Archive for August, 2009
Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from Europe!
August 9th, 2009 | 
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We LOVED Marques de Riscal Rioja back in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and we still have labels from several different vintages spanning three decades. I remember the ’73 and ’76 with particular fondness, but all were very good, with a good deal less obvious oak than they use these days. I have no recollection whatsoever of the other Riojas. Likewise, the wines from France and Italy whose labels are shown here don’t register any real “wows” from back then, but I have fond memories of several of the Germans, including those from Dr. Fisher, Schloss Schonborn and Dr. Thanisch.
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from California!-Page 2 of 2
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from California!-Page 1 of 2
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As has been previously reported, our favorite California winery back in the ’70s and early ’80s was Burgess Cellars. Burgess was to us then what Ridge is now, and they made a fairly wide variety of different wines before settling into a lineup the “usual suspects.” We DID occasionally enjoy Ridge back then as well, but for us, Burgess ruled.
We were very Zin-centric back in the ’70s and ’80, which should come as no surprise to those who’ve followed our ravings over the years. Besides Burgess, Fetzer, Kenwood and Clos du Val made particularly good Zins back then. I bought the 1972 Souverain Napa Petite Sirah on a whim, having never had that variety before, and it started a love affair that continues to this day. (This particular bottling wasn’t nearly as long lived as some from the likes of Ridge, Freemark Abbey and even Burgess, but for a year or two, it was downright beautiful.) Any Cabernet labels shown here were probably from bottles that were opened for us by friends and acquaintances. It’s not that we didn’t like them, we just didn’t buy them much. And yes, our good buddy (Long and Boring) TomHill confirms that the 1974 Havelock Gordon Napa Zinfandel “Paul Draper Selection” does indeed refer to Mr. Ridge himself, though the circumstances as to how his name came to be on this particular label are unclear.
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Hey Mabel, Wine Labels from Bordeaux!
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Bordeaux was actually affordable back in the late ’70s. If memory serves me well, the ’67 Lafite cost us something like $36 (OK, we DID get it at wholesale), and we were buying Beycheville and Gloria for around $12-13. Pontet-Canet and Lafon-Rochet were bargains at around $9 a bottle.
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