Don's Gillette's Weekly Wine Blog
Weekly musings from our store's resident wine guru
Don has over thirty years experience in the wine industry. For the last eighteen years his attention has been focused on the growing local industry. Don has a large following of customers who search out his opinions (never in short supply!) on new releases and on what's currently most distinctive on our shelves. Others seek his insights on wineries and trends that are still under the radar. Check back here each week for Don's latest thoughts on various wine-related topics. Read Don's full bio...
Email Don directly with your wine-related questions.
May 12, 2008
Captivating Cabs
Last week I attended the annual Oakville Growers trade-tasting event called "Taste of Oakville". We receive a much sought-after invitation each year, for what is almost entirely a tasting of first-class Cabernet. This tasting can bring together in the same room (depending on if every member shows up) some of Napa Valleys most familiar names and some of its most highly praised "cult" labels.
This year Denise, James and I found the usual bevy of fine Cabs: including Harlan; Screaming Eagle; Bond; Mondavi, Far Niente; Nickel & Nickel; etc., along with debuts from Kelleher and Futo (the later was good, but ambitiously pricey).
For the second year in a row, my personal favorite wine was from a grower-turned-winery called Tierra Roja. Their 2005 was even better than their stunning 2004 debut. That wine was incredibly scarce, but in 2005 there is a bit more, along with a promise from owner Linda Neal to give NVWE enough for our Fall High Rollers Cabernet Club box.
Some of my other Cab favorites were: 2005 Ghost Block; 2005 Rudd; 2005 Stanton; 2005 Tamber Bey; 2005 Plump Jack; 2005 Oakville East "Exposure"; 2004 Bond "Vecina" & 2004 Bond "St. Eden"; 2005 Mondavi "Reserve" and 2004 Harlan.
Also impressive were: 2005 Venge Merlot; 2004 Paradigm Merlot; 2004 Paradigm Cab, 2005 Oakville Ranch Cab; 2005 Hoopes Cab (bottled the day before and showing it); and 2005 Mondavi "Oakville".
A few of the above have been released, while others will trickle out over the coming months. Some, like the Bond, Harlan and a few others are always scarce, but have been made even more so by advance publicity. The just-released Harlan, for instance, has already earned a Wine Advocate score of 98 points. As you might expect, its price reflects that. Oh well...
Posted by Don on May 12, 2008 11:41 AM |Permalink
May 5, 2008
A Memorable Anniversary
Ridge Vineyards is celebrating an anniversary this year and we recently emailed a special offer on some of their new releases, so I thought it appropriate to reprint an article written in 1942 about the property that they so famously occupy.
This article appeared in the ABC of America's Wines, written by Mary Frost Mabon and published by Alfred A Knopf. The book was long out-of-print when I found my copy in a used bookstore in Santa Barbara, California, in the late 1970s. The book has two-page summaries of the prominent wineries of the era, of which there were a surprising number considering this was only a few years after the repeal of Prohibition.
Ridge was founded in the 1960s in the hills above Cupertino, reviving the vineyards that had previously been farmed by the Montebello Wine Company. It is interesting that they produced both bulk and premium wines, with the flagship being Estate Cabernet. From the book:
Montebello Wine Co.
[St. Helena, California]
The Montebello Wine Co. was founded in 1894. The company, with producing winery at St. Helena, also still owns the historic old Montebello cellar picturesquely situated atop the hills between the Bay and the Pacific near Cupertino in the Santa Clara Valley.
A good deal of the output of Montebello is sold in bulk, but its bottled-at-the-winery wines appear on better wine lists in California (as on the Bohemian Club list) and are rapidly becoming more widely distributed. The red wines are really excellent. You might remember, in addition to the Cabernet listed below, its Montebello Burgundy and Santa Clara Barbera
Brands and Prices
Montebello is the best brand for drys and desserts. Santa Clara is the secondary brand for drys and desserts.
Approximate prices: around $1.00 for the top brand, both dry table and dessert; around 50 cents for the secondary brand; ditto. Distribution in New York, New England states, Oregon, Nevada, and Maryland.
Outstanding Wines
Dry Table Reds
Montebello Cabernet. This is easily the vineyard's best wine, blended with enough Cabernet to give distinction and quality. Medium-bodied, it is robust enough to stand up with strong-flavored food; Italian restaurants around the Bay area like to serve it with pizza or chicken cacciatore.
