 |
Saturday, February 2, 2002
After a pretty exciting morning of washing beaucoup wine glasses w/
Larry, it was off the the noon seminar on Zinfandels. On the panel were
Mindy ? of Frog's Leap Winery, Jim Bundschu of Gundlach-Bundschu
Winery, Kent Rosenblum, and Laura Wallace of Ridge Vineyards. After some
banter between Mindy & Jim on Napa vs. Sonoma, they launched directly
into the wines, all '99's:
-
Frog'sLeap Napa Valley Zin 1999: Med.color; pleasant raspberry/Zin
some Am.oaked attractive/simple nose; tart simple/raspberry/Zin light oaked
flavor w/ light tannins; a pleasant little quaffing Zin; not nearly as
exciting as the game on their WebSite.
-
Gundlach-Bundschu Morse Vineyard Sonoma Zin 1999: Med.dark color;
bit simple some blackberry/Zin light Am.oak nose; tart bit lean simple/light/blackberry/Zin
flavor w/ little tannins; pleasant little simple Zin
-
Gundlach-Bundschu Rhinefarm Vineyard Sonoma Zin 1999: Dark color;
deep earthy/dusty some blackberry/Zin strong Am.oaked/vanilla/buttery nose;
soft/fat/lush blackberry/Zin some licorice/chocolaty strong/buttery/Am.oak
flavor w/ light tannins; a soft/fat/porky fairly intense Zin.
-
Rosenblum Maggie's Reserve Samsel Vineyard Zin 1999: Dark color;
deep very spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin strong milky/oak light dusty/old
vines nose; soft smokey very lush blackverry/boysenberry some toasty/oak/buttery
flavor w/ modest tannins; drinking very well right now.
-
Rosenblum St.Peter'sChurch Sonoma Zin 1999: Dark color; deep rather
pungent/smokey/oaked spicy some blackberry/Zin rather spicy nose; tart/bright
bright/blackberry/Zin lighter toasty/smokey/oak flavor w/ some chalky/tannins;
less oak and more structure; needs a yr perhaps.
-
Ridge Lytton Springs 1999: Very dark color; beautiful/complex blackberry/Zin
very spicy/fragrant/violets some pungent/smokey nose; loads of blackberry/Zin
fruit very spicy some toasty/milky/Am.oak deep flavor w/ some tannins;
this stuff is really tasting good; maybe the best LS of the '90's.
-
Ridge Geyserville 1999: Dark color; bit less flagrant blackberry
fruit some dusty/black cherry some toasty/ pungent/smokey complex nose;
rich/ripe balanced spicy/black cherry/blackberry light toasty/pungent oak
flavor w/ some tannins; much more subtle/restrained/complex than the LS.
Not a whole lot of new information from the seminar. I was surprised that
none of them mentioned Carole's recent work on the origin's of Zin, so
I asked the set-up question and Kent responded with a bit of information,
but it was clear that he didn't know nearly as much as any of the folks
hanging out here on the wine boards. And none of them got the pronunciation
right. Alas, I had forgot my spitoon, so had to drink all those Zins. Fortunately,
there was an hour break between seminars that helped quite a bit.
The next seminar was on Rhone wines in California. On the panel was
Austin Hope of Treana Winery and Bob Lindquist of Qupe. Bob started
it off by a brief recounting of the varietals used in the Calif Rhones
and a bit of the history of the Calif Rhone movement. He, of course, followed
it from the very start. The wines:
-
Qupe SantaYnez Valley Marsanne 2000:
Pleasant appley/fragrant light toasty/oak simple nose; tart appley/simple
slight floral very light toasty/oak flavor; rather simple/underwhelming.
-
Qupe Roussanne Bien Nacido Vineyard 2000:
Med.gold color; lovely/lush fragrant/floral/perfumed light toasty/smokey/
Fr.oak nose; soft/lush floral/perfumed/honeysuckle very perfumed light
toasty/oak flavor; a lovely white w/ lots of perfumed floral fragrance;
should age well.
-
Treana Mer et Soliel Vineyard Blanc 1996: Med/dark gold color;
strong butterscotchy/toasty/caramel/oak little fruit nose; soft/tound lush
toasty/butterscotchy/Fr.oaked flavor w/ light floral fruit; tastes more
like just another Chard than anything.
-
Treana Mer et Soliel Blanc 1998: Med/dark gold color; bit waxy/floral
strong butterscotchy/toasty/oaked slight volatile nose; soft/lush very
toasty/butterscotchy/oak slightly hot flavor w/ lots of M-L character;
another Chard look-alike.
-
Treana Mer et Soliel Blanc 1999: Med.gold color; much lighter oaked
but still rather oaked bit metallic/ earthy rather floral simple nose;
tart/metallic harder more acid some floral flavor; more like a Marsanne
than anything and a bit simple but reined in on the oak a bit.
