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. Curtis Calif Heritage Old Vines (Grenache/Cinsault/Mourvedre/Carignane; 13.7%) '97: Med.color; strong grapey/earthy some hot-climate/Italian nose; bit sour/metallic earthy/dusty low fruit slight burnt rubber/rubber boot bit grapey/hot-climate flavor; med.short soft/flat bit earthy/dusty hot-climate/goat pen finish w/ little tannins; pretty dull stuff.
2. Domaine De La Mordoree Lirac (13%) '98: Med.dark color; fairly fragrant Grenache/strawberry bit roasted/earthy/southern Rhone nose; soft fairly lush Grenache/strawberry light earthy/dusty/roasted flavor; bit tannic fairly lush/Grenache/strawberry some earthy/ roasted finish w/ light tannins; a pleasant little CdR red.
3. Domaine de L'Enclose Cotes Du Rhone (13%) '98: Med.dark color; bit stinky/reduced/burnt rubber some earthy low fruit nose; tart bit lean/earthy hard bit roasted little fruit flavor; med.short tart bit thin/lean earthy finish w/ some tannins; as the wine warms in the glass, the nose becomes very roasted/toasty/smokey w/ a hard/lean quite roasted/ pungent/toasty/smokey flavor; becomes quite a tasty CdR. Good value at $9.00
4. Domaine La Milliere Cotes Du Rhone Reserve Vielles Vignes (13%) '98: Med.light color; very attractive dusty/earthy/CdR some fragrant Grenache nose; soft rather lush strawberry/ Grenache light roasted/earthy flavor; med.long soft lush/strawberry/Grenache slight earthy/roasted finish w/ light tannins; a very nice tasty CdR at a great price. $10.00
5. Navarro Mendocino Petite Sirah (14.4%) '96: Very dark color; some toasty/pencilly/oaked bit peppery/licorice some smokey/perfumed nose; big/hard/clunky licorice/earthy bit peppery some toasty/oaked/buttery flavor; med.long spicy bit toasty/oaked/pencilly light peppery/earthy/licorice finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; a bit of the clunky PS character but more fragrance & brightness than PS usually has w/ lots of Fr.oak.
6. Navarro Mendocino Syrah (14.2%) '96: Very dark color; fragrant/gamey/licorice/spicy light pepperminty/black cherry some toasty/oaked nose; fairly rich spicy/gamey/licorice/black cherry rather toasty/oaked flavor; long bit gamey/Syrah/black cherry some toasty/pencilly/ Fr.oak rather hard/tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs age; rather hard/tannic style of Syrah; interesting wine.
7. Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Reserve (13.5%) '97: Med.dark color; strong bretty/horsecollar fairly earthy slight roasted little fruit nose; tart bit thin/lean rather strong bretty/horsecollar weak Grenache/strawberry flavor; med.short tart/lean rather thin/strawberry/Grenache pretty bretty/horsecollar finish w/ some tannins; devoid of fruit & a mean/thin little wine; disappointing & overpriced.
8. Domaine LaMilliere Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Unique Viellies Vignes (13%) '98: Med.dark color; slight volatile rather fragrant/minty/menthol/spicy little roasted/Rhone nose; soft rather hot/volatile some minty/fruity/spicy/strawberry flavor w/ no roasted/CdP flavor; med.long bit hot/volatile  spicy/strawberry/fruity finish w/ little tannins; pleasant wine but virtually no roasted/CdP/Rhone character, more like Calif in style; not worth the $32.00
9. Andrew Murray Santa Barbara Cnty Syrah Cuvee Ventaux (13.5%) '98: Med.dark color; slight brett loads of lush ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/Fr.oak nose; tart cranberry/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah loads of Syrah fruit light toasty/Fr.oak flavor; long intense cranberry/spicy/blackberry light Fr.oak/toasty finish w/ some tannins; needs yr or two; lost tarter & bright fruit & bit leaner than the NorthSlope; not as big & extracted.
10. Andrew Murray Santa Barbara Cnty Syrah North Slope (13.5%) '98: Black color; intense licorice/ blackberry/boysenberry loads of Syrah/fruit little oak nose; softer loads of blackberry/ boysenberry/Syrah spicy very rich slight gamey some tannic flavor; very long some tannic very rich/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah finish w/ fair tannins; a serious/classic AM Syrah; needs 3-6 yrs; loads of Syrah fruit but plenty structured.
11. Ch. Reynella McLaren Vale Shiraz Basket Pressed (#67375; 13.9%) '95: Black color; intense menthol/eucalyptus very licorice/blackberry/boysenberry/Dr.Pepper complex beautiful nose; soft rich beautiful/intense/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola/Dr.Pepper/licorice complex rather menthol/eucalyptus pretty tannic flavor; very long intense blackberry/ boysenberry/licorice/black cherry cola/Dr.Pepper menthol/eucalyptus finish w/ some tannins; loads of Shiraz fruit & loads of eucalyptus/menthol but not that tannic or structured. Good value at $25.00
12. Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz (13%) '96: Very dark color; very intense peppery/black cracked pepper/boysenberry/blackberry complex/dusty bit bretty nose; hard/tannic very intense cracked black pepper/blackberry/boysenberry susty flavor; very long intense cracked black pepper/dusty/blackberry complex finish w/ ample tannins; big hard tannic structured very interesting Shiraz.