Posted by Don on May 5, 2008 8:29 AM |Permalink
April 28, 2008
Tis the Season
The greater number of the wines we taste each year are sampled at our store, although we visit wine country as often as circumstances allow. The commercial tastings we attend are scattered throughout the year, often in seasonal clusters. Three important ones are on the horizon.
I am posting this blog on the morning of April 28th, after which Denise, Kristen, James and I will be off to an overnight in Napa Valley. The excuse for this mini-extravagance is the annual Oakville Growers tasting, a Taste of Oakville. It is a trade-only event, sponsored by both growers and wineries, and a Cabernet lover's fantasy.
It is essentially a tasting of upcoming releases, and although there are always one or two "no shows," the event assembles under one roof, nearly every great Oakville producer. Association member wineries include, among others: Dalla Valle, Far Niente, Hoopes, Heitz, Paradigm, Plump Jack, Rudd, Tierra Roja, Bond, Detert, Harlan, Joseph Phelps, Nickel & Nickel, Opus One, Robert Mondavi and Screaming Eagle. Since only Oakville Appellation wines are allowed, a producer like Mondavi can only bring their Oakville and Tokalon Vineyard bottlings. Bye the way, the later is Mondavi's most-treasured property.
Back to the Barrels
May 12th marks the Passport to Cabernet tasting, put on by the California Cabernet Society, which has over 90 members. It is held at Napa's Culinary Institute in St. Helena, and is for the trade. Passport is the first and best opportunity to evaluate the preceding harvest. It is Napa dominated, but also showcases a few bottlings from Sonoma Mountain, Alexander Valley, Santa Cruz and Paso Robles. Producers from lesser Cab appellations generally avoid this venue, wisely not choosing to exhibit their wares in the shadow of those from Oakville, Rutherford and the like.
I find this tasting to be an especially good one for evaluating the success of the sub-appellations inside Napa Valley, as there are usually fine producers represented from each. I see a lot of well-known faces as well, so it is always a pleasant day (unless their is a heat-wave, as the Culinary Institute is very poorly ventilated).
The mood of winemakers is easy to tap at this affair. It ranges from jubilation, when they are pouring a great and trouble-free year like 2002; to anxiety, in years like 2006 which are slow to reveal themselves; to despair, in tough-to-sell years like 2008. 2007 already has a major buzz, and like everyone else, I am anxious to see if it is truly as brilliant as rumored.
See you there!
One of my favorite tastings is held in San Francisco and is open to the public. This year's Pinot Days, opens with supporting events beginning June 24th, and culminates in a grand tasting on Sunday, June 29th. This is the biggest Pinot tasting of the year and the most well-run.
Previous Pinot Days have assembled an amazing number of our best, and least seen producers, and have provided the kick-off venue for some of the most exciting new ones. Last year, one could explore the wines from a brilliant new bottler like Benovia, then twenty feet away, sample five Chasseur vineyard-designates and chat with winemaker Bill Hunter (Bill and Chasseur are unfortunately not on this years pourers list).
The 2008 event will have more than 175 participants, most bringing multiple bottling (some wineries make more than ten Pinots). Those who can attend should contact Pinot Days at: http://www.pinotdays.com
Posted by Don on April 28, 2008 7:44 AM |Permalink
April 21, 2008
Awash in Pinot
I know that I will soon grow tired of talking about Pinot Noir, if not of tasting it. As someone who tries between 40 and 200 wines per week I would hope and expect to have a diverse set of wine topics, yet this one keeps jumping into view.
I have said before that 2006 is going to be an important "reserve" vintage. By this, I meant that those who kept their best fruit separate would almost certainly be able to market some great wine. I am convinced that there is so much outstanding fruit available that 2006 must be seen as a great vintage, although it's up-and-down nature has proven worrisome to most winemakers.
That opinion has been primarily based on northern California releases, but in the last few weeks I have seen more clear evidence of the same pattern in the important southern Pinot appellations.
Some good ones
Laetitia both sells fruit and markets a variety of Pinots from their large property. Their two outstanding, if quite different, bottlings are labeled Les Galets and La Colline. The 2006s are brilliant, with the darker, plusher Les Galets a fruit-forward beauty, packed with Bing cherries and Oolong tea, and the tightly-wound and even more cellar-worthy La Colline a racy mix of red currant, pomegranate, red licorice and roasted grain.
