Tried these two over the last few days:
1. KentRasmussenWnry Carneros PinotNoir (13%) 1988: Med.light color; lovely Burgundian/toasty/oak complex tobaccoy/smokey slight black cherry/Pinot lovely/complex nose; soft/smooth/silky rather toasty/oak/smokey/Burgundian slight earthy/mushroomy light black cherry/cherry/Pinot rather complex flavor w/ little tannins; very long smooth/silky light/spicy/black cherry/Pinot some toasty/smokey/Burgundian light earthy finish w/ whispy tannins; a lovely very Burgundian-style mature Calif Pinot. $22.00
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2. KentRasmussenWnry NapaVlly CabernetSauvignon (13%) 1991: Very dark slight murky/bricked color; lovely toasty/cedary/old Cab rather herbal/earthy/Bdx-like slight blackcurranty/Cab rather complex nose; soft/smooth rather herbal/Bdx somewhat cedary/tobaccoy/cigar box/old Cab rather toasty/smokey/oak complex flavor; very long old Bdx/herbal/earthy slight blackcurranty/Cab rather toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ very silky tannins; a beautiful complex old Calif Cab w/ a light Bdx character that MichelRolland would kill for. $24.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. KentRasmussen: Now here's a wnry that travels soooo far below the radar that it swims w/ the boomers (not as in baby...but as in SSBNs). I have followed Kent's wines for from the very start. When I first had his Pinot and his Chard, I was immediately impressed. They had a bit of a reduced character (what I came to call the "Rasmussen stench"), but a structure and a mouthfeel that blew me away. One of the finest Carneros Burgs in the '80's.
So, in the late '80's, I made an appt to visit Kent at his Estate vnyd in Southern Carneros not far from SanPabloBay, on CuttingsWarfRd as I recall. Looked a bit like some of those hillbilly farms in the Ozarks. Took an immediate like to Kent. Short guy dressed in his trademark over-alls. Looked like one of those leprecauns that you can imagine sitting out in the grass under a mushroom, smoking one of those little pipes w/ some of that funny tobacco in it.
I have only kept up w/ Kent's wines sporadically over the yrs, alas. He bought an old meat-packing plant up on the Silverado trail and converted it into his wnry. Still had the conveyor belt in it where at one time the cattle carcasses trundled along as they fell to the knife. Seem to recall a story that the local Mafioso used the same meat-packing plant for some nefarious purposes as well.
Several yrs ago, on a whimsy, Susan & I stopped in for a short visit at Kent's home right there next to the wnry. Kent still looked for all the world like the leprecaun that I recalled. A Verdelho that was one of the best Calif versions I'd tasted.The Pinot was every bit as good as I recall them being. He then regaled us w/ some exotic distallates that he'd gotten interested in. One made from Costco Key Limes that he'd destroyed his wife's Cuisinart in shredding to a pulp. Incredible aromas of key limes. And a black pepper distilate that was pretty bizarre.
Over the yrs, Kent has made a lot of wines under the Ramsey label (his wife's maiden name), including Calif's first Dolcetto in this ugly/bizarre cobalt-blue btl. One of the very early Syrahs. Some spectacular botrytis Rieslings from WineryLake vnyd. Some spectacular Ports. Lots of odd stuff, including a Pinotage. I believe hes racheting back that part of the operation.
Long story/short...these two wines were sorta throw-away wines that I was sure would be dead&gone. They were not. They were fully mature wines that had stood the test of time. Once again, competent winemaking trumps the ravages of the yrs.
Tom