Old Favorites

It's annoying to read about some one else's favorites that are no longer on the market. Except of course if they are your own old favorites, then it's perfectly reasonable to write about them. So off we go...

The first bunch are all Columbia Crest. While it may seem like I'm in completely love with their wines, I'm not. I'm just mostly in love with many of their wines; largely because they are very good and they are super inexpensive and readily available. Note there are two lines of wines: Two Vines ($5-6 TJ) - their lowest priced bottlings which rarely have the refinement of the Grand Estates ($7-9 TJ,CC,WC,...). The TV are typically simpler with more immediately accessible fruit - in the vein of a table wine. The Two Vines is often released a year earlier. E.g. as of this writing the 2003 TV Shiraz and the 2002 GE Shiraz recently came out.

Columbia Crest 2002 Grand Estates, Chardonnay ($7 TJ/WC): One of my wife's all-time favorite wines. Independent of price. And I'm pretty fond of it too. An over the top, butter oak (smoke) bomb. Aromas of freshly buttered popcorn or butterscotch and the flavors to match. So good and so cheap that we have a nickname for it "Old Faithful". Fruit with crispness as well. [A+]. I know I bought 18+ bottles of this over time in 2005-2006. Not all bottles were great.

Sadly, the last 4 bottles, tasted in Mar-Sep 2006 haven't been so terrific [C+ to A-], so I was beginning to wonder if this wine doesn't age well. But tonight (10/09/2006), a bottle from my friend's "cellar" basement (of my wines, of course) was back to its old magnificent self. Started smoky but as it breathed, the butter-oak ball express came roaring back. Only 3-4 more bottles left and I don't expect them to last much beyond 6 more months so I better get drinking.
Finally, the 2003 is much more normal tasting though some bottles have hints of the oaky butter. [B]

Columbia Crest 2001 Grand Estates, Merlot ($8 TJ/WC/CC): Got a 90 WS. Tried it, liked it, bought more bottles, tried more, and bought more. Some were good [B], but some were great [A] with a fruity, oaky silky palate. I eventually bought a case from the WC, bring my purchases to near 20-24 bottles (my single largest buy in 2005). However about 9 months later, most of the bottles I tried were disappointing - they tasted corked, or burnt (too much heat) or just over the hill [C-]. There may also have been storage variation from the store. I know a neighboring CC got a palate in late in the game ($7) from which I bought 6-8 bottles, and that palate slowly dwindles over 4+ months; made me wonder how much that hurt the wine. I tried yet another bottle over the last 2 nights and it was the first good bottle in a while, but more importantly it restored some faith that the remaining ones might be good. And surprisingly I drank it after it had been open 1 and then 2 nights, respectively, which usually destroys the Columbia Crests. Ironically the last glass was the best with a strong earthy woody tone along with the burnished berry [A-].

Columbia Crest 2002 Two Vines, Shiraz ($5-$6 TJ): WS 88. The 2001 TV was very good, but some early bottles of this wine were even better, with smooth berry and oak and an impressive richness. [A]. I ended up buying 6 and then a case. As with many of the others Columbia Crests, the bottles I tried in Q1-Q3 2006 were not very good [B-]. Some if it may have been storage issues, but I'm not sure. Last night (10/16/2006), a well kept bottle tasted good except it started out with a metallic taste; after 45 min, the metal was gone and there was a hint of cork in the finish; after 2 hours, it was tasting nicely with big fruit and a some richness [B+]
Tried another bottle (10/29/2006) and it was a return to the original form. Smooth and lithe body. Obvious berry fruit with cedar and spice and hint of sweetness. Quite tasty. [B+ to A-]

Marquis Phillips 2003 South Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon ($12 WC/CC): First bottle, big fruit but slighlyt burnt. [C+] Next few bottles had a wonderful dark fruit, with spicy wood in a smooth rich body. Very tasty. [A]. By the time I got through these, I couldn't find any more, so I'll have to savor the last of the 6 bottles I got. (I'm not nearly as fond of the 2004, too).