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.

 Day 1

After a leasurely drive up the coast from my Ontario flight, check into my motel and then head down to the WineCask. Despite my best intentions, wind up buy a case to have shipped home. Take a look at the menu and weaken, so make a late dinner reservation. Along with my Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup, Duck Confit & Baby Spinach Saled, and Fire- Roasted Vegetables w/ Mashed Potato Beggar's Purse, I have:

1. Edmunds St. John Los Robles Viejos Rozet Vineyard (14.1%) Paso Robles WW (Viognier/Roussanne) 2000: Med.gold color; rather appley/stoney slight smokey/waxy/earthy/wet concrete slight floral/herbal nose; tart but rich/lush appley/stoney light floral/Viognier flavor; showing some nice development in the btl; very nicely made/interesting WhiteRhone.
2. Carina Santa Barbara County Syrah 2001: Made by Joey Tensley: Dark color; fairly fragrant blueberry/Syrah bit gamey attractive nose; soft bit/dusty/gamey light blueberry/Syrah flavor; attractive Syrah but just that; not the intensity I expected from a Tensley Syrah.

Up early the next morning for a few fencing drills, a morning espresso and the newspaper. Meet up at the winery w/ Craig Jaffurs. Joining me is Larry Archibald (Laura spurned our company for a trip to the hardware store) and Howard & Rhoda Sherry. Craig is going to be taking less Stolpman fruit in the future. He's also looking up to PasoRobles for some more Syrah fruit from a vnyd on the westside next to TablasCreek. He also relates that Stephan Beford and Dave Thompson are going there separate ways. He no longer gets Syrah from the Melville SantaRitaHills estate as the vines are destined to be topped over to Pinot, but will probably get some from the Melville's new CatCanyon vnyd. We try a few things from btl:

1. Jaffurs Grenache Stolpman Vineyard 2001: Med.color; rather pencilly/oak some strawberry/Grenache attractive nose; tart rather hard/tannic light pencilly/oak light strawberry flavor; seems a bit closed & hard right now, needs a yr or two of age.
2. Jaffurs Syrah Melville Vineyard 2001: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah slight peppery light pencilly/oak nose; pretty hard/tannic spicy/peppery strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah flavor; needs more age but wonderful cold-climate Syrah.
3. Jaffurs Syrah Thompson Vineyard 2001: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah loads of fruit some spicy/dusty nose; hard/tannic quite strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah very light oak some spicy/peppery flavor; more richness & texture than the Melville; needs more age; another wonderful Thompson Syyrah.Bloody Pulpit:

The Melville has the wonderful peppery/cracked black pepper character that seems to come with cold-climate Syrah. As the wine breathes in the glass or an opened btl, the pepper character becomes much more intense. It's a terrific Syrah vnyd.

And then we go to the barrels to taste a few of the 2002's:

1. Jaffurs Stolpman Vineyard/EstrellaClone Syrah 2002: interesting bubble-gum some strawberry/blackberry nose; hard/tannic attractive strawberry/bubble gum (Fleers) flavor; undeveloped
2. Jaffurs Stolpman Vineyard/Clone 3 (an Estrella Clone that's been thru heat treatment) 2002: less tannic, more sweet strawberry fruit rather raspberry flavor.
3. Jaffurs Melville Vineyard/EstrellaClone Syrah 2002: More blackberry/Syrah fragrance w/ little peppery notes yet; very tart/acid deeper blackberry/Syrah on the palate.
4. Jaffurs Thompson Vineyard Syrah 2002: just been racked the day before: bit reduced/pungent rather blackberry/spicy/Syrah nose; tart & closed on the palate; can't tell much about it.

Bloody Pulpit:

As Carole Meredith pointed out in her talk, the Estrella Clone is not really a clone (it did not evolve from the single cutting from a single vine) but is really the Estrella selection that Gary Eberle harvested from the UC/Davis experimental vnyd in Davis.

Craig Jaffurs wines continue to be big favorites with my tasting group. They are very well- crafted wines, from outstanding vnyds, and continue to be reasonably priced.

