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. Jaffurs Viognier Santa Barbara County (14.0%; 40% Stolpman Vineyard, 60% Bien Nacido Vineyard; 434 cs)  2000: Med.gold color w/ tartrates; beautiful/fragrant intense pear/Viognier rather spicy pure/Viognier nose; balanced rich very lush pear/Viognier loads of intense fruit perfumed/ floral flavor; very long/lush/beautiful intense pear/Viognier/peachy slightly bitter very perfumed/spicy finish; much in the mold of the Calera or Foxen/Rothenberg (w/o the oak) Viogniers; almost a Zind-Humbrecht style of Viognier; stunning wine, Craig's best yet.
2. Lucien et Andre Brunel Les Cailloux Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc (13%) 1999: Med.gold color; slight nutty/oxidized/Marssanne wet dog fur bit earthy nose; tart some oxidized/nutty rather stoney little fruit flavor; tart/lean slight oxidized/nutty/wet dog fur finish; seems a bit oxidized and lacking fruit, not worth the price.
3. Jaffurs Roussanne Santa Barbara County StolpmanFamily Vineyard (13.8%; 336 cs) 2000: Med.gold color; lovely waxy/figgy/melony perfumed/aromatic bit butterscotchy light oaked nose; tart/rich bit leaner ripe/figgy/melony light butterscotchy very perfumed mouthfilling flavor; very long lush/figgy/melony/perfumed/floral slight butterscotchy finish; with Roussannes ability to age, this should evolve into a terrific wine; maybe the best Calif Roussanne I've yet had (sorry John!!)
4. Pierre Perrin Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc Vieilles Vignes (70 yr old Roussanne vines; 500 cs; 13%) 1999: Med.dark gold color; slight nutty/oxidized some charred /caramel /butterscotchy /figgy exotic/figgy perfumed complex nose; tart/earthy/stoney slight oxidized/nutty/hazelnutty very ripe figgy/floral almost botrytis-like very exotic flavor; very long slight oxidized/nutty intense lush/ripe/figgy light toasty/charred/caramel/ butterscotchy floral/perfumed exotic finish; the oxidized/nutty character seems to disappate with breathing; a very interesting exotic complex very good white. Bit pricey at $52.70, but you gotta pay for legends.
5. Jaffurs Grenache Santa Barbara County StolpmanFamily Vineyard (14.0%; 336 cs) 2000: Med.color;  attractive/fragrant strawberry/Grenache perfumed light toasty/oak nose; bit hard/lean/tight rather fragrant/strawberry/Grenache bright/spicy light toasty/pencilly/oak flavor; med.long tart/lean very spicy/strawberry/Grenache light toasty/pencilly finish w/ some tannins;  saignee was used on this wine and so it probably shows that at this early age; a bright/ zippy light on its feet Grenache.
6. Jaffurs Mourvedre Santa Barbara County StolpmanFamily Vineyard (13.5%; 24% Stolpman Vineyard clone Syrah; 235 cs) 2000: Med.color; rather black cherry/boysenberry/cherry bit gamey light pencilly/ toasty/oak nose; tart spicy/black cherry/cherry/Carignane-like slight earthy/gamey light toasty/oak/pencilly flavor; med.long bright cherry/black cherry bright/spicy light toasty/ oak finish w/ some tannins; lots of spicy/cherry character almost like Carignane or Oregon Pinot; not the savage/meaty/gamey/plummy character of many Calif Mourvedres.
7. Jaffurs Santa Barbara Syrah (14.0%; Stolpman, FrenchCamp, Melville, Bien Nacido vnyds;  5% Stolpman Vineyard Viognier; 1000 cs) 2000: Med.dark color; slight earthy bit toasty/oak some blackberry/Syrah rather peppery nose; soft fairly lush earthy/blackberry/Syrah some spicy/ peppery bit toasty/oak flavor; med.long tart bit hard/rustic/rough some blackberry/Syrah  slight earthy light toasty finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or so of age; the slight rustic/earthy character, probably from the French Camp syrah, give it a bit of a Southern Rhonish character; great value at $19.00.
8. Jaffurs Stolpman Family Vineyard Syrah Santa Barbara County (14.7%; Estrella+Durell clones; 137 cs)  2000: Med.dark color; bright strawberry/blackberry/Syrah rather spicy/perfumed/peppery slight charred/toasty/oak nose; tart quite spicy/bright blackberry/strawberry/cherry/Syrah bit tight/hard light toasty flavor; long slight toasty/charred/oak bright strawberry/black- berry/strawberry/Syrah cherry very spicy light peppery finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; a bright/very spicy elegant/perfumed Syrah; more about finesse than power.
