1961 Chateau Batailley: this wine is produced in Pauillac, Bordeaux from 136 acres of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot. The wine was remarkably fresh and youthful and sediment-free, with a brick-red ruby color and intense aromatics. This was a wine that was excellently balanced and well composed with notes of herbs, redcurrants, spice, kirsch, berry compote, and hints of vanilla. The chateau is a fifth growth by classification and Robert Parker rated the 1961 bottling 84 points, though I think the wine was substantially better.

1994 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa: Togni is one of those legendary names in California wines. Typically he does not release his wines until 10 years after they are bottled, although that has changed over the last few years. It is a ringer for high-end Bordeaux, which was my initial guess on a blind tasting. I think Parker rates the wine 94-97 points; I thought the wine was superb,  with notes of spice, mint and more black fruit than the ’61 Batailley I tasted right before.

In the panoply of Californian zinfandel producers, 4 are generally accorded ‘benchmark’ by aficionados: Ridge Vineyards, Rosenblum Cellars, Ravenswood, and Rafanelli. Rosenblum is perhaps most famous, if only by virtue of distribution, as they claim distribution in all 50 states and several other nations. Ravenswood also has attained widespread distribution, and Ridge is also well known and distributed on a smaller scale to most major markets. Rafanelli alone is a small producer, producing one highly desired bottling and nothing else that I am aware of that is distributed.

My experiences with all of these producers has been invariably positive. I think that a 2003 Rafanelli might have been my first experience with a really good zinfandel, though after that I quickly made my way through other well-known bottlings from Limerick Lane, Rombauer, Cline Cellars, etc, etc. My impression of Ravenswood particularly focuses on a recently consumed bottle of their 1992 single vineyard production zinfandel (which vineyard it is escapes my mind, though the wine was superb). In the Columbia market, Ridge probably dominates the higher-end consumption; they produce fewer wines, including one cabernet sauvignon based wine (Monte Bello) that a small but vocal group of aficionados claim is the greatest American wine.

But zinfandel producers of course, are not homogenous. Though it’s my impression that the majority of producers strive for richness and weight in their zinfandels, the grape can produce wines of great finesse and delicacy, though to tease out  those nuances requires substantial skill in both the vineyard and the winery. The reality of zinfandel is that it really is a sensitive, finicky grape, and to produce top quality fruit is difficult.

Rosenblum particularly has chosen to focus on their relationships with roughly 30 vineyard plots from various places around California, from Sonoma to Paso Robles; for people wishing to embark on the slow (and hangover-prone) journey through Californian zinfandel, their bottlings are a good place to start. Winemaker Kent Rosenblum is known for attention to detail and the patience to eschew automated manipulations of their single vineyard wines, favoring balance in his wines. Barrel regimens are usually a blend of oak from America, France, Hungary, Russia, and other places, though the intention with oak is to not leave dominant barrel flavors. In my experience Rosenblum wines have have managed to remain consistently good and reasonably priced (it helps that the winery does not have the heavy mortgage and debt burden that many newer wineries have).

We’ve obtained some 20 cases of the 2006 Rosenblum production; along with several single-vineyard zinfandels we  also have obtained some of their petite sirah and roussane (a white Rhone varietal that is known for its brisk, minerally quality and herbal flavors). If you’re interested in tasting these wines, we’re currently pouring one or two of the single vineyard 2006 zinfandels at the bar this weekend or you can call us at 573-442-2207 for more information about obtaining specific bottlings.

Using the IDEAS web tool, I restricted the selective tax rates on alcoholic beverages for Missouri and Kansas over time, and then exported this information to Excel to produce the following graphs:

Click graphs to enlarge.

Generally, residents of Missouri are taxed less on alcoholic beverages than residents of Kansas are taxed. Specifically, Missouri assesses lower tax rates on wine and beer, but has higher tax rate on spirits.

2008 Mt. Nebo Norton: This was presented as a mystery wine but the nose is classic Norton (shoeleather, earth, and brambles). The palate is slim and elegant, without noticeable tannin and a sweetness that holds vanillin and dark fruit.

George Duboeuf 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape: This 2007 Rhone is typical of the vintage: lush, silky, supple, with brambly strawberry and kirsch flavors. Pretty good.