-
Qupe Los Olivos Cuvee 1999: Bob's Syrah/
Mourvedre/Grenache SouthernRhone blend. Med.dark color; lush licorice/
blackberry bit pungent/smokey slight earthy/gamey/meaty light oak nose;
soft/round/lush some pungent/licorice light blackberry/Syrah light smoky/oak
flavor w/ some tannins; a very nice-drinking red at a good price.
-
Qupe Hillside Estate Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah
1999: Very dark color; beautiful mocha/smokey/Fr.oaked some dusty/
roasted some blackberry/ Syrah bit gamey complex nose; rich/lush blackberry/green
olive/Syrah/Rhonish mocha/ smokey flavor w/ some tannins; a lovely Rhone-like
Calif Syrah; terrific Syrah.
-
"Treana" (barrell sample) Syrah 2000: Very dark color; bit waxy
smokey/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some toasty/charred/Fr.oak nose; soft/rich
toasty/smokey/pungent blackberry/jammy/Syrah/boysenberry slight herbal/
gamey/meaty flavor w/ light tannins; loads of Syrah fruit and good oak
balance but not the structure for long aging; more an Aussie style.
-
"Treana" (barrell sample) Mourvedre/Beaucastel Clone 2001: Very
dark color; bit reduced/funky smokey/gamey/ pungent some strawberry/fragrant
nose; soft/round grapey/gamey/licorice lots of soft fruit flavor w/ light
tannins; no blatant oak yet; nice/interesting Mourvedre.
I had never had a very warm spot in my heart for the Treana Wines because
of their association w/ Chuck Wagner (Kaymoose), and had always assumed
that this was just another Kaymoose product (certainly the amount of oak
in the wines would indicate that). But, according to Austin, they are not
a part of the KayMoose operation, though they do make the Liberty
School Cab for them. And the whites (Viognier, Viognier formerly
Roussanne, and Chard) all come from the Wagner's Mer et Soleil Vineyard
up in Monterey. The Blancs seem to me to not show much Rhone character
and, because of the oak, seem just like another Chard. As expected, his
2000 Marsanne was rather simple & underwhelming. Bob describes the
aging of Marsanne as going into this slightly oxidized/nutty stage in a
few yrs and then somewhere down the road shedding that oxidized character
and becomming very fragrant & complex much like Roussanne. It's hard
to make converts of Marsanne unless you can show them how wonderful it
becomes w/ age; they're always pretty simple/unthrilling wines upon release.
The Roussanne was a very attractive version of that variety, probably the
best bottle around to get a good handle on the varietal identity of true
Roussanne. He also has an Alban Vineyard version that will be released
later this year. The "Treana" Syrah 2000 was an absolutely terrific Paso
Syrah. By far, the best Treana wine I've ever had. Austin plans to keep
much of it separate and bottle it on its own, probably under the Austin
Hope label. In view of his (over)pricing of the Treana wines, I expect
it'll be $60-$80/btl. Not worth that, but it is a good $30-$40 Syrah. I
expect it'll probably be overoaked by the time it's bottled as well. The
Mourvedre 2001 is probably destined for the Treana Red.
On back up the Valley to Larry&Laura's cabin to do a bit of cooking
for tonight's meal (aspargras frittata app), under much more sedate conditions
than the previous night. Joining us for tonight's soiree was Laura Wallace
(Donn Reisen's indispensable right hand) of Ridge Vineyards and her husband,
Eric; plus the rest of our illustrious group; Larry & Laura Archibald,
Mikhael & Barbara Ogg, and Susan Pfeifer. The evening's wines:
-
Fredrich Wilhelm Gymnasium Oberemmeler Scharzberg Riesling Auslese 1976:
Med.gold color; fragrant/lovely flowery/R some steely/slatey bit complex
nose; tart/lean/dry slatey/steely light flowery/R bit Mosel/valve oil bit
complex flavor; still seems to be a young Mosel & not much complexity
showing yet; hard to believe that high school gymn students could
make such good wines, even w/ Karl Marx's guidance.
-
Philippe LeClerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combe aux Moines 1990:
Med.color; bit earthy/bretty/funky some complex/smokey/toasty light
violets/floral/Pinot nose; tart floral very spicy bit tannic lean/hard
spicy low fruit some earthy/bretty/funky flavor w/ rather hard tannins;
may never come around to be an attractive Pinot on the palate.
-
Ridge Paso Robles Zin 1983: Alas, unredeemably corked.
-
Ridge Pagani Ranch LatePicked Zin 1992: Very dark/black color; at
first it seemed just the PaganiRanch funkiness in the nose but then the
corked aroma started to overwhelm everything.
-
Ridge Paso Robles Dusi Ranch ATP 1991: Dark color; beautiful chocolaty/jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin
some Am.oaked bit complex/licorice nose; soft ripe/almost off-dry rich/jammy/blackberry/boysenberry
round/smooth very lush light Am.oaked/pungent flavor w/ light tannins;
probably near its peak; beautiful drinking Zin.
