Tried this Sat night w/ cherry bread pudding:
1. BonnyDoonVnyd Vin de Paille MontereyCnty Sweet Muscat (MuscatCanelli/ArroyoSecoVnyd/Greenfield; SaH: 21Brix; SaC: 40Brix; RS: 13%) 1984: Dark brown/olive drab/murky color w/ loads of flotsam&jetsam; intense sweet/grapey/Muscatty almost Moscatel de Setubal slight oak very complex nose; very sweet tart very grapey/muscatty/floral/honeyed some Moscatel de Setubal rather complex flavor; very long quite grapey/Muscatty finish; loads of sweet Muscat character w/ good complexity; far/far more interesting than Randall's Muscat Vin de Glaciere; some like a Moscatel de Setubal w/o the oak and slight oxidation; amazingly good wine; great value at $12.79/hlf
_____________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This was a Muscat Passito wine that Randall made once or twice. Dried on bamboo trays rather than straw mats as in the Rhone. Nowadays they'd use plastic trays. Not sure if he fan dried them or not. But it showed no funky or oxidivative character that you get from some of this genre.
The dark brown/murky color gave me little hope that the wine would be good. The color indicates oxidation in the wine and we've all been told that oxidative character in a wine is "bad" unless it's "supposed" to be oxidized. Nonetheless, there was no signs of oxidation in either the nose nor the flavor; just loads of sweet Muscat character. And no sign it wouldn't go another 20 yrs is my guess, if'n the cork holds up.
Passito wines are a genre of dessert wines that really should be pursued more in Calif. Some of the Italian Passitos are absolutely stunning wines; some of the world's greatest dessert wines. Absolutely no reason such wines couldn't be made in Calif on a yr in-yr out basis.
Kudos to Randall for once again smashing the barriers of conventionality and thinking outside the box.
Tom