Tantara, a small Santa Maria Valley Pinot specialist, also makes a Le Colline. Tantara's 2006 is brilliant, and is a near clone of the Laetitia. These folks have made wonderfully age-worthy Pisoni bottlings for years and their 2006 is impressive, if not quite as focused as their La Colline, or as fruit forward as their delicious cherry and red rose dominated Soloman Hills. These are just a tip of the Tantara iceberg, as this little winery will sometimes market more than twenty wines.
At Home in the Highlands
I won't go into detail about the myriad of fine Santa Lucia Highlands Pinots I have lately seen, but watch out for the just-released 2006s from Morgan and Loring and Siduri. I plan to try anything and everything made from Rosella's vineyard in '06, as it looks to have been generally even more successful than the Garys', although the Kosta-Browne versions may be close to even.
Not much has yet appeared from the Pisoni, so the jury is still out, although Gary Pisoni's Estate, scheduled for fall release, is certainly a killer. Belle Glos' Las Alturas 2006 is another fine effort, while the '06 Paraiso Estate and Summerland's Monterey are hot values. The Black Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains, is the first fine SCM I have seen, although it's early yet.
Next week, I promise to return to Cabs and Chardonnays, etc...
Posted by Don on April 21, 2008 11:13 PM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
April 14, 2008
2007 Sonoma Pinot Noir: In search of a great harvest [Part Four]
Benovia
We did not barrel-taste at Benovia, but did try their full line-up of 2006s, fulfilling a long-held desire to visit the property. James and I had emailed the winery, or spoken to GM Bob Mosby, on about twenty occasions over the last two years. Benovia first caught our attention when they purchased the Cohn vineyard (most often seen in the past, as a vineyard designated bottling from Kosta Brown). We had also learned that they were developing new vineyards of their own in the RRV. Later we found that they contracted with a few of our favorite Pinot growers. It was obvious that they had serious plans for the grape, although it was uncertain that they would offer the wines through any wine store.
Since our initial contact, I had had opportunities at Pinot tasting venues to try barrel samples of the 2006 Benovia Cohn bottling and an as-yet unnamed proprietary reserve blend. Both were extremely impressive, so we continued to call the winery, to keep our foot in the door. This spring Bob told us that Benovia had decided to let NVWE sell their wines and had samples on the way of their first Pinot and, unexpectedly, a tiny-production Chardonnay. When we got to taste them, we thought both were spectacular debuts, and it was with a re-taste of these that we began our winery tour.
The 2006 Chardonnay La Pommeraie was absolutely gorgeous, with wonderfully vibrant RRV fruit and a creamy-nutty underlay that suggested Chassagne-Montrachet. Benovia owns no Chardonnay vineyards, but had wisely contracted for fruit from Martinelli's famous Zio Tony vineyard. The 2006 Benovia Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, is a blend from several vineyards, and this was my third bottle-tasting of it. It showed beautifully defined fruit and a lovely texture that coated the palate through a long finish. The fruit was centered on boysenberry, cherry, red plum, accented by a splendid array of sweet and savory spices.
Destined for fall released (hopefully to us as well as the winery's direct mail customers) are three more Pinots. They bottled 225 cases of the Cohn bottling, which had aromatic accents that suggested violet, lavender and orange peel, over very ripe cherry, red raspberry and pomegranate. The wine was very long, with dark earthy hints and some roasted grain notes and loads of sweet fruit at the finish.
The proprietary reserve is still without a name (Bob is inviting suggestions), but it was was my favorite. Sadly, they only bottled 175 cases. It is a blend of fruit from Cohn, Martinelli's wonderful Seven Mules, and the terrific Dutton Ranch property called Manzana. It showed a superb nose of Amarena and Maraschino cherry, boysenberry, red plum, pomegranate, red rose, vanilla cream and pink peppercorn. It was deep and sinewy on the palate, with grippy tannins and a super-long finish of cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, cereal grain and some darker, earthier notes.
Benovia also bottled 250 cases of an Anderson Valley Pinot, from the highly regarded Savoy vineyard. Like the other fall releases, it was just bottled. At this point it has a tightly-wound, gutsy impression, with aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, earth and vanilla. It was the only wine we tried that seemed bottle-shocky, so I hope to give it a re-taste in the fall.