-
Ridge York Creek Petite Sirah 1978: Very dark color; strong peppery/black
pepper very complex smokey/pungent Am.oaked very complex perfumed nose;
rather hard/tannic dusty very spicy earthy pungent/smokey very peppery/
black pepper very complex flavor w/ hard tannins; this was a terrific wine
in the nose but I found it rather hard & tannic on the palate and drying
out a bit perhaps; others really liked it thru and thru. It's a very
complex wine and damnably difficult to describe. And certainly not up to
the '71 York Creek in character.
-
Paolo Scavino Barolo 1990: Med.dark color; light floral/violets
some truffly/pungent complex old/Barolo nose; bit hard/tannic/lean violets/floral
truffly/earthy/mushroomy complex flavor; very complex/aromatic Barolo
but still that hard/Barolo tannins on the palate.
-
Leftover Tant Pis 1995: Black color (still); intense smokey/toasty/Fr.oaked
very pencilly some blackberry/ boysenberry/Grenache fruit on the nose;
rather hard/tannic very toasty/smokey/pungent/Fr.oaked/charred some blackberry/strawberry/Grenache
flavor w/ ample tannins; still needs 3-8 yrs I would guess; it is showing
much more ManfredKrankl/oak character tonight and much less JohnAlban/peppery
fruit than the night before. Still a killer wine. Alas, my last and only
btl; but Larry still has his (hint...hint)
-
Edmunds St. John Durell Vineyard Syrah 1996: Black color; bit reduced/pungent
very spicy/peppery toasty/roasted/ pungent/smokey some blackberry/Syrah
complex nose; beautiful/rich very peppery very spicy some roasted rather
toasty/pungent/smokey/gamey/proscuitto complex flavor w/ some tannins;
a beautiful very classic SteveEdmunds Syrah; hold for another few yrs;
killer Syrah.
-
Chateau Climens 1988: Med.gold color; very fragrant light botrytis/peachy
some butterscotchy/Fr.oak bit volatile lift some complex nose; sweet beautiful
figgy/peachy/botrytis tart/round/smooth some caramel/ butterscotchy/oaked
some complex flavor; a lovely classic Sauternes that will live another
10-20 yrs.
-
Ridge Calif Zin Essence (SaH: 40.3%; RS: 17.2%; 13.4%) 1993: Brought
by Laura. Black color; very intense blackberry/jammy/boysenberry loads
of intense fruit very young nose; very sweet very intense/jammy/blackberry/
boysenberry flavor w/ some tannins; a classic Paso Essence that will live
for another 10 yrs or so; not showing any raisened/pruney character
at all only huge jammy fruit. Terrific Essence.
It was nice to get a chance to socialize w/ Laura Wallace. I had met her
a few times at large tastings at which Ridge was showing, but had never
got to talk much to her. She's not just another marketing type and she
has a very thorough & detailed knowledge of current & past operations
at Ridge. Her husband, Eric, designs, runs, maintains, etc. clean rooms
primarily for the semiconductor industry out there. He is very much a pizza
afficianado and is even importing a pizza oven ("terre blanche...terre
blanche") from France and building it in their back yard at BoulderCreek
home. But the best part of the evening was when he regaled us with his
dog's skunk/Massengill encounter in SanFrancisco. We were laughing so hard
our sides hurt & we had to plead for mercy. Worth hearing from him
sometime again.... over wood-fired pizza I would say. It's a legendary
tale. Laura indicated that the MonteBello Estate has been trademarked by
Ridge and there should be no problem with MonteBello appearing down the
road on a label from those Cabernet grapes across to road up there. The
Estate now includes the Jimsomare Vineyard, which is about 1,200'
below the primary MB property, that is totally farmed by David Gates of
Ridge. She even thinks he's put in some Syrah down there at Jimsomare.
The Maridon Vineyard (Kathyrn Kennedy) and David Bruce Syrahs are
a great indicator for the potential of Syrah in the SantaCruz Mtns. With
our sides still aching from Eric's story, they bid adieu & head down
the canyon to the TSV area. Up (reasonably) early in the morning to the
glass-washing detail and then back home to the real world.
The Taos Winter Wine Festival is a very well-organized worthwhile (in
terms of my time usage) event that attracts some very good winemakers,
at least those who like to ski. The seminars are fairly small and lots
of good interchange goes on between the winemakers and the audience. My
sense was that this yr's seminars were not quite as exciting as some in
past yrs. Still, it was a wonderful weekend. I recommend the Festival to
anyone, especially if'n you ski. The first half is devoted to the wines
of National Distributing, whose wines are far less interesting than those
in the second half from Southern Distributing. I would like to see the
two other small distributors (Botique Wines and Cesaer Chavez) represented
as well.
TomHill
Return to the Tom Hill Archive Index |
