The Desert WIne Guy - 1999 Glass Mountain Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon

1999 Glass Mountain Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon

    Folks today I have a special treat for you. Today I will be reviewing a Cabernet Sauvignon from 1999....yeah that's right 1999. Today's review is of the Glass Mountain Markham / Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon ....1999 vintage. For me to do this review I had to actually go back to the reviews originally published when the wine was released. I wanted something to compare the then and now so I could try and see if the wine has lost anything in time. Did the wine originally exhibits certain notes that it no longer exhibits. I expected that what ever Tannins the wine originally had would be gone by this time but I was up in the air about the rest. I guess the biggest question would be is the wine still any good or did it turn to Vinegar and be better used on a salad :). One other question I had was whether the cork held up or not. Well all those question were answered and in pretty surprising ways I thought. Research did show that the wine originally cost $10 so I have to say that going into this review I did NOT have high hopes of anything special at all. Before I get into the heart of my review I want to give you a little bit about this winery than we will get into this review I think you will be as surprised as I was.

Very Light In Color Cabernet Sauvignon

   Around 1975 Markham Vineyard (http://www.markhamvineyards.com/) founder Bruce Markham moved to the Napa Valley and bought 250 acres of farmland that he quickly began growing wine grapes on.  The fruit was so good that he had the Honor of selling it to the legend Robert Mondavi as well as the famous Beaulieu Vineyards which happens to be one of my favorite wines by the way. In 1977 Bruce purchased an historic winery and founded Markham Vineyards. The first wines were released in 1978 and had immediate acclaim. In 1988 Bruce decided to retire from the wine making business and sold the Vineyard to a Japanese wine company named Mercian Corporation. In the year 2001 Bruce unfortunately passed away. Markham Vineyards still marches on however and is a very popular destination in the Napa Valley wine industry.

   Alright guys now down to the inspection and opening of this wine. Before opening the wine I inspected the outside foil / cork area for any damage and there was none visible. Taking the foil off revealed what appeared to be a perfectly intact cork, still more great news. Screwing the Cork Screw in I did not notice any crumbling of the cork, another good thing. Removing the cork was done as normal however when I inspected the cork I noticed that the bottom of the cork, the part that was inside the bottle was beginning to fall apart. Look at the photos that I took and you will see what I mean. I now started having doubts as to if the wine would be contaminated by cork. Looking closer at the cork though did not show that it was crumbling only that it was beginning to almost separate from itself. Well let's take a glass and head on upstairs to my Tasting Room (my Loft) and see what we can see.

Cork Stained Halfway Thru

Cork Splitting

   On the pour of this wine I saw something that I didn't think could be good. The wine although Reddish in appearance was really VERY VERY light and watery looking. Now I am truly worried but it's already opened so I guess I should move on and taste it. When the wine hit my Palette I got the unexpected note of Mocha along with a nice, not too bright Cherry note. This Cherry note wasn't the overpowering Cherry that I have tasted in some wines that can ruin the wine in in my book, this was a semi bright Cherry that was indeed well placed, awesome on the Palette and simply perfect. The wine was slightly on the sweeter side but once again not overdone in that category either. As expected due to aging there were no Tannins left at all but there was a nice level of Cassis that was tasted and along with a nice superb Blackberry note it all combined very nicely to form this wonderful wine. All the notes were very polished here and the wine needed no Decanting as can be expected with it's age. So remember when I said I was going to look at reviews written when the wine was released? I can now tell you that other than the small amount of Tannins some reviewers said it had at that time of release,

Markham Vineyards

Cork Breaking Down

the wine simply hasn't skipped a beat. Throw in a note of Oak and you have the complete picture of this wine down. The wine is smooth with no harsh notes at all. It appears this wine has stood the test of time and I have to say that if a wine could melt in your mouth than this would be a great example. Older reviews also talk of a slightly fruity wine and one on the light side well that is what you currently have folks. Drinking this wine today is probably how this wine was meant to be and how the wine tasted upon release and I think that is awesome. For a wine to be 17 years old and STILL impress......that says a lot about the winemaker AND the type of seal that was chosen to protect this wine.
   When a wine can handle 17 years of storage and still be as good as the day it was released says a lot about the quality of the wine and the competency of the wine maker. I wish I could find out who the wine maker was and send him a copy of this review to let him know how great his work was. Will be enclosing a few lines asking Markham Vineyards to forward this to him or her if they are still able to contact them. This wine also stands as a testimony to cork closures. At the risk of getting started on my preference of cork closures here I will simply say that the wine making process AND the type of closure  go hand in hand, you could not keep this wine as drinkable as it was with just one of these two elements in place, it required both.  The other element that kept the wine great was the storage. Without great storage this wine would NOT have made it. I owned this bottle from day one and it was kept away from direct sunlight and heat, it was also kept tilted down in order to keep the cork wet.
   The one negative thing I can say about the wine is that it is very on the light side for a Cabernet Sauvignon but that also is in the original reviews so that was not a change. This wine really fits more into a medium bodied Merlot than a Cab. Because of the fact that I don't feel this fits the characteristics of a cab I can't bring myself to elevate it to the 90 point level but I definitely will place it at a very comfortable and well deserved 88 points, and that is not bad at all for a 17 year old wine.

Bruce Markham & Two Grandchildren

                                                                                                                   The Desert Wine Guy

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