29 PresentS

I'm now 29. And so is the wine I'm drinking tonight (at least rounding up) -- the 1981 Louis J. Foppiano 1981 Russian River Valley Petite Sirah Estate Bottled. According to a sticker on the bottle,it was a gold medal winner at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair.

I popped the cork at about 10 am to let it Audouze (highly recommended, IMO, for old PS), and I'm enjoying it right now, about 7 and a half hours later.

Not surPriSingly, this one is still alive. Certainly has one foot in the grave, but the other is well outside it.

Color -- starting to go tawny/brick -- thin 1/8" translucent rim, dark burnt purply orange, amazing depth of color for a 29 year old wine -- I still can't see my fingers when I tilt the wine glass except around the edges.

Nose -- some of the tawny port notes from oxidization (the cork broke), really complex bottle bouquet, some red fruits (cherry compote, raspberry, black cherries), and faint white flowers.

Palate -- mouthwatering acidity. Not a ton of fruit to speak of, and definitely old world. Tannins very fine, I'd call it silky but they're too rustic -- maybe velvet dust would be the best description.

After about half an hour in the glass, it really opens up. The red fruit comes out, perfectly balanced, aromatic, WOW. I would never guess that this wine was nearly 30.

Thanks, Louis!

In other news, and totally by coincidence, Foppiano '03 Reserve showed up as part of my samPleS today...