ALL we sell, with tasting notes for mostSearch our web site by keyword. Includes the Usenet Wine FAQALL we sell, with tasting notes for mostSome of our favorite linksHow to get here from there. Highway condition links.An archive of the Santa Barbara Independent's own GRAPEVINE local wine columnWining, dining, touring, weather and more. The Definitive Guide to Tasting Wine in Santa Barbara County. Complete list of wineriesOur own great Emporium events as well as links to local area wine eventsOur line-up of spirits, definition of word related to spirits, information on producers and more Wines, wine tastings, history, neat info on wineries and winemakers and more The Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium. Experts in County of Santa Barbara Wine and Central Coast Wine
 
 Clickable Image   

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 just 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 October 2, 1997: 
 

Zinfandel

Tasted a few new Zins last week: 
  1. Rosenblum Redwood Valley RhodesVineyard/Annette's Reserve Zinfandel (Alc:14.9%) '95: Some dusty/tomatoy/Mendocina Zin spicy/raspberry light oaked nose; tart spicy/ tomatoy/dusty/raspberry light oak flavor; long dusty/tomatoy/spicy raspberry finish w/ light tannins; on the light side but an attractive Zin w/ good Mendocino character; overpriced at $18.00
  2. Rosenblum SonomaValley Cullinane Vineyard Zinfandel (14.8%) '95: Strong licoricy/monty/ menthol/oaked dusty/old vines some blackberry nose; soft fairly rich lush blackberry/menthol dusty ripe flavor; very long dusty/old vines menthol/ oaked light blackberry finish w/ light tannins; lots of menthol/oak & lots of blackberry but not much richness or extract; overpriced at $24
  3. Rosenblum NapaValley Zinfandel (13.7%) '95: Attractive spicy/raspberry vanilla/ fragrant slight licorice/pungent nose; tart light bit washed-out spicy/ raspberry slight milky/oaked flavor; med.short very vanilla/oaked light simple raspberry slight pungent finish w/ light tannins; rather oaked & a  bit on the weak side; an attractive simple spicy Zin for current drinking; overpriced at $22.
  4. Ridge California Zinfandel York Creek (14.5%) '95: Med.dark color; slight stinky/fumey nose clears to pungent/licorice dusty/earthy oaked some blackberry nose; soft rich licorice/pungent oaked/dusty/earthy light blackberry flavor; long pungent/dusty/earthy light blackberry some milky/oaked finish w/ fair tannins needs 3-7 yrs; rather atypical of York Creek & more like Geyserville or Howell Mtn Zin; a pretty big deep Zin. 
  5. Newlan Vineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.5%) '95: Med.color; fragrant very spicy/raspberry some toasty/oaked nose; soft blackberry/pungent/toasty oak bit charred flavor; med.long some pungent/charred oak earthy dusty low fruit finish w/ some tannins; a bit short on fruit & not as big & rich as the '94. 
  6. NewlanVineyards Napa Valley Zinfandel (13.5%) '94: Dark color; slight wet dog fur rather pungent toasted oaked ripe blackberry dusty nose; soft pungent charred/toasty oaked dusty/earthy some blackberry flavor; med.long pungent toasty dusty earthy light blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs another yr or two; a fairly big rich Howell Mtn type of Zin.
  7. Buehler NapaValley Zinfandel Estate (13.5%) '95: Med.dark color; deep blackberry/ raspberry lovely minty/menthol oaked some dusty nose; soft smooth balanced menthol/minty spict raspberry/blackberry lush flavor; long fragrant raspberry minty/menthol/pencilly oaked dusty complex finish w/ some tannins; a lovely balanced polished elegant Zin; best Buehler Zin since the '81; rather overpriced at $26.
  8. Joel Butler Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch Napa Valley Zinfandel (15.4%) '92: Very dark near black color; rather stinky/sewer gas/wet dog fur nose clears to pungent/ dusty old vines earthy smokey light boysenberry some pencilly/oaked nose; soft pungent/smokey/dusty/earthy/toasty some blackberry flavor; med.long pungent dusty earthy smokey blackberry rather rough/tannic finish; needs much age; has a softness that tastes a bit like second crop Zin; a big rough rustic classic HowellMtn Zin; should be a good one.
  9. Ridge California Geyserville (14.2%) '95: Very dark color; beautiful spicy complex cinammon&cloves bit milky/oaked rich raspberry/blackberry dusty old vines nose; rich smooth complex balanced dusty old vines ripe blackberry/boysen- berry oaked flavor; very long complex cinammon&cloves dusty old vines smokey ripe blackberry finish w/ some tannins; not a blockbuster Zin but a beautiful complex wine w/ lots of things going on in it; best Geyserville in some time; very well-made & should last.
  10. Peachy Canyon Paso Robles Zinfandel Westside (15.2%) '95: Med.dark color; strong PR jammy/blackberry/black cherry slight stemmy nose; soft fat PR/jammy black- berry ripe bit thin/hot flavor; med.long very blackberry/jammy PR finish w/ light tannins; a bit simple & thin w/ lots of jammy PR character, a bit disappointing for the $19.
  11. Peachy Canyon Paso Robles Zin Dusi Ranch (14.6%) '95: Med.dark color; some blackberry/jammy fragrant more dusty/old vines ripe nose; soft dusty/old  vines ripe strong blackberry/spicy some jammy flavor; long very dusty/old vines spicy/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; lots of that Dusi old vines character but a bit light for P.C.; pricey at $24.
  12. Peachy Canyon Paso Robles Zin Old Bailey Ranch (14.6%) '95: Med.dark color; light dusty less jammy ripe blackberry/boysenberry very spicy nose; soft more boysenberry/blackberry quite spicy some dusty/old vines flavor; med.long blackberry/boysenberry/spicy some dusty finish w/ light tannins; the most interesting of the P.C.; overpriced at $24.50
  13. Ridge California Zinfandel Pagani Ranch Late Picked (15.2%) '95: Very dark color;  intense blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola bit jammy some Am.oaked nose; soft rich mouthfilling pungent/licorice dusty old vines complex boysenberry/black cherry cola milky/Am.oaked flavor; very long bit hot/ alcoholic very dusty/old vines strong Am.oaked very ripe blackberry/boysen- berry finish w/ some tannins; needs 3-7 yrs; a big rich ripe extracted Zin that's not pushed over the edge.
  14. Ridge California Zinfandel Alegria Late Picked (15.7%) '95: Near black color; rather strong milky/Am.oaked intense jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cough syrup smokey very ripe nose; bit hot/alcoholic very ripe jammy/black- berry/cola dusty old vines licorice/pungent/smokey flavor; very long dusty old vines jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/black cherry cola milky Am.oaked rather tannnic finish; needs 4-10 yrs; a big huge very ripe Zin; a trip down Nostalgia Lane... like the Ridges of old.
 
