by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Vinum Cellars Pointe Blanc Calif WTW (CheninBlanc/Viognier/Roussanne; 1500 cs) '98: Pale gold color; fragrant/grapey rather CB/celery light pear/Viognier nose; tart/clean/sharp light celery/fruity some spicy/pear flavor; med.long buttery/pear/Viognier some rich/lush finish; very pleasant whistle-clean white; seems mostly CB but some Viognier richness.
2. Domaine Gourt de Mautens Rasteau/Cotes du Rhone-Villages (14%) Jerome Bressy '98: Black color; strong dusty/earthy some plummy/licorice bit roasted/Rhonish nose; hard/extracted/ tannic dusty/earthy slight plummy/licorice light roasted/CdR huge/mouthfilling flavor; med.long very tannic/astringent/extracted dusty/earthy some Rhone/roasted light plummy/ licorice finish w/ ample tannins; needs lots of time; seems closed right now.
3. Cornas Le Vielles Fontaines Alain Voge '97: Med.dark color; beautiful/fragrant some blackberry/Syrah some pencilly/oaked light roasted some earthy/dusty/SouthernRhonish nose; hard/tannic some dusty/earthy bit smokey/roasted some blackberry/Syrah bit rustic flavor; med.long dusty/earthy/SouthernRhone some roasted/pencilly/smokey finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; not as rough & rustic & more fruit than many Cornas; terrific Cornas.
4. Limerick Lane Russian River Vlly Sonoma Cnty Syrah Collins Vnyd (14.2%; U/U) '97: Very dark color; rather toasty/oaked blackberry/boysenberry bit smokey/dusty slight gamey nose; soft lush licorice/chocolaty/blackberry/boysenberry/lush rather toasty/oaked flavor; med.long soft dusty/blackberry/boysenberry/chocolaty some toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; this is how LL used to make their Zins; not a lot of Syrah character, more like RRV Zin; good tasty red but not worth the $30.
5. Edmund et David Duclaux Cote-Rotie (12.8%) '97: Dark color; very fragrant/spicy some blackberry/Syrah some roasted/espresso/C-R perfumy nose; soft some roasted/espresso/toasty/ smokey some blackberry/Syrah very spicy/elegant flavor; med.long elegant biy lean very spicy/perfumed some blackberry/roasted/espresso finish w/ light tannins; a lovely elegant fragrant C-R.
6. Livingston Moffett Napa Vlly Mitchell Vnyd Syrah (13.7%; 5% Viognier) Winemaker: John Kongsgaard '97: Very dark color; intense licorice/pungent some blackberry/Syrah very toasty/charred/pungent Fr.oak nose; soft bit herbal/licorice strong toasty/charred/smokey/ pungent/Fr.oak light blackberry flavor; med.long toasty/charred/Fr.oaked licorice/pungent herbal some blackberry finish w/ some tannins; lots of Fr.oak (a Kongsgaard trait) & lots of pungent/licorice fruit; develops a strong blackberry/gamey character w/ air; a bit on the heavy-handed/clunky side but interesting/tasty Calif-style of Syrah.
7. Robert & Patrick Jasmin Cote-Rotie (12.5%) '98: Very dark color; beautiful dusty/smokey some roasted/espresso lots of blackberry/Syrah/gamey/fruit complex nose; rich very spicy blackberry/Syrah/gamey/dusty some roasted/espresso/smokey complex/stunning flavor; very long light roasted/espresso loads of blackberry/black cherry/Syrah fruit licorice/pungent very spicy finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; very Hermitage-like in character w/ more blackberry/Syrah fruit than most; stunning stuff.
8. Behrens & Hitchcock Napa Vlly Syrah (14.7%; U/U) '97: Very dark color; very strong vanilla/ oaked bit licorice some blackberry/black cherry cola buttery/buttered popcorn nose; soft very strong vanilla/oaked/vanilla extract buttery/buttered popcorn very strong lush/black- berry/Syrah flavor; very long very buttery/buttered popcorn/diacetyl/oaked strong lush/ blackberry/black cherry cola finish w/ some tannins; a bit Aussie/over-the-top Syrah w/ lots of buttery character; interesting/overblown Syrah.
9. Jean Paul & Jean Luc Jamet Cote-Rotie (13%) '97: Very dark color; slight herbal/green olive stunning roasted/espresso/smokey/complex perfumey nose; tart intense roasted/espresso/ smokey bit herbal/green olive some blackberry/Syrah/black cherry cola complex flavor; tart very long/lingering roasted/smokey/espresso/bacon fat slight menthol bit green olive/herbal some lush blackberry/Syrah/cola finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; beautiful stunning complex C-R; some like the Qupe Hillside.