1987 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: 23 years old and this wine retains freshness and delicacy.13% alcohol. The wine is delicious, with composed flavors of boysenberry, blackberry, and cassis and some vanillin.

1987 Dunn Vineyards Napa Valley Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon: I think of the 4 people drinking this wine, I alone preferred the single vineyard Dunn Howell Mountain production to the regular Napa bottling (above). It had a bit more ‘stuffing’ and weight than the Napa bottling. 13% alcohol.

Highly recommended for dog and wine lovers alike.

125 Months After Bottling

These bottles are all 1999 Clare Valley Semillon made by Kerri Thompson of Leasingham Estate. The bottles were part of an experiment conducted by the Australian Wine Research Institute and were sealed with various natural and synthetic cork closures, with the exclusion of the bottle sealed with a screwcap (far left).

Sensory evaluation confirms our visual intuition: the screw-cap sealed bottle retained its freshness and prevented oxidation far better than any other kind of closure. UK wine journalist Jamie Goode tasted the wine and reports on it here:

Most famously, Shirvington’s 2002 shiraz received incredible publicity after American wine critic Robert Parker scored it 99 points. In more recent vintages, Parker has scored the wines in the more modest 92-96 point range. I am not aware of any wine critic who has consistently rated these wines besides Parker, but my impressions have been on par with his tasting notes.

Over the past year or so I’ve tasted the 2004 and 2005 Shirvington cabernet sauvignon and the 2003 and 2004 Shirvington shiraz. While high in alcohol, these wines are well defined, and the alcoholic nature of the wines does not intrude upon the flavor elements. The wines are sweet and dense, and the fruit component so rich that often the oak treatment (and the vanillin and spice flavors one gets from oak) is overwhelmed. Over the last 6-4 years tannin has generally dropped out, leaving these wines with a texture that is silky and gorgeous. The grapes are all from Shirvington’s single vineyard sites that are high in red clay and limestone; despite their youth (I believe the first plantings were in 1995)

I will note that these bottles are wines best consumed with friends, in small portions. They are very alcoholic, and for those used to drinking wines that are no more than 14% alcohol, these wines with their extra 1%-1.5% of alcohol do make a difference over the course of even a few glasses. But they are tremendous, and drinking well now in their maturity.

If you are interested in what inventory we still have of these wines (which is not much) we do still have a small amount of 2003, 2004, and 2005 Shirvington shiraz and cabernet sauvignon. For specific pricing and delivery, you can email toptenwines@socket.net or call us at 573-442-2207.

In their leading research, Jones and colleagues found that radioactive carbon dioxide produced from atomic bomb tests in the atmosphere absorbed by grapes can be used to accurately determine wine vintages. The new technique is similar to radio-carbon dating, used for years to estimate the age of prehistoric objects. It works by comparing the amount of carbon-14 (C-14), a less common form of atmospheric carbon, to carbon-12 (C-12), which is more stable and abundant. The ratio of these two carbon forms, or isotopes, has remained constant in the atmosphere for thousands of years.

“Until the late 1940′s all carbon-14 in the Earth’s biosphere was produced by the interaction between cosmic rays and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere,” Jones says. “This changed in the late 1940′s up to 1963 when atmospheric atomic explosions significantly increased the amount of C-14 in the atmosphere. When the tests stopped in 1963 a clock was set ticking — that of the dilution of this “bomb-pulse” C-14 by CO2 formed by the burning of fossil fuels.”

He explains that traces of radioactive carbon are captured by the grape plants through the absorption of carbon dioxide and eventually transformed into alcohol and other carbon-based components of the wine. The “bomb-pulse” of the atmosphere is eventually absorbed into the wine.

“The year that the grapes were grown fixes the age or vintage of the wine,” Jones says.

“The carbon-14 isotope ratio of the wine alcohol can therefore be used to determine the vintage of a wine.”

The scientists used a highly-sensitive analytical device called an accelerator mass spectrometer to determine the C-14 levels in the alcohol components of 20 Australian red wines with vintages from 1958 to 1997 and then compared these measurements to the radioactivity levels of known atmospheric samples. They found that the method could reliably determine the vintage of wines to within the vintage year.

In addition to testing alcohol, measuring the age of other wine components, such as tartaric acid and various phenolic substances, can help improve the reliability of the technique for detecting fraud, Jones notes.