The Cohn vineyard is planted to Zinfandel as well and in 2006 it produced 275 cases of a powerhouse. It has aromas of pomegranate syrup, crushed flowers, passion fruit, cherry liqueur and pepper and flavors that are both super-ripe and cuttingly crisp. It will get better for three or four years and it reminded me strongly of the great Sodini vineyard Zins I used to get from Rocchioli.
Kastania
Kastania, owned by "Hoot" Smith and his wife Linda, was our last stop. Kastania was a highly regarded fruit source for several years before it became a winery, so customers may recognize the name. The name has most often been seen as a reserve-level Pinot from Landmark, and more recently as the same from Willowbrook. The Smiths made the extremely wise decision to hire Leslie Cisneros (of Arista fame) as winemaker. Napa Valley Winery Exchange debuted the Kastania label with a delicious Estate Pinot and an even better Proprietor's Reserve bottling from the very fine 2005 vintage.
We tried two barrels of 2007 Kastania. The Estate barrel was a three clone blend, comprised of 667, 115 and Pommard. it offered bright boysenberry and wild strawberry, with sweet smoke, dried orange peel, vanilla cream and roasted grain scents, and showed a fairly gutsy mouth-feel, with flavors of boysenberry, red plum, dried cranberry, smoke, roasted grain and peppery bouillon.
The Proprietor's Reserve barrel had a similar clonal mix, but was deeper, oakier and more tightly wound. The aromas were of sweet red plum, boysenberry, sweet smoke, yellow rose, coriander seed and minerals, while the flavors were a very long, cutting-crisp melange of boysenberry, Maraschino cherry. red plum, roasted grain, yellow rose, pink peppercorn and leather. This one had penetrating flavor and was pristinely focused.
We also tried the recently bottled and soon to be released 2006s, although they were still a bit tight. The Estate version was more delicate than its 2005 counterpart, but had pretty scents of strawberry-rhubarb pie, rose, pink peppercorn and vanilla. On the palate, the impression of delicacy was more apparent, continuing through a lingering finish that reprised the aromas.
The 2006 Proprietor's Reserve was darker and predictably smokier, with strawberry, cherry, yellow rose and white pepper prominent in both the aroma and flavor. The finish was long, but still tightly wrapped. As with the fine 2005, this one will take several months after its release to show all it has to offer. Well sated, but starting to droop, the four of us said our thank yous and hit the road. It had been a long day, marked by pleasure, intellectual stimulation and in my case, writer's cramp.
Posted by Don on April 14, 2008 10:30 AM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
April 7, 2008
2007 Sonoma Pinot Noir: In search of a great harvest [Part Three]
I believe our store was the first to sell Chasseur wines, when we debuted Bill Hunter's (Chasseur is French, for hunter) 1994 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay. He produced 48 cases and we, by dint of our obvious enthusiasm and easy proximity to his cellar, talked him out of 13. We have sold Chasseur Chardonnays and Pinots without a lapse ever since, and have learned important things about Bill over the years.
His home has always been in the cellar. Until recently, we had seen scant evidence that he had a life outside of the barrel room, but Bill is fanatical about how he makes wine. He shows little patience with what he sees as the quality compromises and marketing ploys of some producers: large tank fermentations, or Pinot Noirs with residual sugar, for instance.
Bill hates "declassifying" expensive fruit (he practically grinds his teeth as he says the word), but has consistently done so for years, in order to protect the quality reputation of Chasseur. In the 1990s he marketed a number of "second labels" to move lesser barrels, actually producing very little Pinot under the Chasseur label before 2000.
His problem in the early days was that virtually every outstanding Pinot vineyard was under contract to others. Bill became one of the first vintners to exploit the many new Russian River and Sonoma Coast plantings that became available at the Century's end. He used his RRV and SC appellation bottlings as a testing laboratory for those new vineyards, ultimately discarding some and elevating others to vineyard designated status after they demonstrated their merit.
We are all seeing the rewards now, as the quality of fruit he now receives is consistently high enough to at least qualify for Chasseur's appellation bottlings. Bill thinks he will never have to market a second label again. When, as in 1996, he chooses not to produce some of the vineyard designates, it costs him money, but it actually serves to enrich the blends, to the benefit of his customers and his reputation.
