On 07/03/2012 06:04 AM, Mark Lipton wrote:
> Emery Davis wrote:
>> A couple of bin ends that fell through the cracks and deep into the
>> oubliette:
>>
>> '91 Morgon (Jacques Trichard). No expectations. But actually a big
>> Morgon nose, black fruit, stone, sous-bois. Pleasant in the mouth like
>> old pinot (though all gamay I'm sure) with a lively acidity, medium
>> long. All in all a very enjoyable quaff, and even stood up unexpectedly
>> to spicy peanut vegetables on the side of the roast chicken. I think
>> good cellar conditions in Normandie saved this wine, as far as I can
>> remember it has never traveled (like most of our wine).
>>
>> '85 Cornas (Delas Freres). Some expectations; Cornas can certainly keep
>> this long but this is not the highest example of the art. Tired
>> mushroomy nose didn't promise much. In the mouth muted bramble and tar
>> with a little leather and smoke. Recognizably old syrah but I wouldn't
>> ever have guessed Cornas blind. Over the hill, we sent it to the long
>> sleep over a non-demanding dinner of lentils with pancetta and spring
>> onions, which it accompanied with all the panache it could muster.
>
> Yeah, Delas in the '80s wasn't the most exciting of producers. It'd be
> interesting to know who they got their grapes from, as it might be a
> vintner of some repute today.
>

True enough. In those days there were far fewer independent winemakers
in Cornas; virtually everyone either sold the grapes or brought them to
the Coop. Many of the plots there are very small, I think the total AOC
(or is it AOP now) surface is only 111 ha.