9. Jaffurs Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah Santa Barbara County (14.0%; 380 cs) 2000: Very dark color; beautiful BN/black cherry/plummy/blackberry chocolaty black pepper rather roasted some toasty/Fr.oak powerful/perfumed nose; tart/rich plummy/black cherry/peppery/Dr.Pepper some roasted/pungent/ toasty/Fr.oak flavor; very long black cherry/blackberry/plummy/Syrah light toasty/pungent/ Fr.oak light roasted finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; displays much of that classic plummy/black cherry Bien Nacido Syrah character; terrific Syrah. Great price at $25.00
10. Jaffurs Melville Vineyard Syrah Santa Barbara County (14.7%; mostly Clone 1 Shiraz,  Estrella&TablasCreek clones; 85 cs) 2000: Near black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/ black cherry pungent/roasted some toasty/Fr.oak complex peppery/spicy/perfumed nose; tart/ rich big/huge black cherry/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cola roasted/pungent/toasty/ Fr.oak smokey tannic flavor; very long/lingering intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rather roasted/pungent some toasty/oak finish w/ ample tannins; lots of exotic/intense roasted character; stunning Syrah; great buy at $26.00.
11. Jaffurs Thompson Vineyard Syrah Santa Barbara County (14.9%; 250 cs) 2000: Very dark color; bit gamey/earthy/mocha/funky strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery rather toasty/smokey/pungent/oak powerful nose; tart/rich very spicy/cinammon/cloves strong blackberry/Syrah some peppery/ meaty/gamey rich/mouthfilling flavor; very long chocolaty/blackberry/Syrah peppery/cloves/ spicy slight gamey/meaty some toasty/mocha/pungent/oak finish w/ ample tannins; needs some age; big/powerful meaty Syrah. Great value at $27.00.
12. Clape Rennasiance Cornas (13%) 1999: Very dark color; beautiful/roasted/coffee/espresso dusty rather green olive/Syrah smokey/pungent complex classic Rhone nose; tart/elegant strong roasted/espresso/smokey toasty/oak/charred green olive/dusty flavor; long/elegant green olive/ Syrah espresso/roasted charred/smokey finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; an elegant classic roasted/Northern Rhone. Fairly priced at $35.00.
13. Brian Longbottom Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz (Winemakers: Sparky & Sarah Marquis; 14.5%) 2000: Black color; intense PineSol/toilet bowl cleaner/eucalyptus/menthol intense blackberry/Syrah very vanilla/oaked nose; soft very vanilla/Bourbon eucalyptus/menthol strong Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry flavor; med.long vanilla/oak/eucalyptus boysenberry/blackberry/ Syrah finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; classic Oz Shiraz loaded w/ oak. Very good price at $24.00.
14. Noon Eclipse (Old BushVine Grenache; 14.9%) 2000: Very dark/near black color; incredible/ exotic citrus/alpine strawberries perfumed/aromatic/Grenache piney/pencilly/vanilla/oak nose; tart very exotic alpine strawberries/piney/Nehi strawberry saoda pop/Grenache/berry strong vanilla/oaked/menthol flavor; very long/lingering exotic perfumed/alpine strawberry/citrusy/ piney/framboise menthol/vanilla/oak finish w/ some tannins; an incredibly exotic Grenache bordering on the bizarre/weird; very interesting wine.
15. Lucien Michel Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf du Pape 1989: Med.color; aged/complex gamey/earthy some watermelon dusty/CdP/roasted nose; tart slight bretty/funky cranberry/candied/cheap wiggly Christmas candy/watermelon salty/gamey/roasted high-toned bit Mourvedre/funky flavor; med.long tart cranberry/candied bit dusty/earthy/roasted complex/aged finish w/ light tannins; an interesting fully-mature or beyond CdP. Howard&Rhoda's mystery wine.
16. Edmunds St.John Durell Vineyard Syrah (14.4%) 1995: Very dark color; bit minty/menthol spicy/ toasty/oaked peppery/smokey/gamey bit aged/tobaccoy complex nose; tart toasty/spicy/peppery/oak some blackberry/Syrah gamey flavor; long/spicy peppery/toasty/oak light blackberry/Syrah slight dusty/earthy/gamey finish w/ light tannins; a mature/complex classic EdStJ Syrah. Larry's mystery wine.

1. The price on the Jaffurs are the December pre-release prices plus shipping cost. The current prices (all still available) run $3-$4/btl more, still a good value. Needless to say, the wines were a great value at the pre-release prices.
2. Jaffurs Wines: I've followed Craig Jaffurs' wines from the very start. I had heard from some source, probably Bob Senn, about Craig starting to make Rhone wines and that he was somebody  I should keep my eye on. Since he was making his wine way up at the Central Coast Wine Coop in Santa Maria, he agreed to meet us (Larry Archibald joind me) on the front porch of The LosOlivos W&S Emporium of Bob Senn's. It was a bright crisp Saturday morning, so it must have been in the Spring is my recollection. Craig brought two wines, a Viognier that had just finished M-L and was pretty cloudy and a bit stinky, and a red I believe. I wasn't blown away by the wines.... but I was mightly impressed w/ Craig, his ideas and vision for what he wanted to achieve, and his passion for his venture; all very good omens. It was the start of  a long friendship. It's been quite a bit of fun watching Craig's wines and winemaking style evolve over the few yrs he's been at it. I suspect he's been learning along the way as well. And access to more and better grapes has not hurt at all, I'm guessing. It's been an exciting journey and I'm pretty sure the best is yet to come.