I will discuss Bill's brilliant 2006 and 2007 Chardonnays another day, as the topic here is Pinot. We tasted his three 2006 vineyard designated Pinots, all now in bottle. I found the Blank Road wildly floral and packed with sweet herbs and juicy cherry and currant fruit. The Freestone (from the fine Cleary Ranch, near the south-west edge of the RRV) is a bright, structured, vividly focused, intense and clearly age-worthy bottling, with red currant, raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate, yellow rose, coriander seed, roasted grain, pink peppercorn, etc in lock-step formation. It seems like a slightly leaner clone of the 2004 or 2005.
2006 introduces the Umino Vineyard, and it is a real discovery, located a bit south-east of the Cleary property. The 2006 is blast of fruit and the picture of harmony. It is a palate-coating wave of Amarena cherry, sweet red plum, boysenberry, dried orange peel, roasted grain, pink peppercorn, sumac, fresh rose, smoke and hunters broth. Truly yummy, and just a puppy!
2007 in barrel
Bill's Sexton Road bottling comes from the Cornerstone vineyard, east of Freestone, and we tasted 3 barrels representing clones 777, 828 and 114. The first two showed earthy/gamey/bouillon notes in support of rich Bing cherry fruit, while the 114 was a blast of Amarena cherry, sweet plum, yellow rose and pink peppercorn, floating on a rich wave of roasted grain.
We tried only one barrel from Bill's new Ferguson vineyard, a property just west of the Cleary Ranch. The wine was focused, very rich and quietly zesty, with red plum, sweet red cherry, orange peel and white and black peppercorn scents and flavors, with a slightly citric shift at the finish.
Ray Hill is another new west-end RRV property, located between Cornerstone and Cleary. The barrel we tasted was a beauty, with loads of boysenberry, sweet cherry, red plum, dried orange, roasted grain and coriander seed scents and flavors, backed by a distinctive sweet-earthiness. It carried a brilliant combination of sweet-savory and rich-elegant impressions that seemed to jump from the glass.
We tried two barrels of the Holder vineyard Pinot. This new one is from a vineyard on Graton Road, north of Cleary Ranch. Clone 115 had restrained aromatics, but great length. Clone 667 was deep and spicy on the mid-palate, with white pepper, sweet red cherry, red plum, boysenberry, smoke, roasted grain and hints of Oolong tea. I can't wait to see what they will be like, when blended together.
Sylvia's vineyard is a Dutton ranch property located considerably north-east of Bill's other sources, and it produces his most requested Pinot. The sole barrel we tasted was almost syrupy-ripe, with aromas of spiced plum, dried cherry, dried cranberry, candied orange peel, etc. It was super forward and almost too rich and obvious for a Chasseur Pinot, yet it had a sappy mouth-feel and tannins to balance its richness, and It certainly was delicious.
We tried four barrels of Umino, which gets my vote as the most captivating property from Chasseur's dramatic new vineyard list. Clone 115 was deep and classy in aroma, bright at the mid-palate, and lingering. The profile was of red plum, red licorice, pink peppercorn, red raspberry and roasted grain. I found clone 667 super-forward, deep, sappy, long and altogether distinctive. Mr. Lincoln rose, beet, powdered sumac, Amarena cherry, baking spice, leather, roasted grain, coriander and raspberry syrup all appeared in my comments on this spectacular barrel.
Umino clone 459 seemed a perfect compliment to the 667, offering grandly rich, ultra-long flavors of cherry, dried orange, grain, red plum, leather, pink peppercorn and roasted meat. The 777 was super sinewy-grippy, with guts and structure, but a river of flavor. Its boysenberry, red cherry, pomegranate, red raspberry, red rose, smoke, white pepper and roasted grain panorama was only slightly reined-in by its firm spine of tannin.
Two barrels of Blank Road were offered, from clone 777 and clone 115. The former was a surprisingly complete package of sweetly fruity and richly savory flavors. With red plum, sweet red cherry, boysenberry and violet; seamlessly layered with leather, smoke, white pepper, mineral and grain elements. The later was overtly riper, showing raspberry syrup, red currant liqueur, dried orange peel, Maraschino cherry, leather, grain and coriander seed.
Freestone is always the most structured Chasseur Pinot and is typically the most pristinely focused. No vintage has yet reached full maturity, but I believe it is Bill's signature wine, the one he will ultimately be proudest of. Clone 115 was dead-on, with orange peel, red raspberry, red plum, boysenberry, pink peppercorn, coriander, grain, Maraschino cherry and strong mineral accents in a tightly coiled and classy package.