We then bid adieu to Craig, head off into the sunset to reconvene later that afternoon at Bernie Roth's home.

With all these educated palates from NewMexico in SantaBarbara, Bernie wanted to take the opportunity to learn at the feet of the masters, so he volunteered his home for a tasting late that afternoon afore our dinner at Downey's. The theme was to be Weird Varietals, or Varietals of the Beaten Path. It was done double-blind. Bernie made a cheese fondue, which was a subtle (very subtle) hint at one of his wines. With food in the offing, Laura condescended to join us. In addition to Bernie & Sam, Larry Archibald and Howard & Rhoda Sherry participated. We all brought the mystery wines for this tasting, which Sam & Laura ordered and bagged. The wines:

1. Robert Gilliard Petite Arvine du Valais 1995: from Chasselas grape: Med.dark gold color; floral/stoney bit pear fragrant nose; tart/lean/austere/stoney/earthy low fruit flavor. I guessed it to be an Oz Verdhello rather than a Swiss Chasselas. Bernie's wine, which he identified.
2. Barbolini Lambrusco Gasparossa di Castelvetro (11.5%) NV: Frizzante; very grapey slight earthy/milky light nose; tart DRY very grapey/austere classic Gasparossa flavor. My wine so I knew what it was. Bernie guessed a Northern Italian sparkling wine... good guess but pure luck on Bernie's part... a perspacacious palate played no role. I had tried this wine at Oliveto a few weeks before and was highly impressed with it as a Lambrusco that was dry. A tasty/frivolous wine.
3. (Impudent) Mount Bethel Arkansas Cynthiana NV: Rather brownish/brickish color; strong appley old cider old hybridy metallic/earthy some complex nose; tart old apple cider/earthy/aged slight plastic/hybridy bit complex/tired flavor. Bernie's mystery wine. I picked up an aged hybridy character right away and guessed an old (early '90's) Horton Norton. Lucky guess on the variety as Cynthianna is another name for Norton. An old & tired wine.
4. (Impish) Descendiented de J.Palacios Corullon Bierzo 1999: Very dark color; very strong earthy/ dusty some black cherry/perfumed nose; very hard/tannic dusty/earthy rather black cherry flavor. Howard&Rhoda's mystery. I guessed an Italian Lagrein or a Lemberger. Bernie guess a Chardonnay. Nobody was close on this wine at all.
5. (Elfin) Baumard Logis de la Giraudiere Cuvee des Deaux Millenaires Rouge de Cepage Cabernet (12%) Anjou NV: Med.dark color; very/very dusty very earthy very little fruit slight herbal nose; hard/tannic herbal/earthy low fruit flavor. I immediately identified it as Loire Cab Franc, but since that's not too weird a varietal, I switched to a Long Island Cab Franc. Larry's mystery w/ the caveat that it was weird because this is a producer you don't think of for a red. Bernie guessed a Sparkling Pinot Grigio.
6. (Red!) Pavi NapaVlly (14.2%) Dolcetto 1998: Very dark color; intense black cherry/boysenberry bit earthy slight leafy/vegetal some pencilly/oak nose; soft/rich/lush black cherry/boysenberry bit earthy rather hard/tannic/astringent some toasty/oak flavor. Bernie's mystery. The black- berry w/ slight rough/sour character suggested to me Argentinian Syrah. Bernie guessed it as a Mongolian Rice Wine.
7. (Sweet) Niedermayr Aureus (11%) Pinot Blanc 1995: Med.dark gold-brown color; strong grapey bit raisened rather orangey very perfumed/fragrant nose; very sweet dried tangerine/orangey raisened intense grapey flavor. Howard&Rhoda's mystery. I identified it as Italian Passito, probably Zibibbo or Erbaluce. Bernie thought it a dead-ringer for a Beaujolais.
8. (Strident) Franus Mt.Veeder/BrandlinRanch Mourvedre 1997: Very/very dark color; some earthy/ dusty plummy/low fruit/bit meaty some cedary/oak very interesting/complex nose; hard/tannic some plummy/boysenberry/blackberry rather cedary/oak slight gamey/earthy flavor. I went with Lagrien or Dornfelder on this one. Bernie guessed Kirigistan Riesling.

