We just shared a wonderful bottle of 1995 Larkmead Zinfandel from Frank-Rombauer winery.
The day we bought this bottle, I felt as if I were in an old movie. We went to the tasting room of Hans Kornell cellars, a maker of sparkling wine (by the way, a favorite of Marilyn Monroe - you can see a bottle of Kornell on the yacht in "Some Like it Hot"). We fell in love with several of their sparkling wines and spent way too much money for what we were making at the time. They could see we were in a buying mood, I guess, and they gave us a long look and asked if we liked red wine. What's that question about what bears do in the woods?
Anyway, we found ourselves in the back room of the winery tasting some still wines. The Larkmead wines didn't even have labels on them yet (and, it turns out, wouldn't for some time, due to a legal dispute). They were also pouring some Rombauer wines, as the two are in some way connected. We purchased some of this '95 Zin, a '95 Sangiovese (our first American Sangiovese), and tried to buy some of the Rombauer Cab. At that point, Dennis, the manager, cut us off. He had seen our 1988 Oldsmobile in the parking lot, I can only guess, and told us that "we didn't really need that wine." Good call, Dennis. It took several months to pay off the Visa after that adventure.
The ownership of the winery has changed; both Hans Kornell and Larkmead are now Frank Family Vineyard. So far, it looks like the winemaking hasn't changed, but I still cherish the old bottles.
The wine is amazing and has held up well. It is very dark and rich, with a slightly musty aroma. It's dominated by dark fruit - cherry and berries - and hasn't lost its depth and structure with time. The only thing that seems to have suffered is the bouquet. Perhaps the bottle was corked, because the nose just seemed "off."
Served it with spaghetti and hot italian sausage - yum! Great night.
