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. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (EB; U/U; 14.5%; 75% Zinfandel, 10% CS, 9% PS, 6% Carignane; 425 cs) 1996: Med.light color; bit alcoholic spicy/Zinfandelberry lovely/pencilly/oak  slight bretty nose; tart spicy/Zinfandelberry light/elegant light/pencilly/oaked flavor; smooth elegant bright Zinfandelberry/licorice light pencilly finish w/ little tannins; a smooth/elegant fully mature Zinfandel ready to drink. $11.50
2. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (EB; U/U; 14.9%; 75% Zinfandel, 11% Carignane, 8% PS, 6% CS; 875 cs) 1997: Med.light color; attractive Zinfandelberry/spicy complex/elegant pencilly/ oaked bit licorice/pungent nose; tart rather spicy/Zinfandelberry bit alcoholic some licorice/pungent light pencilly/oaked flavor; med.long bright/spicy/Zinfandelberry light pencilly/oak some licorice/pungent finish w/ light tannins; near it peak & fully mature. $12.25
3. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Estate Cuvee RW (EB; U/U; 14.3%; 34% CS, 31% Zinfandel, 24% Carignane,  11% PS; 705 cs) 1997: Med.color; very attractive cedar/pencilly/oaked bit curranty/ spicy/perfumed/aromatic nose; tart spicy/buttery/curranty some cedary/pencilly/oaked light licorice/Dr.Pepper/cola smooth flavor; long light curranty/spicy some pungent/ licorice attractive cedary/pencilly finish w/ little tannins; ready to drink. $12.25
4. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Carignane (EB; U/U; 14.4%; 76% Carignane, 20% CS, 4% PS; 250 cs) 1997: Med.color; light earthy some black cherry/cherry slight bretty/funky light pencilly nose; tart bit lean/hard light earthy/bretty some floral/perfumed/ cherry/black cherry cola spicy/hair oil flavor; med.long somewhat hard/tannic/lean light cherry/black cherry light pencilly elegant finish w/ some tannins; still has  that Carignane hardness but ready to drink. $12.25
5. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (EB; U/U; 13.8%; 75% PS, 15% Carignane, 8% CS, 2% Zinfandel; 125 cs) 1996: Med.dark color; slight bretty/funky rather spicy/perfumed/aromatic some peppery/earthy rather complex nose; tart slight bretty rather spicy/peppery complex some pencilly/oaked complex flavor; long very spicy/peppery elegant light pencilly/oak slight pungent/licorice elegant finish w/ light tannins; bit better than the '96 Zinfandel. $11.50
6. David Coffaro Russian River Valley PN Spec Lmtd Rlse (U/U; 14.3%; 83% PN, 17% Syrah; 70 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; ;ots of floral/cherry/spicy/PN some toasty/caramel corn/oak complex nose; tart very spicy bright cherry/Pinot slight earthy/spicy some toasty/ caramel oaked flavor; long toasty/caramel/oak bright very spicy/cherry lots of Pinot fruit finish w/ modest tannins; a bright/zippy version of Russian River Valley Pinot; seems to have a different kind of (more-toasted) oak than his other 2000 reds. $18.50
7. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Carignan (U/U; 13.9%; 77% Carignan, 18% CS, 5% Zinfandel; 260 cs) 2000: Med.color; spicy/black cherry/cherry slight earthy/dusty lighht pencilly/oak nose; tart bit hard/tannic bright/spicy/cherry/black cherry/soda pop light pencilly/oak flavor; med.long tart/hard light pencilly rather spicy/cherry finish w/ some tannins. $14.50
8. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Estate Cuvee RW (EB; U/U; 13.6%; 33% Zinfandel, 30% CS, 25% Carignan, 12% PS; 680 cs) 2000: Med.color; slight weedy/green/Cab/herbal some cedary/oaked rather  perfumed talc/aromatic black cherry/cola interesting/complex nose; tart rather spicy bit herbal/weedy/Cab quite spicy/perfumed some cedary/oak flavor; long tart very spicy/ perfumed bit herbal/Cab light cedary finish w/ light tannins; the Cabernet seems to dominate right now. $14.50
9. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Neighbor's Zinfandel (U/U; 14.6%; 75% Zinfandel, 13% CS, 7% Mourvedre, 3% PS, 2% Carignan; 370 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; bit earthy some pencilly/oak bright Zinfandelberry/cranberry some dusty/old vines very spicy interesting nose; tart very spicy/ cranberry/Zinfandelberry dusty/old vines some earthy bit pencilly flavor; long bit earthy some dusty/old vines bright Zinfandelberry/cranberry light pencilly finish w/ light tannins; seems a bit deeper and more earthy but less intense than the Estate Zinfandel. $14.50
10. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (EB; U/U; 14.1%; 77% Zinfandel, 12% CS, 11% PS; 750 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; fragrant very spicy/Zinfandelberry/cranberry elegant very bright loads of fruit nose; tart very spicy/bright/Zinfandelberry/cranberry pure DryCreek Zinfandel light pencilly flavor; very long very bright/spicy/Zinfandelberry/cranberry light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; a clean bright zippy classic DryCreek Zinfandel; still a bit tight. $14.50
11. David Coffaro Contra Costa County Mourvedre (U/U; 13.9%; 75% Mourvedre, 10% Barbera,  6% Syrah, 4% CabFranc, 3% CS, 2% PS; 225 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; surprisingly light (for ContraCosta) bit toasty/oaked some black cherry/plummy/Mourvedre slight CC/earthy/ mushroomy nose; soft rather plummy/earthy bit chocolaty/spicy some toasty/vanilla/oak light mushroomy/CC flavor; med.long plummy/spicy/black cherry light toasty/oak/vanilla light earthy/CC/mushroomy finish w/ light tannins; rather elegant non-clunky version of CC Mourvedre; very attractive Mourvedre. $17.50
12. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Syrah (U/U; 14.2%; 76% Syrah, 15% Barbera, 9% CabFranc; 200 cs) 2000: Very dark color; deep blackberry/Syrah/peppery/spicy slight gamey some toasty/oak perfumed talc lovely nose; soft some tannic blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery/gamey light toasty/oak flavor; very long spicy/blackberry/boysenberry light toasty light gamey finish w/ some tannins; distinctly both Syrah and DavidCoffaro red; seems most ageable of his 2000's. $17.50
13. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley RW Aca Modot (EB; U/U; 13.8%; 70% CS, 30% CabFranc; 75 cs) 1997: Med.dark color; some herbal/Cabernet some blackcurranty/lush/chocolaty smokey/ cedary/oaked some complex nose; tart bit lean/hard some cigar box/cedary/oaked some smokey/charred light herbal some lush/blackcurranty flavor; long slight herbal/Cab  rather lush/blackcurranty some pungent/cigar box/cedar finish w/ some tannins; seems near it peak. $22.00
14. David Coffaro Aca Modot Dry Creek Valley RW (EB; U/U; 13.4%; 54% CS, 17% CabFranc, 12% Barbera,  10% Merlot, 4% PetiteVerdot, 3% Malbec; 350 cs) 2000: Dark color; strong toasty/buttery/ oaked lush/fruity/black curranty/chocolaty/Cab loads of fruit nose; tart rich/chocolaty/ blackcurranty/Cab slight herbal/earthy pungent/toasty/oak flavor; long lush/ripe/black- curranty/Cab light herbal some toasty/buttery/oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs some age. $20.00
15. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah (U/U; 14.8%; 76% PS, 13% CabFranc, 11% Zinfandel; 350 cs) 2000: Very dark color; strong peppery/chocolaty/spicy/lush some buttery/oaked slight earthy nose; soft rich/chocolaty/peppery/blackberry/spicy lots of fruit light buttery/pungent/oak flavor; med.long rich/chocolaty/blackberry/spicy light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; not your usual clunky PS and lots of spicy fruit. $14.50
16. David Coffaro Dry Creek Valley RW Block 4 (EB; U/U; 13.9%; 40% PS, 40% Zinfandel, 5% Syrah, 5% Carignan,  10% Other; 100 cs) 2000: Very dark color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/plummy/ripe loads of spicy/fruit some vanilla/pencilly/oak nose; soft very rich/ripe/blackberry/ boysenberry/chocolaty/jammy/Zinfandel some vanilla/oak flavor; very long soft/rich/ripe/ blackberry/boysenberry/Zinfandel/jammy/chocolaty finish w/ some tannins; the least DavidCoffaro red I've ever had; more like RussianRiver Zinfandel than DryCreek; lots of ripe fruit but still balanced and racy and not over-the-top; my best Coffaro wine ever. $18.50
17. Pesenti Paso Robles Zinfandel (15.1%) 1999: Dark color; rather jammy/blackberry/spicy slight volatile/old oak nose; soft rather jammy/blackberry/PRZinfandel some spicy slight bretty  slightly hot flavor; med. bright/jammy/blackberry slight funky/bretty slightly hot finish w/ light tannins; much much cleaner than the Pesentis of old w/o the volatile/ funky/pretty character; tasted from premium Reidel shot glasses; probably about worth the $15.00
18. Peter Franus Napa Valley Hendry Vnyd Zinfandel (13.0%) 1990: Dark color; rather toasty/pungent/oak slight earthy/musty slight volatile/hot some cigar box/cedary slight earthy/mushroomy light blackberry complex nose; soft very cedary/cigar box/oaked mature Zinfandel light black- berry lovely/complex flavor; med.long soft cigar box/cedary/toasty/oak mature Zinfandel light blackberry finish complex w/ light tannins; very good example of a fully mature or slightly beyond Zinfandel. Howard&Rhoda's mystery wine.

