I could not find this single bottle of Mantanzas Creek Winery Sonoma
County Sauvignon Blanc 1991 for many years, but it finally surfaced. I
did not expect it to be very good and had another wine ready to open,
but it was not needed. The wine has now softened and has developed a
sort of waxy character that a few Sauvignon Blancs develop with age.
There was no oxidation, which can be very nasty tasting to me in
Sauvignon Blanc from just about anywhere. This wine has aged somewhat
like one of the few better white Bordeauxs that will age well. It is
not an especially fine wine, but it still is quite drinkable.

I likely will be reporting on some fairly inexpensive, unusual (for
me) wines in the next few months - all of which I have never had. They
are supposed to arrive tomorrow. They include a Sula Chenin Blanc from
India, a Rkatsateli from Dr. Frank in New York, a red from Greece, and
a red from Sardenia. Austrian wines will be a Zierfandler, a Zweigelt,
and a Kremser GV. The real freak of the lot is a half-bottle of Josef
Hofer Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur of the Alps.

cwdjrxyz wrote:
> I could not find this single bottle of Mantanzas Creek Winery Sonoma
> County Sauvignon Blanc 1991 for many years, but it finally surfaced. I
> did not expect it to be very good and had another wine ready to open,
> but it was not needed. The wine has now softened and has developed a
> sort of waxy character that a few Sauvignon Blancs develop with age.
> There was no oxidation, which can be very nasty tasting to me in
> Sauvignon Blanc from just about anywhere. This wine has aged somewhat
> like one of the few better white Bordeauxs that will age well. It is
> not an especially fine wine, but it still is quite drinkable.
>
> I likely will be reporting on some fairly inexpensive, unusual (for
> me) wines in the next few months - all of which I have never had. They
> are supposed to arrive tomorrow. They include a Sula Chenin Blanc from
> India, a Rkatsateli from Dr. Frank in New York, a red from Greece, and
> a red from Sardenia. Austrian wines will be a Zierfandler, a Zweigelt,
> and a Kremser GV. The real freak of the lot is a half-bottle of Josef
> Hofer Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur of the Alps.

It sounds like an interesting collection of wines (and of course that
Pine Liqueur). We drank quite a few of those Matanzas Creek Sauvignon
Blancs back in the '80s, when Merry Edwards was making their wine (their
Merlot was also quite decent). I know what you mean about the oxidized
character of aged SB: the "iodine" or seaweed notes that often creep in
to older SB I find somewhat interesting in small quanitities, but to
Jean they are anathema. Merry Edwards is still making interesting SB,
now under her own name at her eponymous winery. I still don't think
that I'd age them, but they are tasty enough now.

Mark Lipton

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