Selling Some of California’s Forgotten Treasures

The cash flow problems some wineries face may solve one of the problems impatient wine lovers face.

One of the trappings of the wealthy, the jet set, the in-crowd--or whatever they’re calling the sophisticated these days--is the ability to pop into the wine cellar and pull out a 20-year-old bottle of red wine to serve guests.

Trouble is, few Americans are into aging wine. We are an instant-gratification society. But people who like well-aged wine don’t mind paying for the privilege of having it.

Some retail wine shops do buy large amounts of red wine at release and age it for a decade before selling it. But there are three problems: Precious few shops want to tie up their money this way, those that do often have poor storage conditions and the price they end up asking for an old wine is generally too high.

In the last two or three years, however, a number of California wineries have been dipping into their own wine libraries and offering selected wines from the past. The reasons are numerous, but mainly relate to the fact that since 1986, per-capita U.S. wine consumption has fallen 25%, slowing cash flow at wineries.

Moreover, established wineries rarely get the public attention that is accorded to new, glitzy brands, and this is a way for them to toot their own horn. Older, well-established wineries, lacking a new story to tell, are finding out that selling their mature wines is quite a draw--and not at all bad for the cash flow, either.

In most cases, these older wines have been stored perfectly at the winery (occasionally in subterranean caves), and are offered at such fair prices it may make the wine shop or restaurant owner look greedy.

In the past, most re-released older wines were in short supply--five cases of this, 10 cases of that. But current offerings of older wines are in substantial amounts. In some cases, these wines were held back for a specific purpose, such as for export or for special restaurants. Then years passed before someone realized there was a lot of inventory that could be turned into cash.

One winemaker who knows of the greatness of perfectly stored red wine is Clos du Val owner Bernard Portet, who was born in France and reared at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, where his father was director. There he gained an appreciation for mature wine, so at Clos du Val he created a huge wine library.

Knowing his wines rarely are showy when released but that they age beautifully, Portet was pleased last month to re-release 4,500 cases of eight different older red wines from his library.

“A wine doesn’t have to be powerful in all of its elements to be enjoyable,” said Portet the other day as we sat and sipped his spectacular 1984 Cabernet, a wine of immense richness and charm, one that still hasn’t shown an age-induced change in color and whose aroma is only now giving evidence of its maturity.

“This is a wine that can age another 10 years,” he said. “There’s still fruit and the wine hasn’t gotten to a peak.”

The 1984 Clos du Val Cabernet, released in 1987 at a suggested retail price of $15, probably would command $50 in a retail wine shop today. The winery is offering it now with a suggested price of $27--not much more than many young Cabernets. For comparison, Clos du Val’s currently available 1989 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $18.

At the same time, Charles Krug Winery re-released more than 8,000 cases of its Vintage Selection Cabernets dating back to 1973, including 72 cases of its excellent 1974. And Dry Creek Winery in Sonoma; Sterling Vineyards in the Napa Valley, and Carneros Creek Winery in Carneros all are offering wide selections of wines dating back two decades.

Charles Krug’s 1974 “VS” Cabernet is being offered at a suggested price of $50. Charles Krug’s 1988 “VS” Cabernet sells for $28.50. I had a bottle of ’74 Krug “VS” from my cellar two years ago and found it to be quite mature, but still holding lovely fruit.

“It’s easy to forget that Charles Krug has made very good wine for a very long time,” says a winery spokesman, adding that the re-release of such a large amount of wine didn’t occur for a particular reason. “We just found that the library kept growing and we decided it was a good time to make these mature wines available,” he said.

Clos du Val and Krug aren’t alone. About a dozen other wineries are also re-releasing wines to add luster to their current-release list. Some of them are making a fuss about it; some of them are doing it very quietly.

One unpublicized program is at Sterling Vineyards. Visitors to the winery tasting room near Calistoga can buy dozens of wines from various vintages in several sizes of bottles, all at fair prices. A winery executive said the program is also open to callers. For a faxed list of what’s available call the Sterling Collections line, (800) 726-6136. Wine will be shipped to states where such shipments are legal.

Another long list of older wines is from Carneros Creek, the first winery founded in the Carneros (1971). Owner/winemaker Francis Mahoney is now offering a huge selection of older vintages of its red wines, including Pinot Noirs back to 1976 and Cabernets back to 1972. For a faxed copy of the winery’s offerings call (707) 253-9463.

Dry Creek Vineyards in Sonoma County is offering 42 red wines dating back to 1977. Dry Creek’s 1984 Cabernet is available at $15 per bottle. For a faxed copy of available wines call (707) 433-1000.

The fact that so many wineries are re-releasing older wines at this particular time may be coincidence, though one winery executive termed the re-releases “a cry for help for these poor little guys whose distribution is drying up and who have to compete against better-funded wineries able to charge less for their wines.”

Yet even as well-financed and successful a winery as Robert Mondavi occasionally offers a few older wines at its Napa Valley tasting room. Today the Mondavi Winery has nothing older for sale, but a winery spokesman said when a wine starts to reach maturity, it will be offered in select markets or at the tasting room.

Others who sell older wines regularly:

* Chappellet Vineyard always makes a 10-year-old Cabernet available nationally. The current 1984 Cabernet carries a suggested retail price of $25. It’s an excellent wine and a bargain. About 4,000 cases are available, and a few restaurants are offering the wine at low prices.

* Chateau Montelena is offering its 1986 Cabernet, originally released at $30, at $45.

* Trefethen Vineyards, one of the few wineries to offer a white wine in its Library Reserve program, now has Trefethen’s 1987 Chardonnay for $30.

* Louis Martini, which long has made older red wines available, is currently offering a six-pack of its Monte Rosso Cabernets that includes two bottles of the 1979 and one each of 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985. The box sells for $110. Also, bottles of ’79 Martini Zinfandel are $15 each. The winery will ship these wines to consumers who place mail or phone orders. For details call (707) 963-2736.

* Raymond Winery has a library ranging back to 1978. Pricing is modest--though appears to be fairly casual. For instance, Raymond’s 1981 Cabernet today would be about $35. For details call Raymond at (707) 963-3141.

Sometimes the only way to get older wines is to visit the winery. For instance, at Beringer Vineyards’ Founder’s Room, above its Rhine House tasting room, consumers may purchase samples or bottles of older Private Reserve Cabernets. Current vintages available are 1982 ($60), 1984 ($50), 1987 ($55), and 1988 ($40).

Wine of the Week

1993 Joseph Drouhin Chablis “Premier Cru” ($20)-- Burgundy prices took a sharp rise a decade ago, particularly among the Chardonnay-based White Burgundies. It was the era of economic megagrowth, and Americans and Japanese were treating themselves. By 1988, an average bottle of French Chablis had reached the $25 mark and Premier Cru Chablis was close to $50. But the wines weren’t necessarily worth those prices; high demand had induced some producers to “stretch” production, and the quality of White Burgundy had become less reliable.

In the last three years, however, the worldwide recession has chopped demand back, and almost all White Burgundy is coming down in price. By a happy coincidence, 1992 and 1993 were good vintages.

This gorgeous wine is not one of the fat-and-flabby Chablis of recent invention but a classic Chablis, lean and delicate. It has wonderful spiced apple and melon fruit and a fine, crisp finish with long aftertaste. Drouhin is known for good-value Chablis, and this wine has it. With discounts, some retailers will have this wine for $15 or so, and at that price it’s the best high-quality White Burgundy value I’ve tasted in nearly a decade.