1. All the prices indicated are the futures price from David Coffaro directly, including shipping. Needless to say, the prices can't be beaten at the futures price.
   
   

Carignan: I noticed that Dave has changed his spelling from Carignane to Carignan in  the most recent yrs. Wonder why?? Carignane, to me, has a hardness & a leanness to it that makes me feel it's more suited to use as a blending grape. The examples of variatel Carignane that I've REALLY liked have been few and far between. That said, every now and again I'll hit a mature one, mostly Ridges, that I really do like. But still feel it's best use is in blends, where it contributes a firm/stiff backbone to the structure and an attractive cherry fragrance. Sorta like Calif Sangiovese, it seems to need something to flesh it out a bit.

Blending: I've followed Dave's wines from the very start. I've always been a bit puzzled by his blending regime. Some are rather non-traditional (Cabernet in Zinfandelfandel for one). They oftentimes make little rhyme nor reason to them that is apparent to me. Almost like: mix a bit of this and a bit of that and let's see what we get. That's sort of the approach he seems to take when you taste with him from barrels, one terrific experience that many of us have done over the yrs. Oftentimes, it seems to me that his blending regime has the effect of reducing varietal character to give it more "David Coffaro" character. That is, the wines seem to speak more of David Coffaro and less of their varietal character. Yet they all DO seem to display some varietal character, some more than others.I think it  would be great fun someday to sit with him whilst he makes his final blending choices, to look over his shoulder & second guess him, to figure it all out. Whether he has a particular vision in mind for each blend, or if he's just trying to blend up the best red wine he can with this large pallette he has to work with, to let each blend express it's own/unique character; I haven't a clue. Whatever it is... he does it very well.

Aging Coffaros: I've followed Dave's wines from the very start. He releases them fairly early for wines of this high of quality vis a vis other wineries. They always seem a  bit tight and closed when I first try them in late Fall/early Winter (we've had our first snowfall in LosAlamos.... so it IS Winter now!!) and REALLY do, as Dave recommends, to be held off on until late Winter/Spring to really show their best. However, having picked up the Ellis/Ames disease; it's always hard for me to do. Those of you that got your 2009 stash really should wait another few months.... unless you got a healthy stash to squander. My impression is that Dave's wines are not particularly long agers, save maybe the AcaModot. They're very polished & well-made from the get-go (given the caveat above of not drinking right after release) and don't, to me, show any dramatic evolution with age. They seem to drink best over the first 2-4 yrs and then do a slow fade. But I'll continue to be taking more data points.