Bloody Pulpit:

I'm sure Bernie set up this tasting in a blatant attempt to wrest the Iron Wino crown from my head. Alas, he failed miserably.

That night, we all ajourned to Downey's restaurant for dinner. The theme was Venerable Wines. This suggestion prompted a prolonged e-debate between Howard & Bernie about what, exactly, constituted a "venerable" wine. The wines were:

1. Vina Todonia Gran Reserva Rioja 1976: Med.gold color; somewhat oxidized/sherry/nutty/earthy no fruit nose; rather sour/bitter oxidized/nutty/sherry-like slight fishy flavor; very low on the sensual-pleasure scale but high on the intellectual scale; an old-timey style of white Rioja that is no longer made in favor of more saleable whites; interesting and not all that unpleasant given what it is. This TomHill wine was brought by Bernie so I'd have something to like.
2. Zind-Humbrecht Clos St. Urbain Rangen de Thann Riesling 1995: Med.gold color; strong grapey/ fruity/primary slight valve-oil nose; tart bit very rich/lush/concentrated very grapey/fruity/ floral/Riesling/primary flavor w/ an underlying austere/acidic backbone; needs 10 yrs of age; lots of primary/fruity character and showing little development yet, but has the acidity to carry it for yrs.
3. Ch. Pichon-Lalande 1982: Med.color; beautiful cedary/pencilly slight herbal/Bordeaux smokey very slight bretty complex nose; soft/smooth very cedary/pencilly elegant oaked slight herbal/ earthy/Bordeaux slight bretty flavor; fully mature and beautiful drinking.
4. Ch. HautBrion 1982: Med.color; fragrant/perfumed very pencilly/cedary some blackcurranty/Cab slight earthy slight Burgundy-merde nose; smooth sweet-fruit/blackcurranty very cedary/pencilly bit tannic flavor; lovely concentrated Bordeaux that can still use more age.
5. Penfolds Grange Hermitage 1982: Dark color; very perfumed smokey/cedary/vanilla/Am.oaked slight Bourbon bit earthy/pungent/chocolaty some complex concentrated nose; soft/smooth some cocoa/ chocolaty vanilla/Am.oak/bourbon ripe blackcurranty/boysenberry flavor; still a big/intense/ concentrated wine probably nearing its peak.
6. Ch. Pichon-Baron-Lalande 1982: Dark color; strong some chocolaty/perfumed talc fragrant almost Calif-Cab style ripe blackcurranty/Cab nose; tart/tannic/astringent some chocolaty/perfumed talc ripe blackcurranty/Cab flavor; not the complexity of the others & can still use age; rather Calif in style.
7. Ridge Monte Bello 1973: Very dark color; earthy/dusty rather cedary/smokey/pungent slight bretty classic SCM/Cab/pungent/perfumed talc very complex nose; tart young/earthy/pungent/smokey/ dusty cedary/pencilly some old Bordeaux/cedary rather complex flavor; a deep/concentrated rather classic SCM Cab nearing maturity; still in wonderful condition.
8. Jaffurs Stolpman Vineyard Late Harvest Viognier (16.3%) 2001: Dark gold color; somewhat alcoholic/hot intense passito/orangey very grapey some oaked/pencillly nose; soft bit alcoholic intense grapey/passito/orangey flavor; I've had this wine once before and really liked it a lot; it seems a bit alcoholic & hot tonight; might have liked it better if the fermentation had been stopped short of the 16% and more r.s left in the wine, but still like the wine anyway.
9. Cuilleron Ayguets Condrieu (14%; Vendages par tris pourriture noble et de grains passeriles) 1999: Med.gold color; loads of botrytis/peachy/apricotty some minerally/peach/Viognier/Condrieu complex nose; rich sweet lush botrytis/apricotty/peachy rather tart some Viognier/peachy Condrieu minerally flavor; a beautiful dessert wine that needs age; lots of botrytis but the Condrieu/ minerally character still shines thru.