13. IO Santa Barbara Cnty RW (77% Syrah, 13% Grenache, 8% Mourvedre, 2% Viognier; 14.5%) '97: Dark color; strong toasty/oaked some smokey/pungent/pencilly bit cranberry/blackberry/Syrah nose; tart/balanced spicy toasty/pungent/oaked some gamey/blackberry/cranberry/Syrah almost Pinot-like flavor; med.long tart/cranberry/blackberry bit gamey/spicy rather toasty/ pencilly/oaked finish w/ light tannins; way overpriced at $32.00
14. Neyers Napa Valley Syrah Hudson Vnyd (14.5%) '98: Black color; intense charred/toasty/smokey rather roasted/espresso/pungent/NorthernRhone some blackberry/licorice slight herbal/earthy rather Hermitage-like complex stunning nose; huge rich/gamey/blackberry rather pungent/ charred/toasty/smokey roasted/espresso complex flavor; very long intense smokey/charred/ toasty blackberry/gamey roasted/espresso finish w/ ample tannins; needs 4-10 yrs; very much like a great Hermitage; stunning Syrah.
15. Sine Qua Non Imposter McCoy Calif RW (14.9%; Mostly Syrah+Grenache; from Alban, BienNacido, Stolpman vnyds) '97: Black color; intense high-toned/Grenache/strawberry/plummy/blackberry/ cranberry very spicy/very fragrant rather pencilly/toasty/Fr.oaked chocolaty complex nose; bright very spicy/aromatic/fragrant cranberry/strawberry/Grenache/blackberry peppery pencilly/toasty/oaked some very spicy/Reva-like complex flavor; very long tart very perfumed/aromatic very spicy strawberry/Grenache peppery/blackberry rather pencilly/vanilla/ toasty/oaked finish w/ fair tannins; more high-toned/fragrant/perfumy character & more bright fruit than previous Manfred reds; the Grenache seems to give the wine quite a lift; not as huge & brooding as previous ones; reminds me a lot of Alban Syrah w/ more brightness & more toasty oak; stunning wine; another ManfredKrankl knockout.
16. Horton Vnyds Orange Cnty Virginia Syrah (13.1%; 5% Carignane, 5% Tannat) '98: Very dark color; very chocolaty/malted milk rather mocha/espresso/coffee smokey/charred/roasted complex very Cote-Rotie nose; tart very spicy chocolate malt/coffee/mocha/roasted pungent/charred very Rhonish/Cote-Rotie flavor; very long charred/pungent/roasted/ smokey/toasty very spicy bit earthy very Rhonish finish w/ some tannins; very strong Rhone/roasted character; very very interesting Syrah. Steve's mystery wine.

1. Curtis Heritage: The back label advertises this wine as coming from very old vnyd grapes at the foot of the scenic San Gabriel Mtns. They are, in fact, old vnyds at the end of the Ontaria airport runway in Cucamonga. And the wine tastes like Cucamonga wine. The Jory Cucamonga Grenache is a far far better wine (at $10). Even at $6.60/btl; this is a wine to pass on. As the say: "Life is too good to drink short wines"!!
2. Andrew Murrays: I was particularly eager to try these first two serious '98 Syrahs from Andrew. His '97 Syrahs all displayed varying degrees of noticable VA/EA, particularly the LesCoteaux '97. No such signs at all in either of these two Syrahs. The NorthSlope is a bit more reminiscent of his early Syrahs in that it has a pretty hard/tannic backbone. But both these '98's are first rate Syrah.
3. IO: This is the RobertMondavi entry into the Rhone varietals. Made by KenBrown down in the SantaMaria area. About what I expected from Mondavi.... unthrilling.... bit too balanced & polished & innocous to be interesting to me. However, much better than the '96 version, which just resembled another oaked/Pinot to me. This has a bit more Syrah character to it. Still unthrilling, though.
4. Neyers Syrah: I've liked the Neyers Syrahs in the past but thought they were a bit short on the Syrah fruit and long on the toasty oak. I was not convinced the Lee Hudson vnyd (located down in the Carneros next to Rene dela Rosa's WineryLake vnyd) was a GREAT Calif Syrah vnyd. But this '98 version made a believer out of me.... the Hudson is/will be one of Calif's great Syrah vnyds. Still not as much bright Syrah fruit as many Calif ones (much like Carneros Pinot often has a clunky/earthy edge to it); this is a huge/brooding/ extracted hulk of a wine w/ lots of roasted/espresso character. Truly one of Calif's exceptional Syrahs. Will be fun to watch this one evolve.
5. Roasted/espresso/Cote-Rotie in American Syrah: The roasted/pungent/espresso/smokey character you get in Cote-Rotie and, lesser, in Hermitage & Crozes-Hermitage is truly unique. In many Calif Syrahs, that character seems to be imposed/inflicted on the wine by the use of well-toasted/charred French oak. But it's an ersatz/fakey roasted character. I suspect it should come from the terrior, rather than the oak. But herre we have two Syrahs (Neyers and Horton) that seem to display a much more authentic roasted/espresso/ Cote-Rotie character than any I've ever seen. Maybe great Calif Cote-Rotie is just around the corner (assuming THAT'S what you really want!!)
6. ImposterMcCoy: Everything everyone else has been saying about it, and then some. I probably liked this Syrah better than any of Manfred's thus far in that it had a much brighter fruit component and less toasty/charred oak than previous ones. Instead of galumping across the palate in combat boots; this wine is like laser warefare bombarding the palate w/ all sorts of flavors & aromas. Dynamite wine.
7. Horton Wines: I've visited a number of times w/ Dennis Horton, both at HdR and at Eberle Wnry. His Viogniers can be terrific, as good as any produced in the USofA. I've been less impressed w/ his reds.... until this '98 Syrah. This was served blind and I knew it couldn't be Calif w/ the strong roasted/Rhonish character. It had all the earmarks of a Cote- Rotie but more intense & dense than most tend to be, not the spicy/elegance of most C-Rs. Very much worth seeking for an unusual Rhone experience. Who'dAThot!!