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The Tom Hill Archives

The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium presents the musings and reflections of Tom Hill. We think it's great that Tom, who has sampled so many wines, has shared his tasting notes with us. We do have, or have had for sale a few of the wines Tom 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 Tom 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 Tom's notes from August 11, 2004:

New Wines

We tasted the other week some new wines:
  1. Weingut Glatzer Weissburgunder Classic (12.5%) Gottlesbrum/Carnuntum/Austria 2002: Light gold color; attractive floral/fragrant/citrusy bit pineapple slight minerally/ earthy nose; tart fairly minerally/earthy rather floral/fragrant/pienapply lush flavor; med.long minerally floral/fragrant/pineapply finish; a very nice PB much like an Alsatian one w/o the hard/austere character; very nice wine for the price. $15.45
  2. Witness Tree Willamette Valley Pinot Blanc (EB; 14.5%) 2003: Med.light gold color; slight piney/ damp forest quite fragrant/perfumed/spicy attractive nose; soft off-dry very spicy/piney/ perfumed/floral/PineSol rather rich flavor; med.long piney/perfumed/spicy finish; rather attractive/interesting PB. $18.00
  3. Nikilaihof Hefeabzug GrunerVeltliner (12%; www.Nikolaihof.com) Mantern/Wachau 2002: Light gold color; very strong/floral very spicy/cinammon bit metallic/earthy lovely nose; tart/lean very minerally very spicy/cracked white pepper very floral flavor; very long tart/lean/austere very minerally earthy very spicy/floral/cracked pepper finish; needs age; a lovely GV w/ lots of cracked pepper character at a great price. $23.50
  4. Nikilaihof imWeingebirge GrunerVeltliner Smaragd (12.5%) 2002: Light gold color; deep/ intense more subtle less fragrant/floral more fruity/ripeness less spicy slight white pepper nose; soft quite lush/rich very ripe/fruity slight minerally/peppery less intense flavor; med.short soft/ripe/lush/grapes slight minerally finish; much more ripeness but less interesting character; more Z-H in style; probably needs age I would guess but don't see the acid backbone there; disappointing for the price. $53.75
  5. Harlequin Chenin Blanc Yakima Valley (BrrlFrmtd; 14.5%; 28 yr old vines; www.HarlequinWine.com) 2002: Light gold color; beautiful fragrant/spicy/melony/bubble gum (Fleers) very perfumed light smokey some complex nose; very rich/lush spicy quite minerally light toasty complex/spicy/cinammon lovely flavor; very long/lingering minerally/melony/CB slight smokey/toasty complex finish; terrific/stunning balanced example of dry CB. $22.00
  6. Harlequin Viognier Milbrandt Family/Clifton Vineyard Columbia Valley (14.1%; 200 cs) 2003: Med.light gold color; beautiful/incredible very minerally intense peachy/pear/Viognier fragrant/floral very Condrieu-like some complex nose; tart very rich/lush intense floral/peachy/Viognier some spicy/smokey very minerally/Condrieu-like flavor; very long/lingering very minerally intense peach/Viognier/pear/perfumed complex finish; a minerality, not exactly like Condrieu but close, that I've never got in a USofA Viognier; best US Viognier I've ever had; amazing stuff at a great price. $16.00
  7. Scott Harvey Napa Valley Yountville Pinot Noir Rose (11%) 2003: Pale copper/salmon color; light toasty/smokey rather spicy/cherry/watermelon fragrant nose; very tart light toasty/smokey/ pungent very spicy/clove/cinammon very cherry slight watermelon flavor; med. bright cherry/ watermelon light smokey finish; unusual style of Pinot Vin Blanc w/o that usual lean/ austere/eviscerated character; quite a nice/interesting rose.
  8. Noah Zin Contra Costa Cnty Duarte Vineyard (14.7%; www.NoahVineyards.com) NoahTaylor& AlanHaywood/Sonoma 2002: Med.dark color; very strong toasty/pungent/smokey/charred slight plummy/blackberry slight earthy nose; soft/fat/buttery intense ahstray/smokey/charred/burnt/ oaked slight plummy/earthy flavor; med.long intense burnt/charred/ashtray/oak slight plummy finish w/ light tannins; interesting/eccentric Zin; any ContraCosta fruit has been pretty much bludgeoned in to submission by the oak; weird stuff. $15.50
  9. Scott Harvey Amador Cnty Zin Mountain Selection (24% Cucamonga old-vine Zin; 14.5%) 2001: Med. color; attractive blackberry/Zin some earthy/mushroomy dusty/old vine interesting slight fumey/alcoholic nose; soft/fat rather earthy/mushroomy/Cucamonga light blackberry/Zin some old-time/Martini-style/rustic flavor; long blackberry/Zin somewhat earthy/mushroomy finish w/ light tannins; the Cucamonga lends a rather rustic/old-timey style of Zin to the Amador blackberry; speaks more of Cucamonga than Amador; interesting Zin.
  10. Scott Harvey Amador County OldVineSelection DeMille Vineyard (15.5%) 2001: Med.color; some dusty/ old vines rather cedary/oaked/toasty strong Amador/blackberry/briary/black cherry lush nose; tart bit tannic strong/bright/blackberry/briary/Amador light toasty/oak bit hot flavor; med.long bright black cherry/blackberry/briary/Amador finish w/ light tannins; an attractive rather smooth/svelte/stylish expression of Amador Zin.
  11. Scott Harvey Calif CS Winemaker'sSelection (18% Merlot; 13.5%) 1999: Med.dark color; rather herbal classic Cab light toasty/pencilly slight earthy/Bordeaux-like nose; soft light herbal/ Cab light pencilly/oak pleasant flavor; med.long light herbal/Cab light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; an attractive rather Bordeaux-like Cab.