This was about the 4'th time I've eaten at Downey's and, by far, the best meal I've yet had there. With out dessert (a mulberry tart), Liz Downey provided us w/ the two varieties, grown in Ojai, mulberries to try. One (forget the name) was small-berried, quite sweet, and a bit like an underripe blackberry. The Persian variety was very elongated with a tough stem down the centre tarter and not as sweet, but more interesting in flavor. Whoda thunk....to use mulberries in a dish. I always thought they were just a junk tree whose only role in life was the leave ugly/ black stains on your driveway.

Day Two

Up bright & early the next day for more fencing drills. Using the fence at the back end of the motel (talk about "easy target") for my point control drills, it'd give out a nice/resounding thump every so often if I misjudged my distance. Finally this little old lady comes out onto the back porch of the house behind the motel to see what the racket is all about and apparently decides it's not a good idea to mess w/ a guy with a sword, so returns inside. I figure she went to call the police, so end my workout. After my morning espresso, head up to our morning appointment at Melville Wnry. I've been following their wines from the very start, so figure I ought to do a visit. Joining me is Larry Archibald (Laura once again scorns our company) and Howard&Rhoda Sherry. Hosting us is Chad Melville.

1. Melville Estate Chard (15.4%) 2001: Med.gold color; light Fr.oak fragrant/melony/Chard clean bright nose; tart/lean minerally almost flinty melony/appley very light Fr.oak/ pencilly flavor; an amazing amount of clean minerally character for such ripe grapes; very Chablis in style; alcohol not noticible at all (now, anyway).
2. Melville Estate Viognier Cat Canyon Vineyard (16%) 2002: Med.light gold color; fragrant light pear/Viognier very minerally nose; very tart/steely/minerally/lean spicy/pear/Viognier flavor; an attractive lean/minerally style of Viognier.
3. Melville Estate Clone 76 Inox Chard 2002: Light yellow color; very clean/minerally appley/bright/vibrant nose; tart/lean/tight crisp/clean bright/appley/Chard flavor; very clean/bright Chablis-style Chard.
4. Melville Estate Pinot Noir (45% Whole Cluster; 15.1%) 2001: Med.color; beautiful/very fragrant/floral/violets/Pinot very light/pencilly/Fr.oak nose; tart minerally very bright/floral/violets/Pinot/spicy light pencilly/oak flavor w/ some tannins; almost an Oregon-style of Pinot; lovely varietal expression of Pinot.
5. Melville Estate Pinot Noir Carrie'sBlock (15.1%) 2001: Darker color; bigger bit more earthy quite fragrant/floral/violets/Pinot bit more pencilly/oak nose; softer bit richer/ riper floral/violets/black cherry cola bit more pungent flavor; a bit more bass notes on this than the Estate Pinot; beautiful Pinot.
6. Melville Estate Syrah (14.7%) 2001: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah light peppery/ spicy some toasty/pencilly nose; tart/bright spicy/blackberry/Syrah/cherry cola some pencilly/Fr.oak some cracked black pepper finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; lots of bright/minerally fruit.

After we complete our visit with Chad, we journey back towards Buelton and stop at Peter & Becky Work's home/vnyd for a light lunch of chips & dips. Howard & Rhoda had not yet visited their property. Joining us is Don Schroder, their son and winemaker at Lucas and Lewellen Wnry, and, eventually, the Work's winery. We sit out on the patio, try their new Syrah and Syrach blend, and get Larry, Howard&Rhoda caught up on what they're doing at their vnyd. They have a name change in the works. It will no longer be the Wine@Work name, but The Work's. Peter & Becky felt that would be a bit less confusing than the former name.

