Bucket List Wines: California

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Joseph Swan Gamay

If you thought Petite Sirah was an obscure and weird choice, how about a Gamay from 1970!

Yes it’s true, one of my personal bucket list wines is the 1970 Joseph Swan Gamay. Several of my friends have had it and have marveled about it, leaving me futilely searching for a bottle of wine that nearly everybody thought should have been consumed by its second birthday.

Talk about a holy grail of wine. This isn’t actually Gamay but Valdiguie, which was misidentified as Gamay for decades in California but produces a wine that is a heck of a lot more similar to Ridge’s Petite Sirah than any Gamay I’ve ever tried.

The hunt is on, but this is one box that might never get checked. Not only would I have to find a bottle of this elusive magic juice, but it would also need to have seen great storage over the past four decades. Still, the hunt continues. I can’t even put a price on a bottle should I ever find one, though I expect that something in the $100 range will be in the ball park.

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tomglip

502946 25

MY BUCKET LIST - CHOSEN FROM WINES I HAVE HAD BUT WOULD LOVE TO HAVE AGAIN, IF THE WINE AND I WERE IN PERFECT CONDITION:

1970 BV GEORGES DE LaTOUR RESERVE CABERNET
1982 OR 1991 BERINGER RESERVE CABERNET
1985 INGLENOOK REUNION
LONG VINEYARDS LATE HARVEST RIESLING (any vintage from the 90s)
1992 SUMMIT LAKE EMILY KESTREL CABERNET SAUVIGNON
1990 RUBICON
1983 DUNN HOWELL MOUNTAIN CABERNET SAUVIGNON
1978 RIDGE YORK CREEK PETITE SIRAH
1987 BERINGER BANCROFT RANCH MERLOT
1978 OR 1985 INGLENOOK CHARBONO

Jul 12, 2012 at 4:47 PM
pinot N

1035167 18

Y piensan dejar fuera de la lista a Robert Mondavi y su famoso fume Blanc ?

Jul 12, 2012 at 9:27 PM
Howie-
Schwartz

1119421 33

Jordan Cab 78
Marcaisson any year
Ch. Neuf d'Pape Beaucastel any year
Turley Zinf when she made it. Old vines.
Mt. Veeder Cab 89
Silver Oak 89 99 2001

Jul 14, 2012 at 1:13 PM
homestar

512161 83

Have you done a piece on Petite Sirah? My apologies if I missed it, but given your comments it would seem odd if you haven't. I have had several I enjoy a great deal, but they tend to be huge wines and probably overpowering for many people and many occasions. Would love to read about your wider tastings from California.

Jul 15, 2012 at 7:44 AM
DOCTOR T

152537 36

I AGREE I HAD THE 1978 AT BURNS STEAK HOUSE BACK IN AROUND 1999. IT WAS FABULOUS.

Jul 16, 2012 at 2:41 PM
gmatt01

298451 1

1974 Heitz Martha's Vineyard

Jul 18, 2012 at 11:58 PM
Sherrie-
Perkovich

1120360 41

A MUST try Petite Sirah in California comes from Concannon Vineyard...they have a whole flight.. after all, they were the first to produce it 50+ years ago! Be sure to try Captain Joe's PS. Cheers.

Jul 19, 2012 at 3:16 PM

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1. Ridge Petite Sirah Spring Mountain District York Creek (1975)	List It
2. Stony Hill Napa Valley Chardonnay (1978)	List It
3. Inglenook Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (1978)	List It
4. Beaulieu Vineyard Special Burgundy (1968)	List It

Bucket List Wines: California

Sometimes the best wines are the hardest to find