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And a bloody pulpit in case Bernie is watching:
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Calif & French Viognier: I've been very impressed w/ the increase in
the quality of the Calif Viogniers over the last few yrs. They are no longer
just a "something else but Chardonnay" wine but truly fine wines within
their own right (same story on Roussanne, too). As the first Viognier winemakers
in Calif sorta thrashed around trying to figure out how to make them, they
tended to be on the sorta of soft/fat/mono-chromatic character or too heavily
oaked Chardonnay-wannabees. Especially the Viogniers from the SantaBarbara
area (Alban; Qupe; Jaffurs; Cold Heaven) are showing more of that complex/
minerally character of Condrieu; lots of richness but a good acidic backbone.
And especially in comparison w/ many of the cheap dull insipid Viogniers
from the Languedoc/Pay d'Oc area. And then..... sigh.... I taste something
like these Cuilleron Condrieus and realize that Condrieu is still the "gold
standard" when it comes to Viognier. These are/can be stunning stunning
wines. Too bad about the prices. Calif has come a long way w/ Viognier....
but the journeys not over yet, alas!!
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The folklore/traditional viewpoint is that Condrieu/Viogniers don't age;
you drink them up when they first hit the shelves. To that, to plagarize
the late, great, but not-forgotten, Opus; I say ..... "thwpppt"!!
The Cuilleron '94 was a stunning wine w/ all the complexity that you would
want from a wine that's been aged. I've had John Alban's first Estate Viognier
at 6 yrs of age that was just beautiful; lots of complex/toasty aged wine
character. I've had a Calera Viognier at 6 yrs of age that was as youthful
& lively as when it was released. JUst because a white wine shows some
oxidation character in it does not mean it's "bad". Perhaps it's an aquired
taste??
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The Tablas Blanc '97 was probably the first WHITE Rhone blend that I've
been impressed with (save a few of the Bonny Doon Le Sophistes) as being
of equal quality to many of the Red Rhone Blends from Calif. This is a
joint operation up in the Santa Lucia Mtns above Paso Robles of Robert
Haas and the Perrin family (Ch. Beaucastel). It has seemed a bit slow to
me getting off the ground for some reason, only completing their wnry up
there less than a yr ago. The first release was rather underwhelming (most
people's reaction to them was "where's the brett"??). The '96 Rouge blend
was rather closed & underwhelming upon release, but a recent bottle
was just an awfully nice- drinking red/Rhone blend. I was even more impressed
w/ the '97 barrel samples (both Blanc and Rouge) at July's Raisin'Rhone
festival. Now at release, this '97 TablasBlanc is a very well-made very
tasty very interesting white. Not Hermitage Blanc or Chateauneuf Blanc,
but a very good Calif white blend. They have a lot of different varieties
& clones planted up there at Tablas Creek and it's going to be very
interesting to watch this property and its wines evolve. An operation to
to keep your eyes on definitely.
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Paso Robles: To me, Paso Robles is really the birthplace of the Calif/Rhone
movement that we are finally enjoying the fruits thereof. In the early
'70's Gary Eberle offered to help Harold Olmo prune this tiny plot of Syrah
at the experimental vnyd in Davis. And of course, Gary being the fastidious
guy that he is, had to stay behind & clean up all the debris. Which
was then planted down at Estrella River in Paso Robles; from which most
of the Syrah vnyds in Calif have evolved (the "Eberle" clone). I tasted
Gary's first Syrah from barrel around '78 & was most impressed; a beautiful
perfumy aromatic strawberry/fragrant wine (w/ a bit too much new French
oak). It was at that point that I KNEW Calif would, someday, make great
Syrah. Nonetheless, Paso Robles has not yet, to my judgement, made
really world- class, top-tier Rhone wines of the level of Alban, Qupe,
Edmunds StJohn, Thackery, Jaffurs, etc. The best I've had has been a Wild
Horse Syrah '95 from the Cherry Vnyd. The Eberle Syrahs are good.... nay,
very good, but just don't to me have the power & extract I'd like from
Syrah. The Eberle Viogniers have been very good, but have a fat Pillsbury
dough- boy character to them, sorta like orangutangs gallumping across
the palate in combat boots. Plenty of intensity, but just not the liveliness
of the SantaBarbara or Edna Vlly ones. With Tablas Creek coming on
line, new vnyd sources for Gary Eberle, and other new Rhone plantings in
the area; you want to keep your eye on Paso.
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Alban Vineyards: A stunning showing of John Alban's wines tonight. The
Viogniers are some of the best in Calif; very intense & aromatic but
very good acidity to them. His Roussannes are equally impressive (to be
tasted later). The Syrahs are definitely world-class. The Reva was his
first one, named after his mother. I sat by his Mom at a Raisin'Rhones
tasting and was absolutely charmed by her; not a character/off-scale/wings
of the bell curve type like Randall's mom; but one of the nicest
ladies you'd ever want to meet. His father, Seymour, is also a gem of a
person. The Lorraine, named after his bride of last year, comes from a
smaller more Southernly block of his Syrah just below the winery. The first
was his '95, but apparently most of it was consumed at his wedding party,
so little got out into the retail market. Presumably John did not have
another wedding party this year so more of the Lorraine is available at
retail; a recent release. It's as fine a Syrah as ever produced in Calif.
John has a vnyd named Seymour's Vnyd, planted mostly to Grenache way up
on top of the property, so, presumably, we'll see a Seymour Grenache sometime
in the future. And w/ a little one in the hatching chamber, probably ther'll
be another vnyd designate something (Roussanne?) a few yrs down the road.
John has been selling fruit to a number of folks (Morgan Torel/Cold Heaven;
BobLindquist/Qupe; Steve Edmunds/EdStJohn; Manfred Krankl/SQN) who have
also been making some very impressive wines. They all rave about the quality
of the fruit that comes from his vnyd. With some other plantings of Rhone
varietals in the Edna Valley area; we Rhone freaks have much to look forward
to.
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The Young's Syrah: My first exposure to their wines was their '94 ShenandoahVlly/
Amador Zin. Putrid putrid stuff smelling very fecal/dirty diaper pail in
character. Never did bother to try more recent ones, though had heard much
better reports on them. I was pleasantly surprised by this Syrah;
quite a well-made wine. Like most of the Amador Syrahs, it has a lot of
Amador Zin character; speaks more of Amador County than of Syrah; it is,
nonetheless, a very good Syrah at a good price. Maybe I'll have to
throw away my past prejudices & pay more attention to them!!
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Sean Thackery: I've liked his wines from the very first ones I've had;
not just the Syrah but all his others too. The first Syrahs, from an old
vnyd now owned by Swanson, seemed to be dominated by the minty/menthol/oak
character almost to overwhelm the fruit but a style that I really liked.
The last 2 Syrahs seemed to have been toned down a notch on the minty/menthol
character but ratcheted up a notch on the fruit category. A producer w/
a unique style that I really like. Too bad there is so little to go around.
TomHill
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