After having lunch, we all head down to Buelton and the SantaRitaHills tour organized for the afternoon by Peter Cargasacchi. We meet up at Wes Hagen's & Brian Loring's space there in Andy Kahn's wnry. Hotter than blazes outside, it is. There is already a crowd of WCWN folks tasting thru the wines there of Peter, Wes Hagen, Brian Loring's. The wines started coming at me pretty fast & furious, so I gave up taking notes.... totally out of character... and focusing on their SantaRitaHills character. But there was one wine that absolutely knocked my socks off:

1. Huber Vineyards Dornfelder 2001 or 2002: Very dark/black color; slight earthy very intense grapey/black cherry/black cherry cola/Dr.Pepper/boysenberry very perfumed nose; soft/rich huge boysenberry/blackberry/black cherry/cola somewhat tannic slight earthy/dusty very low oak flavor; a huge/grapey/black cherry wine; dynamite stuff.

With Peter in the lead, the crazy caravan heads west out to Babcock Vineyard. Brian Babcock then barrel samples on a variety of wines he's making there, including the Cargasacchi Pinot (stunning/extracted Pinot). Peter than leads the group out into the vnyd for a tour. I stay behind, visit a bit w/ Brian about long-time mutual friends, and avoid the blazing heat by relaxing in the shade and chatting w/ other WCWN folks who similarily eschewed the tour.

We then head off to the west towards to the visit Peter has arranged w/ Cris Curran of SeaSmoke Wnry; located there in the wine ghetto w/ Stolpman, Longoria, and a few others. The SeaSmoke label is just coming on-line and her Chard (tiny quality) and Pinots and Syrah are mightly impressive wines. Again, alas, no notes. But hers is definitely a winery worth following.

After finishing our visit with Chris, Larry heads off into the sunset and I head on up the road to LosAlamos where I'll be staying that night Chez Senn. Also there is John Hardman (RhoneRanger's exec director), on his way down to judge in the Orange County Fair. That night, Peter has organized dinner of SantaMaria Tri-Tip at Charlie's, a funky/down-home restaurant there in LosAlamos within walking distance of Bob's (thank goodness for that!!). Not sure who all was there (no... it wasn't THAT bad!!), but it included John Tomasso, Andy Abramson, Peter Cargasacchi, Jim Ontiveros (grower of Pinot for Brian Loring and others), Peter & Becky Work, Larry Archibald and Laura Chancellor (hmmmmm... food in the offing... Laura shows up....hmmmmm??). The food was simple & homey, the company non-paril, and the wines world-class:

1. Cline Small Berry Mourvedre Contra Costa Cnty 2001: Very dark color; very intense eucalyptus/ menthol rather plummy bit earthy nose; lighter strong menthol/eucalyptus ripe/plummy/ ContraCosta flavors w/ light tannins; loads of eucalyptus character; not as big & extracted as previous ones.
2. Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2001: Med.dark color; lovely strong black cherry/Pinot slight herbal some toasty/pungent/oak nose; tart bit lean/tight light herbal strong black cherry/cola/Pinot slight earthy flavor; lovely drinking sligh herbal Pinot.
3. Testarossa Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Cuvee Niclaire 2000: Med.color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry slight herbal light/toasty/oak some complex nose; soft/ripe very lush black cherry/Pinot/plummy slight herbal flavor; very attractive lush Pinot.
4. Williams-Selyem Russian River Valley Pinot Noir 1994: Med.light color; rather toasty/oaky some black cherry/herbal/Pinot light nose; soft/smooth bit washed out light some pencilly/oak light black cherry flavor w/ little tannins; pleasant/smooth Pinot w/o much complexity; just sort of limping along.
5. Stolpman Rhone Ridge Cuvee (15.1%) 1999: Med.color; low fruit some oaked/earthy rather non-descript nose; tart bit dried-out/tired some fruity slight earthy flavor; a simple wine that doesn't say much to me.
6. Peter Cargasacchi Jalama Vineyard/French Camp Vineyard Syrah (barrel sample; 5% Viognier) 2002: Med. dark color; rather earthy/mushroomy/dusty low fruit nose; soft rather earthy/plummy slight blackberry/blueberry/Syrah little oak flavor; rather soft & fat.
7. Peter Cargasacchi French Camp Vineyard Syrah (15% CabSauv) 2002: Dark color; stronger blackberry/ plummy/Syrah rather earthy/dusty bit herbal nose; bigger slight herbal/blackcurranty some blackberry/plummy/Syrah flavor w/ light tannins; the Cab adds a lot to this wine.
8. Siduri Cargasacchi Vineyard Pinot Noir 2001: Very dark color; very intense black cherry/cola/ Dr.Pepper complex light toasty/oak almost Syrah-like nose; intense blacl cherry/cola/ blackberry light toasty/oak flavor w/ ample tannins; needs age; a huge/extracted Pinot that still speaks of Pinot; terrific wine.
9. Tantara Santa Lucia Highlands Pisoni Vineyard PinotNoir 2000: Very dark color; classic herbal/ Monterey/spicy/Pinot some black cherry bit oaked nose; tart some herbal spicy/black cherry light toasty flavor w/ light tannins; an attractive Monterey Pinot.
10. Sanford La Rinconada Vineyard Pinot Noir 1999: Very dark color; big/intense black cherry/blackberry/ cola rather toasty/pungent/smokey/Fr.oak nose; rich/extracted intense black cherry/Pinot fairly tannic rather toasty/smokey/pungent/oaked flavor; still a young wine and not showing much development yet; needs more age yet.
11. Chapoutier Cote-Rotie 1989: Med.color; somewhat smokey/roasted/espresso light/elegant/ complex nose; light roasted/espresso/smokey low fruit slight dried-out flavor; some nice roasted/C-R character but starting to fade.