The 777 was more opulent, with Amarena cherry, raspberry, pink peppercorn, yellow rose, leather and mineral notes of great length, and a mid-palate mouth-feel that was wonderfully sinewy. The finish was super-long, focused and structured. This should be the fourth great Freestone in a row, but Lord knows when it will be fully mature.
Next week: Part Four
Benovia and Kastania
Posted by Don on April 7, 2008 10:27 AM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
April 3, 2008
2007 Sonoma Pinot Noir: In search of a great harvest [Part Two]
A complicated tasting process
Barrel and clonal selection each have a profound effect on the quality and character of Pinot Noir. The widespread use of European cooperage in California began in earnest in the 1970s and is one of the signatures of our best wines today. The local availability of authentic French Pinot Noir clones is the primary reason for the grapes enormous improvement in quality and its vast expansion in acreage here over the past 25 years.
In Dijon, at the north end of Burgundy, is a nursery which is charged with maintaining a large heritage stock of Pinot Noir clones. About 1990 the wine school at UC Davis and this French organization began cooperatively swapping clones. When a "Dijon clone" arrives at UC Davis, it is verified as disease-free, assigned a number (clone 667, 828, etc.) and propagated for use by California vintners.
Prior to the introduction of the Dijon clones, local growers would plant from our own local heritage clones. These had source-based names such as Swan (from the Joseph Swan vineyard), Pommard (possibly from Rochioli), Calera, Mount Eden, Chalone, or Martini, etc. The original source of each was French, but their provenance was usually uncertain otherwise. What they had in common was that they were not, as a group, cold weather clones.
It was already clear before their arrival, that the Dijon clones would have an enormous impact. In places like the Green Valley (a sub-appellation of the more famous Russian River Valley) the local soil/terroir situation seemed nearly ideal for Pinot Noir cultivation, if growers only had cold weather clones. Equally viable terroir existed in Santa Barbara, Santa Lucia, the Sonoma Coast, Mendocino and in coastal valleys up and down the state.
Twenty five years later, a California Pinot grower might now be expected to plant to any mixture of local and Dijon clones, and such a mix is typical. Our growers have also learned farming techniques which allow the cool weather cultivation of many of our own heritage clones. These days, the clonal diversity and cooperage options can make barrel tasting from a single vineyard both complicated to record and hard to easily relate to the reader.
At Halleck
I have written in the past about my appreciation of the barrel mix at Halleck. Time constraints (Jennifer had a plane to catch) dictated the depth of our look at their 2007s. A one barrel review of their 2007 Estate vineyard Pinot (more supple, if less dramatic the the 2006, with lots of "rooty" notes, red berries and white pepper and great sophistication) and their upcoming Sebastopol Hills blend (showing lovely harmony and plenty of forward fruit, like their Three Sons blend) was all we had, although we tasted extensively from both of their 2007 Farm vineyard and Hallberg vineyard offerings.
We tried a composite blend of the Hallberg, followed by three cooperage choices of clone 777 and two of clone 115. The quality of fruit expression of each was terrific, with the 777 versions showing more citrus and red fruits, while the 115 brought more savory depth. The Cadus barrels pushed citric notes forward, while the Remond barrels brought depth and harmony, and the Latour cooperage (so typical of Latour barrels) brought a dark smoke and bouillon note. Throughout the Hallberg group, the fruit was pervasive, offering a cascade of scents and flavors that included: Bing cherry, crab apple syrup, sweet red plum, yellow rose, boysenberry, orange custard, roasted grain and bouillon, along with polished, grippy tannins and great length.
We tasted Farm barrels, mostly clone 115, which were packed with dark cherry, white and black peppercorn, beet, sweet red plum, cereal grain, sweet vanilla, etc. The texture was sappy/sinewy and the length outstanding throughout. The fruit shown by the Halleck samples, as a whole, was indicative of great vintage Pinot. I can't wait to see these in bottle!
Cal Star, Rick Davis' own label, will produce two bottlings in 2007. His Londer vineyard Pinot showed lovely Bing cherry, red plum and cereal grain notes, while his Sonoma Coast blend was brighter and more citric, with red cherry, red plum, dry red rose and white pepper in a nice balance.
