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by Fred McMillin
for February 2003
Do Old Vines
REALLY Make Better Wines?
Prologue
As vines age, they lose their vigor and tend to make smaller berries, with a greater concentration of flavor...the resulting wine can be astoundingly good.Jeff Cox
San Francisco Chronicle
The Rest of the Story
OK. It sounds convincing but in a blind tasting can we ordinary mortals tell any difference? To find out, we paired 11 older-vine wines with their younger-vine counterparts...e.g., we tasted two Pinot Noirs, one from a new vineyard and one from an old vineyard.
Here is the winner of each match. The wine that won the highest rating is listed last. That is, the further you read, the better the bottle.
The Answer...From a Blind Tasting
| Rank | Vine Age | Winery, Etc. | |
| 11th | - | OLD | Syrah, Meridian, Paso Robles, 1998, $15 |
| 10th | - | OLD | Palaterra Rhone Blend, Spencer & Roloson, California, 1999, $16 |
| 9th | - | OLD | Chardonnay, Cinnabar, Santa Cruz Mountains, 1999, $25 |
| 8th | - | OLD | Pinot Gris, Trimbach, Alsace, 1997, $28 |
| 7th | - | OLD | Chardonnay, Chateau St. Jean, Alexander Valley, Belle Terra Vineyard, 2000, $24 |
| 6th | - | OLD | Syrah, McDowell, McDowell Valley, 1998, $24 |
| 5th | - | YOUNG | Syrah, J.J. McHale, Clear Lake, 1999, $29 |
| 4th | - | OLD | Old-Vine Zinfandel, Lake Sonoma Cellars, Dry Creek Valley, 1999, $20 |
| 3rd | - | OLD | Syrah, Meador Maverick, Monterey County, 1998, $50 |
| 2nd | - | YOUNG | Pinot Noir, Sanford, Santa Barbara County, La Rinconada Vineyard, 1999, $50 |
| 1st | - | OLD | Zinfandel, Folie à Deux, Amador County, Harvey Vineyard, 1998, $28 |
What Did We Learn?
The old-vine wines won nine of eleven matches.
CASE CLOSED!!
 |
About the Writer
Fred McMillin, a veteran wine writer, has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents. For information about the wine courses he teaches every month at either San Francisco State University or San Francisco City College (Fort Mason Division), please fax him at (415) 567-4468. |
This page created February 2003