The two Cargasacchi wines are two wines Peter made over at Wes Hagen's space in Buelton. The Jalama Vineyard is his vnyd planted (mostly?) to Syrah further to the west of his primary Pinot vnyd. Peter's not sure the soil is best suited for Syrah and he apparently has trouble getting the grapes to ripen. To step his toe into the winemaking field, he bought Syrah from the FrenchCamp vnyd up in eastside Paso; not particularly a great Syrah vnyd. Not sure what the Jalama vnyd contributed to the first wine, but it seemed pretty dominated by that mushroomy FrenchCamp character. The second wine w/ the SantaYnez Cab, was, to me, a much more interesting wine. It'll be interesting to see if Peter can coax from Jalama the quality of fruit that seems to come naturally from his Pinot vnyd. But we CAN say..."we've followed 'em from the very start!!

As usual, we shut down the restaurant. Charlie had set our table up out on the open-air back patio and I'm sure the racket we were making kept that entire end of LosAlamos awake to all hours. With no corkage being charged, our bill came to slightly over $12/person... incredibly cheap for a wine dinner I must say. We wandered out into the night; Bob, John, & I walking the few blocks over to Chez Senn, Peter sleeping under his truck again, and the rest off to their various homes.

Day Three

Up not so early to the aroma of Bob Senn's coffee.... badly needed by all of us this morning. Visit a bit w/ John Hardman and Bob and then head on up the highway towards Paso. Stop again in SanLuisObispo for a double espresso and then onto Paso over the La Questa Grade (will they EVER finish this construction??). Stop first thing at Alloro to drop off my wines for that night's dinner, then on over (in blazing heat) to the winemaker's luncheon, the HdR kickoff event, at Cris Cherry's Villa Creek restaurant. The winemaker's lunch is one of my favorite events at HdR. A bunch of the winemakers get together for lunch at VillaCreek, a few interesting wines are often brought out, we have lunch and then we do a blind judging of Syrahs of a certain year. It kinda like a family reunion. Many of the winemakers haven't seen each other since the previous yr's HdR. There's a lot of catching up on news and family. New people are introduced. Just a really nice get-together of good friends. As usual, I sat w/ Bob Lindquist. I usually try to bring something I know will interest him. Also at the table was Signe, winemaker at Meridian (who had to leave early to go back and taste a gadzillion Chards.... real work), Chuck Carlson (Curtis Wnry), Dave Corey (Core Wnry), and Eric Baugher (Ridge). With lunch, we had:

