given my prior positive experience with 27. It tasted like maraschino cherries soaked in corn syrup. It was so out of whack I'm assuming that the bottle was bad but I've never had this type of flavor with a bad bottle before. It didn't taste corked.

The bottles of 28 we had were nothing like that.

I plan to buy another bottle from a different retailer and try again.

I agree with josephjr -- The Lot #29 is smoother and has less fleshiness than the 28.... Seems like there is more Zin, less Petite Sirah in the blend. Still a nice wine, and a great value for everyday drinking.

Board-O, how can I be unbiased when I received the wine from you?

Hey, it's a matter of honor. If you think it's swill, you have to say so.

Count on it. Soon.

Board-O, I just saw where you said the Marietta Cab is good. Are you talking about the regular bottling? I can get this in the grocery store for about $16--is this worth it? How about their regular zin bottling? Let me know your thoughts.

I like everything Marietta makes. As far as I know, they only make a regular Cabernet bottling. I still have the 1990, 1991, and 1992 Cabs. According to Parker, they're just reaching their prime. The regular Zin is also a great buy.

Thanks. I'll give both a try.

A lot of posts about a bottle of wine that sells for under $10. One of the very best buys in the world of wine. Complete sentences? Nah.