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. Alban Vineyards Edna Valley Roussanne Alban Estate (14.4%) '98: Med.dark gold color; some toasty/oak bit earthy some honeysuckle/floral bit almond/hazelnut nose; rich bit tart very glycerined hazelnutty/honeysuckle floral lovely mouthfilling flavor; very long very glycerined honey- suckle/hazelnuts floral finish; needs several yrs; a bit like a SQN w/o all the toasty/oak.
2. Eberle Paso Robles Grenache Lauridson Vineyard (14.7%) '97: Med.light red color; attractive/ pleasant strawberry/Grenache bit simple nose; soft spicy/Grenache/strawberry light floral/ earthy simple/clean flavor; med. strawberry/Grenache slight bitter finish w/ little tannins; a pleasant little summertime quaffer.
3. Ridge Calif Lytton Estate Grenache (18% Zin, 2% PS) Dry Creek Valley (14.6%) '97: Med.dark color; rather buttery/oaked Ridge/perfume some strawberry/Grenache/cinammon/cloves nose; soft fairly rich/lush some buttery/oaked light strawberry/Grenache slight spicy/cloves flavor; med. soft buttery/Am.oaked light strawberry/Grenache finish w/ little tannins; a very nice Ridge red but short on Grenache character.
4. Ridge Calif Lytton Estate Grenache (20% Zin, 5% PS) Dry Creek Valley (14.3%) '98: Med.dark color; bright/forward spicy very strawberry/Grenache lighht smokey/toasty nose; soft bit bitter spicy/strawberry/Grenache little oak flavor; med. strawberry/Grenache light oaked finish w/ no tannins; a pleasant/lightweight red w/ good Grenache character but little grip or structure.
5. Ridge Calif Mataro Pagani Vineyard (77% Mataro/Mourvedre, 23% Zin) SonomaVlly (14.5%) '97: Dark color; deep earthy/plummy/Mourvedre/black cherry bit licorice/pungent nose; soft fairly rich plummy/licorice/earthy/Mourvedre bit dusty/earthy some pungent/oaked flavor; long soft/plummy/ black cherry/licorice/Mourvedre finish w/ light tannins; very nice forward Mourvedre but not much funky/Pagani character.
6. Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (14.8%) '82: Very dark color; strong very spicy/oaked peppery/licorice some fragrant/fruit some complex nose; soft/smooth rather spicy/oaked some licorice/peppery bit berry/fruit flavor; med.long some licorice/pungent rather spicy/oaked/ buttery bit complex finish w/ light tannins; very smooth/polished fully mature PS w/ some fruit & lots of Am.oak.
7. Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (13.7%) '83: Dark color; rather earthy/dusty some black cherry some toasty/oak quite peppery/spicy nose; soft some tannic dusty/earthy black cherry some toasty/oak low fruit flavor; med.long tannic slight black cherry/licorice little fruit light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; nice/interesting but a bit low on fruit; drink up.
8. Dry Creek Vineyards Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (13.4%) '84: Very dark color; rather classic/PS/ pungent/licorice/earthy low fruit bit bretty some toasty/oaked; rather hard/tannic some licorice/pungent/clunky/earthy low-fruit bit bretty flavor; med.short tannic licorice/ pungent finish w/ some tannins; drying out a bit & low on fruit.
9. Grant Burge Barossa Vines Shiraz (13.5%) '98: Med.dark color; dusty/earthy some blackberry/ licorice/smokey quite gamey nose; tart/lush blackberry/gamey/spicy/Syrah some Am.oaked/ charred flavor; med.long gamey/licorice/blackberry/Syrah some oaked finish w/ light tannins; a very nice mainstream Aussie Shiraz; good value. $14.00
10. Geyser Peak Sonoma Cnty Shiraz Reserve (13.2%) '96: Very dark color; very strong vanilla/Am. oaked rather blueberry/Syrah loads of oak nose; tart minty/spicy very vanilla/oaked ripe blackberry/blueberry flavor; med.long tart ripe/blueberry/Syrah very Am.oaked finish w/ light tannins; not the depth or intensity of an Aussie Shiraz, more like a SilverOak Syrah.
11. Michel-Schlumberger Costal Calif Syrah Benchland Wine (13%) '96: Very dark color; rather earthy/plummy bit blackberry light smokey/oaked slight herbal nose; very soft/plummy/Syrah slight herbal/dill some smokey/oak flavor; med.short plummy/Syrah some herbal bit oaked finish w/ light tannins; tastes like SanBernarbe/Monterey Syrah.