1. Emile Champet Cote-Rotie 1983: Ned.color; beautiful mocha/espresso/roasted pungent/ toasty complex classic aged C-R nose; very smooth rather roasted/mocha/espresso/coffee delicate/elegant slight bretty/horsecollar flavor; probably a bit beyond its peak but still a lovely C-R. Bob took the decanter over to the table where Villard,Gangloff, and Allemand were sitting and told them it was the kind of Syrah they're making in Santa Barbara these days. Didn't hear what their reaction was.
2. Eberle Steinbeck Vineyard Syrah 2000: Med.color; rather buttery/buttered popcorn/oak light strawberry/Syrah nose; soft/light very buttery/buttered popcorn light Syrah/strawberry flavor; pleasant drinkable Syrah but just that.
3. Qupe Los Olivos Vineyard Marsanne 1982: Badly corked
4. Villa Creek Avenger (40% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre) 2001: Dark color; strong blueberry/Syrah slight toasty/pungent/oak nose; tart blueberry/blackberry/Syrah light oak/toasty/pungent/smokey rich fairly intense flavor w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; a terrific blend dominated by the Syrah right now.

1. Qupe Hillside Select 1999: Med.color; rather smokey/toasted/roasted/pungent some black- berry elegant slightly Rhonish nose; tart bit lean smokey/toasty/charred oak/roasted light blackberry/Syrah smooth flavor w/ light tannins; very nice drinking Syrah w/ some roasted/Rhone character. I identified it as the Qupe HS from the charred/roasted character. Bob thought it may have been his, but was expecting more from it.
2. Sierra Vista ElDorado Red Rock Ridge 1999: Dark color; slight peppery/cold climate spicy some toasty/Fr.oak nose; rather hard/tannic bit dried out light earthy/blackberry flavor; interesting nose but a bit hard & lean & closed on the palate.
3. Arcadian Garys' Vineyard 1999: Very dark color; very intense blackberry/blueberry some dusty/ peppery some charred/toasty/Fr.oak nose; tart very spicy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah slight peppery/herbal bit toasty/oak flavor; big/intense Syrah
4. La Crema Sonoma 1999: Dark color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cough syrup loads of intense Syrah almost Oz-like nose; soft/rich/lush blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry cough syrup flavor w/ light tannins; a big/rich/lush Syrah w/ almost an Oz-like intensity to it. My #1 pick.
5. Eberle Steinbeck Vineyard 1999: Med.color; light some toasty/oak/smokey light blackberry simple nose; tart bit lean elegant rather toasty/oak slight horsecollar light blackberry flavor; pleasant CdR-like Syrah.
6. Buttonwood 1999: Med.dark color; rather bretty/horsecollar/earthy some Rhonish little fruit nose; tart low fruit quite bretty/horsecollar bit toasty/oak flavor w/ light tannin; bit too unclean for my taste but a good Beaucastel.
7. Ridge Lytton Estate 1999: Dark color; strong very jammy/overripe slight raisened/pruney some smokey/oak nose; soft/fat very ripe/jammy some boysenberry/jammy/Syrah flavor w/ some tannins; seems pretty overripe almost Zin-like; not very Syrah-like.
8. JC Cellars Ventana Vineyard 1999: Very dark color; intense rather peppery/spicy/cold climate very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight herbal/spicy rather charred/oak/roasted/smokey/ Rhonish complex nose; soft/fat very lush boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some peppery/herbal bit medicinal flavor w/ light tannins; rather SantaLuciaHighLands in style. My #2 pick.
9. d'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 1999: Dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ licorice/chocolaty some toasty/oak spicy/pungent nose; tart rich roasted/pungent/toasty/ oak very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/licorice flavor w/ ample tannins; not the strong oak I expected in an Oz Shiraz; my #3 pick.
10. Wild Horse/Equs Paso Robles 1999: Dark color; very strong/intense blackberry/boysenberry/ blueberry/Syrah licorice/chocolate loads of pure Syrah fruit nose; soft rather tannic/ chalky intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah flavor; almost Oz-like in character; loads of Syrah but chalky palate distracting.
11. M. Brown Barossa Valley Shiraz 1999: Dark color; some minty/menthol/eucalyptus strong black- berry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery nose; soft/fat/underacid strong blackberry/Syrah bit overextracted/rough/tannic some menthol/eucalyptus flavor; pick this for an Oz Syrah.
12. Rocca 1999: Dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/blueberry slight smokey/ pungent/peppery nose; soft rich/lush/fat very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight toasty/pungent bit peppery smooth/round flavor w/ light tannins; reminds me of Lagier- Meredith w/o the structure; very likable almost Oz-like Syrah. My #4 pick.