Next week, Part Three:
Chasseur
Posted by Don on April 3, 2008 8:02 AM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
March 24, 2008
2007 Sonoma Pinot Noir: In search of a great harvest [Part One]
There has been a steady murmur from winemakers up and down our state about the 2007 Pinots. If early enthusiasm is any kind of a marker, this is the perfect vintage. We naturally have an interest in the accuracy of such rumors and have been anxious to investigate them. On March 22nd, a cloudless seventy-two degree day, James Jackson and I, along with NVWE alumni Adam Werner and Cory Declusin headed north to investigate.
A perfect vintage for Cabernet denotes something quite different from an ideal one for Pinot. Cabernets from great vintages have more sheer power, better focus, more depth, more intensity, bigger tannins and are of altogether grander scale than Cabs made in years that are merely excellent. In such a year, Cabernet can produce majestic wines even from young vines. Great vintage Cabs are wines that you can stand back and look up at.
The perfect Pinot vintage will produce wines that are truly seamless and endlessly seductive. Wines that possess wonderful clarity and exotic depth, along with splendid mouth-feel. In such wines, fruit acidity looses its citric edge, but its zest is retained, being subsumed into the other elements of flavor and texture. The result is a wave of scent and taste that pulls you into the wine.
Pinots made from older vines have an extra dimension of structure and significantly more depth, so they hit even grander heights as they mature. I have come to believe that the primary quality differences between the best California Pinots and their French counterparts are vine age, and the expertise the grower gains as he grows old, working those vines.
One of the things I expect to find in Pinot from a great vintage is an impression of "grip". This is an old-fashioned word, which I personally define as the mouth-feel a wine has when the tannins are dense, yet fully integrated into the texture and flavor profile. In Pinots with grip, the tannins seem to have grown-up in support of the even richer fruit, rather than been added by winemaking decision. The tannin adds weight and is clearly noticeable, but it never intrudes on the forward-moving wave of fruit by clipping the finish, or otherwise blunting the impression of elegance. The mouth-feel of such Pinot strikes me as "sinewy" or full of "sap".
Four and a half stops
We made three stops in the Russian River Valley and one in the Sonoma Coast, spending our first hour and a half drinking Pinot with Jennifer Halleck and winemaker Rick Davis at Halleck Winery. We tasted from 11 barrels of Jennifer's 2007 crop, followed by a 2 barrel sampling of Rick's own 2007 Calstar Pinot.
Chasseur's Bill Hunter surprised us with a stand-up lunch, which fortified us for the three hours we spent tapping 5 of his 2007 & 2006 Chardonnay barrels, 16 of his 2007 Pinot barrels and enjoying his three 2006 vineyard-designated Pinot bottlings. Bill is releasing only those three from 2006, after offering five in 2005. He could conceivably market as many as eleven from 2007, a vintage he is ecstatic about.
At Benovia, our host Bob Mosby, poured his line-up of recently bottled 2006 Pinots, along with a 2007 Pinot Rose and a 2006 Zio Toni vineyard Chardonnay. This was a long-delayed visit, as I have been eagerly anticipating the debut of Benovia Pinot for almost three years.
Our last visit was in Petaluma, part of the Sonoma Coast AVA, at a vineyard located south of the RRV, near US Highway 101. Kastania's vineyard's owners, Hoot (note the owl on the label) and Linda Smith used to sell their Pinot grapes. Since 2005 they have marketed two bottlings of their own as well, and had the good sense to hire Leslie Cisneros (winemaker at Arista) to help make them. Kastania's bottled 2006s and barrel 2007s, and a tiny production 2005 Meritage, rounded out our tasting day.
Next week, Part Two:
What the Wines said about 2007
Posted by Don on March 24, 2008 1:08 PM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
March 17, 2008
Biting the Apple
Frank and I went to a tasting at San Francisco City Hall last week. It was a nice venue for it, close to our store, and an even more beautiful building inside than out. Our host was the Napa Valley Vintners Association and most of wineries pouring were of modest to mid-size. As might be expected, about 80% of the wine poured was red, Cabernet Sauvignon being dominant.
One of the attractions was that this was a chance to try more of the upcoming 2005 Cabernets, now in bottle. I saw this tasting is a "must attend", but although I'm sure that 2005 will ultimately prove a great vintage, I worry about its public reception should showcases like this one become the norm.