  12. Scott Harvey Napa Valley CS (13.5%; 4% PetiteVerdot) 2000: Med.dark color; rather strong/toasty/ oak strong ripe/blackcurranty/Cab slight dusty/earthy nose; smooth/elegant rich/ripe/ blackcurranty/Cab light toasty/oak/pungent flavor; long ripe/blackcurranty/Cab some toasty/ pungent/smokey/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; lots of ripe Cab character.
  13. Leyda Colchagua Valley Carmenere Reserve Chile (13.5%; www.PortetWinesSelections.com) 2001: Very dark color; very dusty/earthy little fruit bit herbal weird nose; somewhat bretty/horsecollar hard/tannic very dusty/earthy quite sour little fruit flavor; long quite horsecollar/unclean/bretty/horsey sour/hard/tannic no fruit finish; totally devoid of any fruit; hard & sour. $17.00
  14. Renwood Grand Pere Vineyard Shenandoah Valley Zin (14.5%; 123 yr old vines) 1991: Med.dark color; rather overripe strong black cherry/briary/black cherry/dried cherries bit pencilly/oak some complex nose; tart rather dried out/tannic some blackberry/briary/dried cherries rather vanilla/pencilly/oak flavor; med.long dried out/tannic some briary/blackberry/dried cherry somewhat pencilly/vanilla/oak finish; quite an interesting nose but getting rather dried out/astringent on the palate; bit over the hill but still interesting
And the usual detritus from the BloodyPulpit:
  1. HarlequinViognier: I've followed Calif (and USofA) Viognier from the very start. It's been an exciting journey to watch the styles evolve. The early ones clearly were in the direction of the DollyParton style: big/ripe/lush/loads of Viognier fruit/jiggly/silicone-laden wines. Often they were made like a Chard w/ a strong hit of toasty/Fr.oak. Over the last 5-10 yrs we've seen a lot less oak in the wines, more subtlety, more expression of terroir.. much more interesting wines. That being said, I've still not seen that expression of minerality, combined w/ the perfume and fragrance that you get in authentic/great Condrieu. The wines, good as they are, just seem to often lack that little extra kick you find in great Condrieu. Probably some of the best I've had have been a few of the older Edmunds StJohn versions. Not great Condrieu, but very complex wines. I first had this '03 Harlequin at Robert Goodfriend's home at dinner a few weeks ago. Thought it was awfully good at the time, but there were a lot of very good wines that night. Had it a few days later at Don & Jan's dinner and thought.."Wow...this is damn good Viognier/ Condrieu." Then when I had it in my tasting, I was blown away by it. My statement then was this is the greatest, most Condrieu-like Viognier ever produced in the USofA; that I've ever had. I was not alone in my liking of this wine; my group wound up ordering 9 cases of it; an obstreperous/contentious group of head-strong folk who seldom heed my blatherings.
  2. FullDisclosure: Robert Goodfriend and I go way back as personal friends. He used to own/chef my favorite SantaFe restaurants of all time, e.k.mas. I'd go in there all the time w/ my kids and, unlike many restaurants, they'd get first-class attention and treatment. Even a pour of the wine. Since he left SantaFe, I've kept in touch with him over the yrs. When he and his wife, Elizabeth Cook, started Harlequin; I've followed their wines from the very start. This last batch I tasted when I stayed with them a few weeks ago are probably the best yet I've had from Harlequin. That being said, I think the quality of the wines speak for themselves; Harlequin doesn't need a shill. I am NOT a crook...opps, that was Richard Milhouse... I am NOT a shill!! Anyway, I think the Viognier is worth a try. The price is very reasonable. Available at Robert's wine bar in Seattle..The Tasting Room/Wines of Washington (www.winesofwashington.com).
  3. Harlequin CheninBlanc: Not to sound like a broken record, but this was probably the best example of a USofA CB I've ever had. Not in the style of a D'Agneau or Loire CB; but in its own unique style. It reminded me some of some of the early Chalone CBs w/ age on them, w/o the strong toasty/oak they always showed. It's a variety that gets no respect in the US and rightlfully so; most are rather simple/off-dry/drecky examples of the variety. Robert barrel ferments his in old/neutral oak. There are a fair number of old-vine (relatively speaking for WashState) CB vnyds that he want to get to afore they're ripped out. Alas, this '02 is already long sold out. Don Chappellet also makes a great old-vine CB. Alas as well, those vines have been ripped out for more profitable Cabernet.
  4. Scott Harvey Wines: This is a guy I've followed from the very start, from his first days at Santino, then Renwood, then Folie a Deux. The wines he was making at Renwood afore he left for FaD were probably the greatest Amador reds, Barberas and Zins and Syrahs, ever made up there. With the sale of FaD to SutterHome, he has now gone out on his own to focus in his Scott Harvey wines, with wife Jana. For the time, they plan to remain in the Napa Valley, but still source grapes from his Amador contacts. These wines we tasted represent a departure from his style at Renwood. There, the focus was on the intensity and extract. These new wines are much more balanced, more polished and svelte, more drinkable; yet I suspect they will age quite well. It'll be interesting to follow his wines into the future.
TomHill

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