After the wines are revealed, I go back and taste a few. Confirm that the LaCrema was, indeed, as great as I first thought, blind. Visit a bit longer w/ a few of the winemakers, then head on down to Templeton to check into The Country House Inn, my abode of choice whilst I'm in Paso. Visit a bit w/ owner Diane Garth and her son, Skyler. He's a really neat kid, strong in basketball and tennis. This past yr, he finally passed his Mom in heighth, which he was quick to point out.

Shoot a few hoops in the blazing heat, soak a few labels, then head off to my 6:00pm dinner at Fabrizio's Alloro. We (of course) receive the power table right in the window area. In addition to Larry & Laura (food's here... so she DOES show up), we are joined by Dan & Eileen O'Grady. Dan retired last Fall from Smith&Boucher, the engineering firm in KansasCity for which my daughter works, and moved to Atascadero. When Becca was seeking a wine-related retirement gift for Dan, I suggested they buy he & Eileen a ticket to the HdR Grand Tasting on Saturday and a weekend stay at the JustInn. One of the more unique retirement gifts they had ever given. Vicki made up a nice HdR certificate for them to present at his retirement. I also threw in a personally guided tour of the Grand Tasting venue and intros to a few of my favorite winemakers. Since I had never met Dan & Eileen, I thought dinner at Alloro would be a good way to meet them. And it was.

Primarily for Fabrizio, I took a bunch of my older Calif Italian varietals. They were: Montevina SpecialSelect Barbera 1976; Montevina Barbera 1979, MartinBros Calif Nebbiolo 1982 (their first Nebb, made from CentralVlly grapes), MontereyPeninsula Calif Barbera PleasantHill Vineyard 1983, and Eberle PasoRobles Barbera Norman Vineyard 1992. Alas, all of the wines were pretty much DOA; washed out, old/tired, no fruit, tannic&astringent. After we hit the 3'rd dead wine; Dan decided to order his own glass of the J.Lohr SevenOaks Cab, probably the best red wine of the night at our table. Finally, Fabrizio took pity on my miserable selection of wines and brought out a Fratelli Perata Paso Robles Nebbiolo 1990. It was far better, with a bit of dried rose-petal and a smokey/pungent/licorice character; but also seemed to be fading a bit. We also tried two Barbarescos that Howard&Rhoda left there from their dinner the night before.

Fabrizio took wonderful care of our table, didn't make fun of my for my miserable selection of wines, and was definitely the host with the most. The food.... rustic peasant Italian fare and absolutely first rate. One of the most stunning things was the cheese on the Insalada Caprese. It was Burratta made in Calif by the guy down in Gardena who make the Bubalus Bubalis, the water-buffalo mozzarella. A very fragile cheese, it's a bag-sorta of his mozzarella filled in the center w/ his own mascarpone. A killer cheese.

Also here at Alloro that night was the WCWN off-line. So there was a continual stream of friends from that table, often w/ a bottle in their hand for me to try, over to our table. It was obvious, wine-wise, that we were sitting at the wrong table, based on what I tasted of these visitor btls.

Gather up my empties for the labels, bid adieu to Don & Eileen, Larry&Laura, and head back to The Country House Inn and crash.

TomHill

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