10. Culler Napa Vlly Syrah Mt.Veeder (13.9%) '97: Black color; very strong cranberry/blackberry/ Syrah slight volatile/EA some toasty/oaked bit menthol nose; soft rather menthol/oaked/toasty very spicy blackberry/cranberry bit hot overripe flavor; very long soft blackberry/Syrah/ cranberry bit buttery/toasty/oaked slight volatile/fumey finish w/ light tannins; seems a bit overripe & volatile but rather interesting Syrah.
11. Bernard Faurie Hermitage (13.2%) '98: Very dark/black color; beautiful/incredible intense Syrah/ blackberry/gamey/complex slight roasted/mocha/smokey/espresso complex/perfumed nose; big/lush intense blackberry/cola/gamey/Syrah smokey/pungent some roasted/espresso/mocha/pungent very complex mouthfilling flavor; soft/rich/lush very blackberry/cola/gamey/Syrah some roasted/ espresso/mocha/smokey/pungent boysenberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; an incredible lush Hermitage very Calif in style; killer-killer wine.
12. Per Sempre Lisa Napa Vlly Shiraz (13.5%) '97: Very dark color; some bretty/horsecollar bit volatile/EA rather overripe cranberry/chocolaty/blackberry/Syrah/plummy very toasty/ oaked/pencilly nose; tart/shrill cranberry/blackberry/overripe cinammon/pencilly/oaked/ toasty/cloves rather bretty/horsecollar/unclean flavor; med.long overripe cranberry/ blackberry/Syrah bit fumey/hot cinammon/cloves/pencilly/oaked some bretty/horsecollar/ unclean finish w/ some tannins; a Calif Sangiovese-style Syrah; sort of a shrill/ overripe character; interesting but a bit harsh/unattractive; very overpriced at $52.50
13. Rosemont Balmoral McLaren Vale Syrah (14.0%) '92: Very dark near black color; bit reduced/ herbal/stinky/fecal nose clears to very pencilly/vanilla/Am.oaked some blackberry/Syrah pungent/licorice complex nose; soft lush very vanilla/Am.oaked/pencilly/smokey some minty/ menthol strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/eucalyptus very complex smokey flavor; very long/ lingering pencilly/Am.oaked/vanilla rather minty/menthol/eucalyptus ripe blackberry/licorice/ pungent complex finish w/ some tannins; beautiful complex Aussie Syrah; still going strong; still my vote for the best Balmoral. Larry's mystery wine.
14. Orion Old Vines Calif Native RW Rossi Ranch (13.9%) '97: Black color; very intense eucalyptus/minty/menthol toasty/Fr.oaked very chocolaty/licorice some blackberry/Syrah very spicy nose; hard/tannic/extracted bit lean strong eucalyptus/minty/menthol rather toasty/Fr.oak peppery/blackberry/Syrah dysty/old vines slight bretty/horsecollar complex flavor; very long/extracted/tannic/hard very menthol/eucalyptus toasty/Fr.oaked some blackberry/Syrah/licorice pungent finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-7 yrs; weird/eccentric/ terrific wine.
15. Bonny Doon Central Coast Viognier (15.5%) '96: Med.dark gold color; intense marzipan/creme brulee/rather apple sauce/rotted fruit some oxidized/VinSanto-like raisened little fruit nose w/ no Viognier character; off-dry raisened/rotted fruit earthy some hot/alcoholic marzipan/VinSanto flavor; long raisened/oxidized/rotted fruit/VinSanto finish; much like VinSanto or Vin de Paille w/ no Viognier character whatsoever; weird stuff.
16. Yves Cuilleron Ayguets Condrieu (13.5%) '97: Med.gold color; beautiful/lush/intense botrytis/peachy very German/BA-like little Viognier nose; very sweet soft/fat loads of peachy/botrytis spicy powerful/mouthfilling flavor; very long/lingering very sweet intense peachy/botrytis spicy slightly bitter finish; a terrific dessert wine. $30/500ml

1. Howard & Rhoda Sherry recently returned from the Marche Aux Vin in Ampuis w/ some of the particular wines they liked. Howard offered them up against some of the Calif Syrahs. Being of a competitive nature, I advertised the tasting as Howard's Syrahs vs. Tom's Syrahs. Howard, being very vertically challenged, I knew was no competition on the basketball court. And Howard, never having handled an epee, would be easy target on the fencing strip. But I should have known better than to take on Howard, competitive-wise, in a wine-tasting venue!! His Rhones blew away my Calif stuff. Easily!!
2. The Gourt: This is the third time I've had the '98 Gourt. Liked it best of all this time because it showed some roasted/Rhonish character. It's a huge/mouthfilling/very extracted wine, yet doesn't show a whole lot of fruit. I would guess a fair amount of juice was saignee'd away. It may be one of those wines whose tannins outlive everything else and never comes around. It'll be fun to watch the thing evolve. Certainly the biggest and the mose expensive Rasteau ever made. But sure don't get the Grenache in it.
