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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 January 25, 2003:

Dinner in Honor of Mike Etzel (Beaux Freres)

On Saturday of the Taos Winter Wine Festival, Larry&Laura hosted at their cabin a dinner in honor of Mike Etzel (Beaux Freres). For once, I didn't have to provide the famous guest, Larry was able to make the invitation on his own. In addition to Michael&Barbara Ogg (and lovable dog, Harry); joining us was the rest of Mike's entourage: brother Dave Etzel, and long-time friends Bill Kopajtic, and Mark ??. Laura's grub was, as usual, outstanding. The wines wern't too shabby either:
 
  1. Nigl Gruner Veltliner Kremser Freiheit (11.5%) 2001: Very fragrant/flowery/steely/slatey nose; very tart/lean/hard very flowery/spicy steely flavor; very long/intense lean/hard lush/flowery quite spicy finish; rather rich wine but a very hard/steely character; will age forever.
  2. Beaux Freres Yamhill Cnty Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.5%) 1995: Med.dark color; very fragrant/ pencilly bright cherry/spicy some complex nose; tart/lean very spicy/cherry/black cherry elegant pencilly/oak flavor; long/lingering bit complex rather pencilly bit Burgundian bright cherry finish w/ some tannins; still needs age & seems a bit tight yet.
  3. Marcel Deiss Bergheim Vendanges Tardive GWT 1994: Beautiful/fragrant complex/spicy/lychee/GWT cinammon/nutmeg nose; slightly sweet tart/acid very rich/spicy/nutmeg/lychee flavor w/ very  long/lingering fairly complex finish; stunning GWT and will live a good many more yrs.
  4. Guigal Cote-Rotie 1983: Rather smokey/roasted bit metallic sweaty leather/horse collar bit earthy fairly complex/mature nose; smooth/soft elegant/complex/roasted/smokey slight earthy some leathery/horsecollar flavor; long/elegant complex smokey/roasted smooth finish; a bit drying out but great example of a fully mature C-R; lovely elegant complex wine.
  5. Santa Cruz Mtn Vineyard Calif Pinot Noir (14.6%) 1978/1979: Rather browning/murky color; slight menthol/ perfumed/cinammon rather oxidized/maderized/tired nose; rather strong pencilly/toasty/pungent/ charred oak dried out/astringent bit tomatoey rather oxidized flavor; a few interesting things have survived but pretty much DOA.
  6. Beaux Freres Yamhill Cnty Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.5%) 1996: Lovely perfumed/fragrant/pencilly/ Burgundian complex some black cherry/smokey nose; tart fairly lush smooth fragrant/complex quite Burgundian/black cherry/smokey flavor; very long/round/smooth black cherry pencilly/Burgundian finish w/ some tannins; still a few yrs ahead of it but really tasting great now.
  7. Beaux Freres Yamhill Cnty Beaux Freres Vineyard Pinot Noir (13.5%) 1994: Lovely black cherry/Pinot rather  toasty/oak/vanilla/cognac very perfumed/fragrant nose; bit closed more black cherry some toasty/ vanilla very spicy bit tannic flavor; very long vanilla/toasty/oak strong black cherry finish w/ some tannins; still in great shape & going strong, a bit hard/tight still but very fragrant/ spicy in character.
  8. Marcassin Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 1997: Very dark color; strong toasty/smokey/charred loads of  Fr.oak pungent chocolaty/black cherry nose; rich hard/tannic loads of toasty/charred/Fr.oak strong/rich/mouthfilling black cherry/chocolaty flavor w/ fairly tannic finish; still quite a young Pinot; a bit rough & clunky beside the BeauxFreres.
  9. Georges Roumier Bonnes-Mares 1990: Med.color; rather funky/mushroomy/earthy/animal slight floral/ violets some pencilly/toasty complex classic Burgundian nose; bit tart smooth earthy/mushroomy some pencilly/toasty light fruit/violets complex Burgundian flavor; pretty much ready to drink.
  10. Chateau Rieussec 1990: Med.gold color; beautiful very fragrant/botrytis/peachy rather strong butterscotchy/caramel fairly complex bit volatile nose; tart bit austere/lean lovely peachy/ botrytis caramel/butterscotchy some oak flavor; a lovely Sauternes starting to show some complexity but still a ways to go.
  11. Sandeman Oporto 1977: Med.color; very dusty low fruit quite alcoholic/porty/hot nose; some grapey very spirity/alcoholic/porty flavor; seems not to be developing so well w/ lots of alcoholic character
And a short bloody pulpit:
  1. BeauxFreres: This trio was brought to dinner by Mike. All three were, I thought, terrific examples of Oregon Pinot; all three very distinct and individual. My preference was for the '96 as being a bit richer and a bit more Burgundian. All three still have a good many years  ahead of them I feel. Tasting Mike's new Pinots at the GrandTasting ('00 and '01), I sensed there was a change of style taking place in his wines. A backing off on the oak and a bit more of a tarter/leaner style of Pinot. It'll be fun to watch their evolution. Terrific wines from a terrific  winemaker.
  2. SantaCruzMtn Pinot: This was the first vintage of Ken Burnap's Pinot. It was a wine that got a great many raves on its release for its strong Burgundian character. A very rare wine, this was the only btl I've ever had. Obviously shouldn't have waited so long; pretty much dead. Pity.
TomHill

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