Burgess Cellars Cabernet Tasting: Review
On Nov 17 the society was treated to a retrospective romp through the
history of Burgess Cellars Cabernets led by our own veritable wine sage, Peter
Mika.
The evening began with Tom Burgess's first commercial vintage 1973. It
proved to be a lively wine with a good fruit and acid balance punctuated
with dried fruit complexity. One of the better older wines this taster has
experienced in some time. The 73 was the highlight of the first flight
compared against the 74 and 76 which were also enjoyable.
The second flight examined the 77, 78, 79 vintages. The 77 was the favorite
here with a nice mineral bouquet. On the palate it had a rich spicy
finish of some length. Some tasters preferred the 79 with its waft of
barnyard in the nose and zingy sweet fruit on the tongue.
The 80's proved less impressive than the 70's. They seemed less balanced
with higher acid levels. I preferred the 82 in a flight of 80, 82 and 86
though I'm afraid I was in the minority there. The majority favored the 80
vintage with its rich smells and deep dark tannic pie cherry finish.
The final wine of the evening which we had the pleasure to enjoy from the
beginning as it was the standard that each flight stood against was the
exceptional 97 vintage. A horse of another color(bluer it was)in a field of
green. It tasted of rich exuberant grapefulness with elegant balance.
All in all it was a glorious evening; the cats meow with nary a dog in the
bunch. Kudos to Peter Mika.