by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

1. Rhodes GWT: This was one very bizarre wine. Actually, I kinda liked it and thought it has its place in the wine world. It struck me as GWT left out on the vine well into the winter. It had a bit of that character you get in rotten apples that have fallen to the ground in the Fall and then have lain there under the snow until they're soft&soggy and then when you walk around in the yard in your bare feet in the Spring, the stuff squeezes up between your toes as you step on one. A very distinct smell & taste. It also had a bit of botrytis to it. So I would guess the grapes had seen a pretty extended slice of life afore harvest. I think it would go well with some sort of baked fruit dessert, like an apple pie or cobbler. The only problem with the wine is the very hot/alcoholic character it has on the palate. Interesting stuff.
2. Mayacamas Zinfandel: This was about the fourth LateHrvst Zinfandel that Mayacamas had produced I believe. The first ('68) was from Napa Valley Zinfandel grapes. The remaining ones were from Ed&Kay Baldinelli's vnyd up in the Shenandoah Valley, now owned by BillEaston. Old vine stuff. The wine was pretty shakey and on its last legs. What was amazing that it was ullaged way down onto the straight-side of the btl. Between a fourth and a third of the wine had leaked out around the cork. But there were no signs in the wine of oxidation or this great ullage. So much for the importance of high-fills in an old btl of wine!! I know...heresy!! The wine, upon opening & pouring, showed no signs of browning whatsoever. There was about a hlf cup left in the btl after decanting. It sttod opened on the counter overnight. The next morning the dregs had turned an ugly murky brown. Apt testimony to the rapidity of oxidation in a highly reduced state wine I guess??
3. Garretson Syrahs: These are Mat's bottom-end Syrahs. They don't act it. At $30/btl here in NM, they're quite fairly priced I think. At $21 on futures, they're a steal. I was the only one in my group smart enough to order them as futures (that should be read as..."That marketing guy Garretson has me right where he wants me"!!). Damn fine wine, though I'm not sure how long they'll age.
   
   
And then a few dessert wines to celebrate Gary&Charlotte's anniversary:


1. Emilio Bulfon Ucelut Venezia Giuli IGT (??%; www.VinoTerra.Net) NV: Med.gold color; rather musty/corked slight grapey/perfumed nose; fairly sweet grapey/earthy quite musty/corked flavor; too corked to tell much about this wine. $22.00/??
2. Marolo Liquer made w/ Grappa & Camomile (35%; Grappa from Nebbiolo grapes; Camomile flowers steeped in grappa for 11 months) Paola Marola/Mussotto d'Alba NV: Med.light gold color; very exotic/fragrant/alcoholic/Cognac very perfumed/FrenchWhoreHouse amazing nose; rather sweet/alcoholic very exotic/perfumed/aromatic/Camomile/FWH flavor w/ a finish that goes on&on.  $31.00/hlf
3. Ch. Reynella McLaren Vale Old Cave FineOld Tawney Port (20%; average age: 12 yrs) NV: Light red slightly brown color; very strong porty/Madeira intense vanilla/oak quite fumey/alcoholic nose; rather sweet very alcoholic/porty some pungent/nutty/licorice rather vanilla/oaked flavor; long hot/fumey/alcoholic/ porty interesting nutty/licorice/coffee complex finish; pretty fumey/alcoholic but interesting Port; fairly priced at $14.50/500 ml.
   

And the blathering don't stop here:

1. Ucelut: What a heart-breaker this btl was...friggin' corks!! This is one of the indigenous varieties Bulfon has brought back from near-extinction. My first Ucelut experience....down the tubes. This was a very strange btl. No listing of alc content anywhere on the btl. No indication of the btl size anywhere, though it appeared to be a 500ml, but I couldn't tell for sure. My e-mails to the importer (VinoTerra) have not been responded to to clarify these questions.  I was really looking forward to trying this wine...friggin'corks!!
2. MaroloGrappa: Not a big fan of Grappa as I find the burn going down and the fumes in the nose a bit hard to take. Maybe as a Liquer is the highest calling for Grappa. I had this Liquer up at Frasca in Boulder and was blown away by it. This btl seemed not to be as intensely Camomile as I recall, but still pretty amazing stuff. Priced at $64/hlf in one store and $31/hlf in the other.

TomHill