WTN: BonnyDoon OldTelegram Mataro '93...(short/boring)

Cracked last nigt w/ my corney polenta:
1. BonnyDoonVnyd OldTelegram Calif Mataro (Mourvedre; 13.2%) 1993: Very dark color w/ little bricking; some earthy/mushroomy/dusty/old vine rather plummy/licorice slight cinammon/rosemary/garrigue fairly complex lovely nose; soft slight tannic/drying-out lush/licorice/slight plummy/Mourvedre bit cinammon/rosemary/pepper fairly smooth/elegant complex flavor; very long slight tannic/dried-out smooth/plummy/licorice/RCCola some pungent/mushroomy/dusty/old-vine slight tart cherry finish; lovely nose but starting to dry out a bit on the palate; still in good condition, a pleasure to drink, and a lovely example of mature/old-vine Mourvedre. $22.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Note the anemic/pitiful alcohol level on this wine (13.2%). Why anyone would want to drink such a vapid/insipid stuff is beyond me. When I finished the btl, and was still standing, I was wanting something w/ some guts to it, so I opened up a Consilience Viognier as a chaser..at 16.3% alcohol. Now that's a man's wine!!!
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2. The BonnyDoon was first made in the early '90's (maybe this was the first?) as a tribute/mockery of VieuxTelegraphe, which is mostly Mourvedre based. The grapes came mostly, if not entirely, from ContraCosta/Antioch old-vine Mataro vnyds that the old Portugese guys planted up there long ago. The soil is very sandy and phylloxera does not survive, so they are planted on their own roots. Back then (by crackey), Ridge used to also make Mataro from the Bridgehead Vnyd up there, right at the foot of the AntiochBridge.
BonnyDoon has not made an OldTelegram for the past few yrs, but I understand there will be one again for the '09 vintage.
Tom

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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Note the anemic/pitiful alcohol level on this wine (13.2%). Why anyone would want to drink such a vapid/insipid stuff is beyond me. When I finished the btl, and was still standing, I was wanting something w/ some guts to it, so I opened up a Consilience Viognier as a chaser..at 16.3% alcohol. Now that's a man's wine!!!

Well, you know that it is all GLOBAL WARMING'S fault, Tom. No winemaker decisions involved whatsoever.

Tom -

Do you know where the grapes will be coming from for the '09?

Tom -
Do you know where the grapes will be coming from for the '09?

Mike,
Got no idea. I'd presume they'll go back to ContraCosta again, though.
I just know they've planned one from ?? (Chris?) Jardine, their new GM, after he posted to that effect on eBob. But no details.
Tom

Thanks, Tom. I hope there's still enough left in Contra Costa for them to go with that area. Guess we'll see.

Thanks, Tom. I hope there's still enough left in Contra Costa for them to go with that area. Guess we'll see.

I don't think that the acreage of Mataro in Contra Costa has declined much, thanks largely to Fred Cline's investment in vineyards out there.

Mark Lipton
(erstwhile resident of Contra Costa Country)

That's heartening. I was under the impression that there had been quite a bit of pressure to turn vineyard land into housing development land there.

That's heartening. I was under the impression that there had been quite a bit of pressure to turn vineyard land into housing development land there.

Mike,
Your information may well be more current than my own, but those vineyards are mostly on the outskirts of Oakley. To see the famed Bridgehead vineyard, put the coordinates 38° 0' 5.97" N 121° 45' 13.50" W into Google Maps and take a look at the satellite image.

Mark Lipton

I mentioned it because I seem to recall getting something through the Bonny Doon wine club a year or two ago indicating that they would no longer be making some of their Contra Costa wine because of disappearing vineyards. I would have to go dig that information up, though, and it's possible I'm mistaken.

Thanks for the satellite coordinates. Amazing what's out on the internet these days!