Terroir: Most of Dave's wines come from right there in the DryCreekVlly; mostly his estate and some purchased from neighboring vnyds. The RussianRiver Pinot and the Contra Costa Mourvedre is, I believe, his first foray outside his home turf. Though both wines speak of their terroir and origins, it's a pretty soft whisper to me and they speak mostly of the David Coffaro style. The affable Dave Coffaro does not appear to be a terroirist,

That Coffaro style: Dave's reds have a very distinctive style to them that usually transcends their varietal character. They remind me a lot of Doug Nalle's Zinfandels in style. His wines are very polished/ elegant/ well-made and show a very correct/understated use of oak. They're some of my favorites when I'm just looking for a nice wine to drink at dinner and don't want something that'll grab me around the throat for my attention.

Rhones: The 2000 Mourvedre and Syrah mark Dave's first real foray into the field of Rhone wines. A very nicely done first attempt I must say. They are not blockbuster Rhone-style wines by Calif style and are clearly DavidCoffaro wines, but do speak of their varietal origins very distinctly. And great values.

Dave sent me the following comments to my notes and told me to feel free to share them. It now makes a lot more sense on how he does his blending. And his point about balance is very well taken. He's putting a lot more thought into his blending than I gave him credit for, I must say. 
 

Tom thanks for your candid tasting notes. We all have different palates. I understand your statement about making correct wines. THAT is what I am trying to do. I do have my style and I guess it is I do not want to make a mistake. Of course that also can make wines that are not adventurous to everyone. I understand that you may not feel that my wines will age well, but my opinion is that even my 94 zin, cab and estate cuvee have not gone over the "Hill". Excuse my pun (G). I think the balance of my wines by blending, have helped them age gracefully.

I do have a plan in all my blending and would love to explain more, if you would like to sit down with me some time. I think I have explained well enough in my website diary over the past few years about how and why I blend. But I will try to give a short account now:

At first after harvest I look at the alcohol of the wine in my different barrels (this year 200 barrels). Because of oak or different fermentations or different parts of the vineyard, they are all different. This year they range from 11.09% alcohol in my barbera to over 16% in one of my zins. I want to make wines that are food wines ranging between 13.5 and 14.5 alcohol after blending. I then look at the acids. This year I have ph's ranging from 3.0 to 4.17. I want to make wines with a ph of about 3.6. I think wines over 3.8 ph may not age. I finally then take memory notes of where these different wines hit me on my palate. Some wines from these barrels are all up front. (I feel most young wines are upfront) Some impress me on the middle of my palate, like the carignan (French spelling, I agree with you; great blender) and some like the cab mostly help finish a wine. I find that there are very few young wines in our barrels that show a long finish on my palate so I make note of these barrels--they are rare. I am striving to make a wine that it is balanced from bottling and hopefully for many years. I realize that after blending using these methods, that I will make wines that may not appeal to all. I know they may not grab some people. I am just trying to be cautious and avoid wines that are not balanced. I hope this helps explain a little of my style. Again I appreciate your candor and I hope you will continue to enjoy my wines for their good value. Please feel free to post any or all of this e-mail to any forum. I have not visited them in recent years, but I am interested in helping out in the knowledge of winemaking styles. All winemakers are different. That is why wine is enjoyable and worth writing about. Thank you

Dave
 

2. Pesenti Winery: This '99 Pesenti is the first wine that Ehren JOrdan has had much say in.  It still is not too profound and speaks more of Pesenti than Turley, but, at least, it's the step in the right direction. One can only guess how bad it would have come out had Ehren not been there to save it. The PesentiVnyd is one of Calif's great old-vine Zinfandel vnyds & I'm really looking forward to what they turn out.... if'n I can afford it.