12. Ojai Vineyard Calif Syrah (14.0%) '98: Very dark color; very strong dusty/blackberry/Syrah very peppery/spicy beautiful nose; soft/lush spicy/peppery rich blackberry/boysenberry dusty some toasty/oaked flavor; long rather peppery/spicy blackberry/Syrah/gamey/dusty light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; a beautiful big lush Ojai Syrah; great value. $20.00
13. Ojai Vineyard Santa Barbara Cnty Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard (14.0%) '98: Black color; strong toasty/Fr.oak very plummy/black cherry/blackberry/Syrah very spicy slight dusty/gamey nose; big/rich/ extracted intense/blackberry/black cherry/licorice/gamey loads of BN black cherry fruit some toasty/oak flavor; very long intense black cherry/blackberry/Syrah/licorice bit pungent/dusty light oaked/toasty finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; loads of black cherry character; another killer BN Syrah.
14. Ojai Vineyard Calif Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard (14.5%) '98: Black color; intense pungent/dusty licorice/ blackberry/Syrah/black cherry cola some roasted/smokey/pungent complex nose; tart very spicy leaner blackberry/black cherry cola/licorice peppery/spicy bit dusty/gamey some roasted/pungent flavor; very long peppery/spicy black cherry cola/blackberry/licorice/Syrah some pungent/ toasty/oak finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-8 yrs; a bit leaner & less extracted than previous yrs RollRanchs; killer Syrah.
15. Joseph Sabon Clos du Mont Olivet (13%) Chateauneuf du Pape '98: Med.color; rather roasted/ coffee earthy/dusty slight Mourvedre/plummy fairly fragrant nose; soft rich/plummy some strawberry/Grenache bit coffee/roasted/dusty flavor; med.long soft plummy/strawberry/Grenache light roasted/smokey/coffee finish w/ light tannins; pleasant/drinkable CdP. Howard's mystery.
16. J.Reynaud Pignan Reserve (14%) Chateauneuf du Pape '86: Med.color; rather earthy/oaked/ smokey/pungent/aged bit bretty/horsecollar nose; tart bit lean some roasted/earthy/CdP bit toasty/oak/pungent bit tired flavor; med.long some bretty/horsecollar bit dried out/tannic rather dusty/light roasted/CdP finish w/ some tannins; getting a bit tired & on the downside of its life. Larry's mystery.
17. le Clos du Caillou Les Roches Rondes ReserveCuvee Syrah ViellesVignes (13.5%) Cotes du Rhone '98: Med.dark color; rather bretty/horsecollar some earthy/dusty bit fruity/Syrah/gamey slight roasted/complex nose; tart some Syrah/blackberry/gamey some bretty/horsecollar light roasted/pungent bit tannic flavor; med.long dusty/earthy light blackberry/gamey some bretty/ horsecollar finish w/ light tannins; lots of flavor & character for a CdR but not a lot of Syrah character; more like a minor CdP; good for the price.

1. Dry Creek Vineyard PetiteSirahs: Have have tasted almost all the DCV PSs over the yrs and they have always been one of my favorite DCV wines. PS is not one of my favorite grapes/wines, but the DCV ones always seem to have more fruit than most and less of that clunky/goofy/ clumsy character that typifies most Calif PS. Sort of like making a foil fencer out of a sabre guy; generally a wasted effort but occasionally it can be done!!
2. Ojai Spring Release: Ho-hum.... another killer batch of Syrahs from Helen & Adam Tolmach... just another day at the ranch!! All 3 of these Syrahs are big/extracted yet balanced Syrahs. These '98 strike me as a bit less structured & tannic than the '95-'96-'97 ones were on release, but that's hard to say at disparate points in time. The '98 Calif Syrah at $20 (Wine Club).... well... it's just dishonest to buy a wine that good at that price. I've always preferred the RollRanch to the BienNacido. Which I did with these '98's, but the difference was much closer this time. The BN is always loaded w/ this lush plummy/ black cherry fruit whilst the RR has more of a spicy/peppery/dusty/complex character; more of a SouthernRhone character creeping in, perhaps. Dynamite Syrahs from one of the best.
3. Alban Roussanne: Another terrific effort from John Alban with his '98 Estate. Lots of richness & flavor but that underlying lean/acidic hardness that makes his whites so alive and vibrant to drink. Should age very well.