3. Jaffurs whites: These 2000 Viognier and Roussanne strike me as a change in style for Craig's whites. Before, his whites had been more on a lean, less opulent, more acid style; less Dolly Parton and more Julia Roberts. They are ones that need a bit of age to really show their stuff. These 2000 whites display a more lush/opulent/intense character, more Dolly Parton style than previous ones. Yet they aren't a bunch a jostling/bobbing silicone; they have the acidity and structure behind them to age well, I think. Stunning whites.
4. Roussanne: Because of all the contraversey over the last yr or so over what it true Roussanne in Calif and many earlier Viogniers bearing a Roussanne label; I've been struggling to figure what TRUE Roussanne character in Calif actually is. My impression is that this Roussanne (Tom Stolpman's Roussanne is TRUE Roussanne from John Alban) and the new Qupe Bien Nacido Roussanne are probably the best examples around for getting a feel for true Roussanne varietal character, for those of you struggling like me to figure it all out. To me, I guess Calif Roussanne shows somewhat of a resemblance to Alsation Tokay/PinotGris w/ a bit more floral aromatics.
5. Beaucastel VieillesVignes : This is a legendary white wine, made from old-vine Roussanne. This '99 version was one of the best of the 5-6 that I've had. That being said, I guess I just don't get it, or my palate is too Calif in it's taste. When I've tasted the wine, all that comes to mind is "The emperor wears no clothes". They strike me as rather exotic and intellectually-interesting wines, but they just don't seem all that compelling to me.
6. Sediment: I was rather surprised, but ALL these 2000 Jaffurs reds had thrown varying degrees of sediment and needed decanting. Generally, when I've tasted the Jaffurs wines at this early date in the past, I've found them a bit on the tight/lean side and wines that greatly improve in the first 6 months or so. I was quite struck by how these ('ceptin' the Grenache) didn't show that character; were much more forward & lush than I expected.
7. Stolpman Vineyard Syrah: I've pretty much followed this vnyd from the very start. I have not been impressed... until this last year. I'm becoming convinced that Stolpman is/will become one of the great Syrah vnyds of Calif. The Ojai '99 was, by far, the best one I've yet had. This Jaffurs '00 is one that I also liked....quite a lot. The vnyd, farmed by one of the best farmers in the area, Jeff Newton, is one of the most impeccably kept vnyds in the area. It is divided between the Estrella and Durell clones. Gary Eberle's Estrella clone, which I've followed from the very start up in Paso, usually displays a very elegant strawberry-like perfumed/aromatic character in the wines; whilst I usually find more power and blackberry/peppery character in the Durells. My faulting of the earlier Stolpman vnyd Syrahs has mostly been based on the fact they seldom show the power and extract and intensity that you get from the Thompson or Bien Nacido vnyds. Maybe that's not what Stolpman Syrah grapes are all about; maybe I shouldn't be demanding that kind of Syrah from them. Maybe the Stolpman Syrah grapes are more about elegance and perfume and aromatics and less about power. I don't know, but will continue to take data points. Sashi, formerly Adam Tolmach's winemaker, is making the wines under the Stolpman label. I've not yet tried them. I must, soon. I've heard good reports on them.
8. Jaffurs Syrahs: In the case of some Zinfandel producers who do a bunch of different single vnyd Zins, there is hardly enough difference between the wines to justify it, save for the greater price you can get (not you, Kent...you listening, Cecil??). This is definitely NOT the case with these Jaffurs Syrahs. In fact, I highly recommend tasting all of these single- vnyd Syrahs side-by-side. These, more than any others I've had, display more of the unique characteristics I've come to associate with these vnyds than any other groupings I've ever had; the essence of the vnyds unmuddled by interventionist winemaking.
9. Melville Syrah: This is the first Syrah I've yet had from this new vnyd planted in the very cool area towards Lompoc, right next door to Brian Babcock's vnyds. Adam Tolmach also gets Syrah from them. They also produce Syrah under their own label, I believe. I was mightly impressed with this wine. It's too early to annoint it as one of Calif's great Syrah vnyds yet, but it's worth keeping your eye upon. Definitely cool-climate Syrah.
10. Durell '95: Having had the '96 Durell up at Taos a week earlier and being mightly impressed by it (my best wine up there, perhaps); I was quite surprised the maturity this '95 was showing. Not ready to fall apart by any means, but it was showing more aged/complex character tan I expected.

TomHill

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