In 2005, there was way too much Cabernet fruit on the vine. With extra fruit comes temptation. Mother Nature, a wicked lady who can shrink a crop to bankruptcy levels, will occasionally do the opposite, taunting growers and vintners by offering them enough fruit to pay off all their loans and upgrade their transportation.
2005 was a big juicy apple, a mouthwatering treat for greedy producers. I know that many privately owned wineries have a passionate commitment to quality and I believe that many corporate-controlled wineries are well run, but most corporate CEOs have a long and loving relationship with this particular forbidden fruit.
It's still a bit early to know how many vintners took a bite in 2005, as many wineries are still pouring 2004s (Heitz is just now showing their lovely 2003 "Martha's"). Judging by the group I saw at City Hall, even some small producers were munching, although I can't really cite anyone there who ate the whole thing. Certainly there were some good 2005 Cabs at the event, but many were lackluster.
What do you get when you over-crop an otherwise great vintage? Well, the wines I am discussing seemed uniformly rich, but there just wasn't enough fruit to dominate the oak. The fruit was broadly Cabernet-like, but showed only modest concentration and even less definition. Soft tannins were the norm, but their presence represented less a stylistic choice, than a further proof of over-cropping. Boring and Wimpy, my two favorite pals. What can I say about a Cabernet-dominated event where the most memorable wine was a Merlot?
I have to say it again: I am convinced that 2005 is going to be a great vintage. Just a few days before the Napa Vintners showcase, I attended a similar Cabernet-dominated tasting where a few of the real 2005s stood up. Anyone wanting to see one of those need only try the 2005 Versant, coming later this month. That wine will tell you all you need to know.
By the way, the Merlot I liked so much was the 2005 Coho Winery "Michael Black Vineyard". It was a truly gorgeous wine, worth its $65 tariff. It's due in tomorrow.
Posted by Don on March 17, 2008 9:26 AM |Permalink | TrackBacks (0)
March 10, 2008
Winemakers and their Babies
I suspect that the 2006 Pinot Noir vintage will ultimately be regarded as a fine-to-great one for the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations. It is a crop that many winemakers have been in a bit of a sweat about for the last year or so. That could well be a good sign, as most winemakers prefer trouble-free years where they don't have to make decisions, notorious second-guessers that they are.
Bill Hunter, owner and winemaker of Chasseur Winery and an inveterate second-guesser, stopped by last Wednesday to pour us his '06 RRV and Sonoma Coast Pinots. The wines are due for April release and he sought opinions as to their readiness to show customers. I thought the wines were absolutely delicious and better than their 2005 siblings.
Bill was surprised and seemed relieved to hear my opinion. This wasn't news to me, as he is always a good deal more critical about his own wines than his customers are.
A group of us had barrel-tasted his 2006 Pinots last fall. At the time he told us it wasn't a perfect year like 2005, so he was going to have to "declassify" some of his vineyard-designated Pinots to keep the level of that group up to par. The Sylvia's, the Pratt and the Joyce Pinots would not be produced. Along with lesser barrels from some of the other single vineyard wines, their juice would go into his generic RRV and Sonoma Coast blends.
Bill seemed a bit dejected as he spoke to us, but when he gave us a taste of the wines he was not going to declassify, they were wonderful. They were in no sense "marginal" Reserves. I thought they could stand proudly alongside his great 2004 and 2005 wines. I remember assuring my coworkers that there was a strong likelihood that Chasseur's generic bottlings would be splendid in 2006. After all, they had been "elevated" by fruit from some of Bill's best vineyards. I could see the cup was half full, while Bill clearly suspected that it was half empty.
Winemakers don't get out much, and I sometimes imagine them locked in a dark cellar moodily brooding over their creations. Over the last year I have spoken with several great winemakers who betrayed anxiety about the new vintage. Each seems to have had tough decisions, but as far as I can tell they keep making all the right decisions.
Six months ago Dan Goldfield, of Dutton-Goldfield, told me he was concerned about his Reserve Pinots. (I thought the barrel samples he showed us were impressive, if tight) Would he have enough fine barrels to bottle more than one, or hopefully two, vineyard-designates? I learned Tuesday, that when the dust cleared he was able to bottle all four, a feat he was unable to do in the great 2005 vintage!
I keep discovering more delicious 2006s, so I can't wait to try the Reserve versions when they really start to show up in quantity next fall. You know, I sometimes wonder if expectant mothers get as worried about their babies as winemakers do?