3. The prices on Howard & Rhoda's Rhones are what they recently paid over there in France. Any resemblance between them & reality is purely coincidental. Besides, when Rhoda turns on the charm.... any winemaker will give them a good discount!!
4. I was quite chagrined to open up that bottle of Livingston Moffet and find a very good, very tasty, delicious RED wine. Because of the striking similarity between the bottle and the label/packaging; I thought SURE I was getting a bottle of Livingston Cream Sherry when I bought it. This kind of nonsense makes it very confusing in the marketplace for us simple-minded consumers. This is exactly the kind of stuff that I think the Gallo lawyers should pursue like vicious bulldogs. I NEED protection from these Livingston Moffet charlatans!! Syrah.... indeed!!
5. Jasmin wines: I used to really like the jasmin C-R back in the '70's. In the late '80's and into the '90's; I've been very disappointed by them; finding them rather on the light/ anemic/thin side; pretty wines but just that. This '98 was, by far, the best Jasmin C-R I've ever had; loads of Syrah fruit. I hope this is a sign of things to come.
6. The Calif Syrahs: I must confess that I handicapped myself a bit in my choice of the Calif Syrahs. I did not intentionally pick the best Calif Syrahs I could find since I was so certain of my triumph over Howard. Except for the Orion; I expected the Calif Syrahs to be over-priced and overblown. They were not from producers who had a reputation w/ Syrah. They were, in fact, good & interesting Syrahs... but over-priced & overblown.
7. The French Syrahs: I was blown away by the Rhone Syrahs Howard & Rhoda provided. Two things particularly struck me: the wines had great intensity and extraction and lushness.... but yet at modest alcohol levels; levels that would be considered anemic in Calif. Secondly, these had much more lushness & richness & extraction & structure & intensity than most of the French Syrahs I've had in the last 10 yrs or so that I've purchased in the USofA. It makes me wonder if, perhaps, they're keeping the best stuff for themselves and shipping all the lesser stuff/barrels/lots to those gullible American customers. Maybe more experienced Rhonophiles could comment on this suspicion.
8. Calif & French Syrahs: From time to time, I find sort of a green olive character in (mostly) Cote-Rotie Syrahs, from yrs when the grapes seem to be a bit underripe. It was most noticible in these C-R's in the Jamet. It's the very same green olive character that I sometimes find in the Qupe Hillside Syrah. In that wine, it seems to come and go as the wine evolves in the bottle. Interesting. Now if only the Calif Syrahs could get that authentic roasted/ espresso character that C-Rs & Hermitages have; rather than that ersatz character that comes from charred/toasty Fr.oak.
9. A Tragedy: Howard & Rhoda's trump card, the wine that would insure his victory over Calif Syrahs, was the Chapoutier Ermitage LePavillon '89. Alas it was not to be. Howard decanted it at home, put it into a box, and headed up to SantaFe to pick up Larry Archibald. When they arrived at Larry's, Rhoda picked up the box to move it & felt something wet. It was NOT LBD's drool!! The decanter had cracked in transit and leaked all the Ermitage onto the box and the floor of the car. What a perfumey ride up to LosAlamos THAT must have been. Howard, however, didn't need the wine to insure his victory.
10. The Orion: Sean Thackery's "winery" (it's a bunch of tin roofed shanties, with canvas tarps as walls) is located in the huge grove of huge eucalyptus trees looking over the back bay in Bolinas. That HAS to be where the strong-to-intense eucalyptus character in nearly all his red wines (he makes no whites to my knowledge) comes from. The wines, particularly the Orion, which is supposedly mostly Syrah, are unique, bizarre,eccentric; not to everyone's taste. The eucalyptus CAN be a bit overpowering; it's roughly the same intensity as the American oak in the St.Francis Zins. But it's also backed up by huge/intense/extracted fruit. I had this '97 first time at Brad's ZAP off-line in January and thought it was a weaker Orion. Maybe at too warm a temperature. This one seemed to have not quite as much intense blackberry fruit as previous ones but it certainly has the stuffing for the long haul. Very amazing wine.
11. Dessert Viogniers: Oy..... DumbDumbDumbDumb..... I should have known better than to try to best Howard in the dessert wine arena. The BonnyDoon was widely disliked by the group. I thought it was sort of interesting wine. Lots of applesauce character; like apples that had fallen to the ground last Fall and rotted there under the snow & leaves until you step on them in the spring and all that brown/rotted fruit oozes up between your toes.... that kind of applesauce (it's a Kansas thing... you had to have been there). But taken like a VinSanto or an Oloroso sherry, it wasn't bad stuff. Just suffered by compaison. The Cuilleron was pretty terrific German BA-dessert wine. Perhaps a waste of perfectly good grapes as I thought the Viognier and Condrieu character had been obliterated by the botrytis. Reminded me a lot of the Novarro ClusterSelect Rieslings. But stunning stunning dessert wine.