We happy that Bernard, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Bernard writes about, and we include a link to our stock page whenever it is a producer we carry (but since the stock page is kept up-to-date and the wines are sold, don't expect any but the newest of wines to show up in our stock!). Mostly though, since we specialize in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine, we don't carry a lot of the wines Bernard writes about. But we think it is important that you be able to have an idea what they're like in case you are planning to buy some somewhere, or have them in your own collection. Enjoy.

Here are Bernard's notes from May 11, 2000:

98 Capiaux PN Pisoni—Medium ruby. Earthy, gamy, black cherry, toasty French oak nose. Sweet cherry with cough syrupy, low acid style. Finishes with medicinal quality. Needs time to throw off the medicinal stuff. 88(+)

98 JC Cellars Syrah Ventana Vyd (Monterey)—Medium purple. Grapy, almost leesy nose with some oak, vanilla, cloves. Sweet, rather 1-D, lacking complexity, young vinish. Low acid, plush. Ultimately a simple summer wine. 85

98 Hastwell and Lightfoot Shiraz (Aussie)—Dark Burgundy color. Bit closed. Vanilla, oak, plumy, blackberry nose. Bit simple, but zingy acid. Dense with lightish tannins. Decent length. 87(+?)

98 Dutschke Willowbend (merlot, shiraz, cab blend)—Dark red violet. Suave toasty oak layered over blackberry, raspberry and eucalyptus aromas. Suave texture, deep flavor, good density. Black plum fruit, American oak. Good tannins well-integrated. Smooth crisp finish. 91+

98 Dutschke Shiraz St. Jakobi—Very dark blackish purple. Nose shows black fruit, gunpowder. Deep plumy, briny, dense, big mid-palate. Very long, fine tannins. Good acid, balance. Superb. 93(+?) Relatively worth the $43 price.

96 Zaca Mesa Syrah “Bear Block”(just released)--Very dark burgundy. Gorgeous sweet black cherry, vanilla, Asian spice bouquet. Good attack of dark fruits, high acid, good fine tannin. But fairly clunky and oaky. Long finish. 89(+?)

98 Jory Syrah Sangre do Donohoe—Very dark violet. Cherry cola nose. Bit disjointed, high acid. Vegetal, oaky medicinal finish. OK tannins. Big, clunky, disjointed. 87 (with possible improvement to 92 points if it comes together).

96 Constant (42% cab. Sauvignon, 35% merlot, 23% cab franc)—Medium dark ruby. Menthol, cherry, spicy, oaky vanilla nose. High acid with some VA. Medicinal. Defective. Not rated.

97 La Jota Cab Franc—Dark violet. Stinky, reduced, burnt rubber. Rich, deep, tarry, black fruit, cola, herbal. Long tannic, very puckery, astringent finish. Disappointing. The stinkiness did not clean up even after two hours. Could require many years age. 84 (+?)

97 Gianni Paoletti Cabernet—Dark red violet. Suave nose. Sexy cherry, toasty oak, vanilla bouquet. Sweet black cherry, cola, tar, cedar, very fine oak. Bit alcoholic on finish, but lovely and long. Classy wine. Pretty decent value, given what $56 buys in CA cab these days. 93+

97 Pride Claret Reserve—Dark violet. Refined, oaky, menthol nose. Smooth, elegant, well-integrated oak and tannins. Black fruit, tar. Finishes long with oak. Need 4-5 years. Way overpriced at $149. 92+

97 Pride Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve—Inky dark red. Subtle nose of black cherry, cassis, black licorice. Sweet black cherry, plum, tarry. Very dense, plush, long. Needs 6-8 years. Way overpriced at $149. 94+

96 Harlan Cab—Dark ruby. Suave cherry cola, lavender, sweet oak bouquet. Very full, rich, black cherry, vanilla, tar. Very deep, very long. Big tannins, but supported by huge fruit. Tight. Needs 8-12 years. 96+

97 Bryant Family Cab—Dark purple. Wonderful nose of cassis, lavender, star anise. Extremely high concentration. Very spicy black fruit, very long, tannic, but incredible fruit, zingy acids. Dried cherries, dark chocolate, blueberry, menthol. Amazing! Needs 5-8 years and could reach perfection. 98+

In deference to Tom Hill’s predicament in being evacuated from his abode, I dedicate this Bloody Pulpit to all our memories of overdone toasty oak…

Now about toasty oak, it can support the flavors and aromas in a wine, but it can be overdone if the fruit isn’t up to snuff. It seemed to be under control in wines at this tasting. To wit:

I have been surprised at the diversity of styles of wine produced from Pisoni Vineyard pinot noir. So far, I’d have to say my favorite is the 98 Arcadian for its Burgundian styling. The 98 Capiaux, tasted here, is different from any version I’ve had from Pisoni, and not in a good way. It seems like it will require patience if you own it. At present it is not particularly harmonious.

The Dutschke wines, which I’d never heard of before, were quite outstanding. While the Willowbend blend wasn’t quite my style preference, it made a favorable impression. Their St. Jakobi shiraz is worth seeking out and I’ll buy some when it hits the shelves next month.

The Paoletti cab was gorgeous, and at a third the price of the Prides, the choice for me is clear. Cult status mostly seems to earn a wine the right to be sold at auction. It doesn’t make it better than its peers just by virtue of its name. The Paoletti is good value considering what $56 will buy you on the CA cab market these days. 

Among the non-toasty wines, I liked the W-S, even though it is no longer W or S. 

The Zaca Mesa “Bear Block” is new to me. It’s been held back from release longer than usual, and it seems to have gained some complexity from extended barrel aging (2 years). If it gets past its clunkiness, it could become quite a wine. Even though it’s been in bottle a year, I think it needs a few more. At $34, I think better value and better wine can be found locally from Ojai and Qupe.

The 98 Jory just doesn’t have the harmony of the 97 vintage. Perhaps time will tell…

The 96 Constant was a disaster. At $135 a bottle, I sure hope this was an off bottle and not indicative of the whole lot for them.

Also disappointing was the 97 La Jota cab franc. I detected none of the telltale floral qualities I expect from this varietal. Worth nowhere near the $83 asking price.

The 97 Prides were a point or two less impressive than the 96s were upon their release last year. With the increase in price, I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy them on the secondary market. If you got ‘em, it’s gonna be worth selling or trading a few.

Both the Harlan and Bryant make excellent cases for why certain wines achieve cult status. The Harlan is maybe just a bit less forthcoming than the 94 version was at release, and to me it seems a better candidate for longer aging. The Bryant is at about the same quality level as the 96 was, but the 97 is maybe a bit more concentrated. In another decade, this should be a profound wine.