The Babcock Vineyards Grand Cuvee Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 1990
was properly stored since shortly after release. This was a single
bottle that I misplaced and found just recently. I expected it to be
well over the peak.

The fill was still high in the neck and the cork was sound. The color
was still light yellow. The bouquet was clean and complex without a
trace of oxidation. This is not a fruit bomb as are some California
Chardonnays that often do not last well. It has mixed citrus notes of
lemon and grapefruit, a bit of beeswax, and a hint of melon. There is
plenty of acidity, but it is now smooth. This wine was a bit harsh when
young. There is a bit of slate character. It is quite complex and well
balanced. There was not a lot of oak as one often finds in fruit bombs
after just a few years. Although of course different, this wine has
aged just about like a top Corton Charlemagne, which is quite rare in
California. Au Bon Climat Reserve Chardonnays from Santa Barbara and
surrounding areas also often can age well over 10 years. I find the
older ABC wines to be of a fuller style than the mentioned Babcock. I
have now tasted many wines from the Santa Barbara that prove that
California Chardonnay can develop well over 10 years when well made.

cwdjrxyz wrote:
> The Babcock Vineyards Grand Cuvee Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 1990
> was properly stored since shortly after release. This was a single
> bottle that I misplaced and found just recently. I expected it to be
> well over the peak.
<SNIP interesting notes>

How interesting to see these notes from you. With all the aged TBAs and
First Growths that you post about, I hadn't realized that you also
sampled more humble offerings from CA. I haven't had any Babcock
Chardonnays that I know of, but if indeed they are on a par with ABC's,
I will have to try one. Of course, there's always the question of
whether the wine they make today is at all comparable to what they were
making in 1990.

Thanks for the notes,
Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote:
> cwdjrxyz wrote:
> > The Babcock Vineyards Grand Cuvee Santa Barbara County Chardonnay 1990
> > was properly stored since shortly after release. This was a single
> > bottle that I misplaced and found just recently. I expected it to be
> > well over the peak.
> <SNIP interesting notes>
>
> How interesting to see these notes from you. With all the aged TBAs and
> First Growths that you post about, I hadn't realized that you also
> sampled more humble offerings from CA. I haven't had any Babcock
> Chardonnays that I know of, but if indeed they are on a par with ABC's,
> I will have to try one. Of course, there's always the question of
> whether the wine they make today is at all comparable to what they were
> making in 1990.

I do not know anything about recent Babcock Chardonnay, so don't blame
me if you do not like it! I have had other Chardonnay from Babcock made
in the 90s. The Grand Cuvee was a reserve wine, and I found that both
ABC and Babcock reserves often were much better and lasted much longer
than their regular wines. In the 90s both ABC and Babcock were quite
small, and likely had to put out some not-too-special regular wine to
make money, unlike some movie stars and other rich people who started
making wine in the 70s and 80s. I would say, that in the early 90s, ABC
tended to be a bit fuller and more extracted than Babcock for both
regular and reserve bottle comparisons. ABC likely used more oak than
Babcock, but it did not overpower the wine with age. In the early 90s,
I obtained some of my ABC and Babcock wines from the Pacific Wine
Company in San Francisco and had it shipped to me. This company has
been gone for many years. The Brown Derby in Missouri often had ABC and
Babcock wines in the early 90s. Both wines could be rather difficult to
find then because of the small production and lack of good distribution
to much of the country. Some of the ABC wines gained somewhat of a cult
status, which made them even more difficult to find.