    And from the bloody pulpit: 
  1. The Joel Butler Zin was made by Joel Butler, M.W., who was in charge of wine at Prima in Walnut Creek. Although a home-made wine, it's hardly what you would call an amateur wine. It really shows that dusty/Howell Mtn character that makes those wines rather unattractive in their youth but really  outstanding with some age. Sure wish Ridge still made HowellMtn Zin.
  2. The Peachy Cnyns were a bit disappointing. Lots of the PR/jammy fruit but they didn't seem to have the structure or tannins of the previous few yrs. Nicely done, interesting wines.... but just that.

    3. Ahhhhhh... the Ridges. I was pretty underwhelmed by them at ZAP last Jan, found them rather on the simple & light side. Amazing how wonderfully they've come together in the bottle. Maybe Draper knows something about making Zin after all!! The York Creek was one I really liked; perhaps the best since the '76 LatePicked. They tend to be pretty bright up-front raspberry type of Zins. The '95 is rather atypical, more like a Howell Mtn Zin. Good stuff. And the Geyserville.... best one in a number of yrs. Sometimes Geyserville can have a bit of funkiness/earthy character to it that makes it quite distinctive (the Ch. Beaucastel of Calif Zin perhaps??) and a bit Rhonish in character. Difinitely not a blockbuster of a Zin; but extremely well- balanced, extemely well-made, absolutely delicious drinking wine.  And the Pagani Ranch is another killer. Although it has a fair amount of oak, that complex Pagani fruit really comes thru. Unlike the St.Francis, which I find just simply too over-oaked. This is one great vnyd. 

    Return to the Tom Hill Archive Index