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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.

Northwest Rhones - August 18, 2004
  1. Buttonwood Santa Ynez Valley Marsanne (13%) 2002: Med.light gold color; slight volatile/EA very fragrant/floral almost Viognier-like very perfumey nose; bit hot/fumey very floral/ perfumey slight herbal/green olive rather rich flavor; very long buttery/floral/perfumey/ peachy finish; not the usual austerity of Marsanne and more like a Viognier in character; very attractive white for the price. $12.00
  2. Penner-Ash Oregon Viognier (14.0%) Rogue River Valley 2003: Med.light gold color; lovely peach/pear/Viognier/fragrant slight earthy/minerally nose; big/ripe/lush/rich floral/pear/ Viognier/peach slight minerally flavor; very long rich/lush very pear/peach/Viognier light minerally finish; big/rich/lush but a sturdy acid backbone; terrific Viognier w/ a nice mineral character; fairly priced at $25.00
  3. Buttonwood Santa Ynez Valley Syrah Rose (12.8%; www.ButtonwoodWinery.com) 2003: Pale salmon/red color; rather spicy/cinammon/fragrant watermelon slight herbal pleasant nose; soft/fat buttery/grapey/strawberry/watermelon slight herbal flavor; med.short grapey/lush rather strawberry/watermelon finish; would like a bit more acidity in a rose but interesting wine. $16.00
  4. Buttonwood Santa Ynez Valley Syrah (13.3%) 2001: Med.color; some strange herbal/band-aid/vinyl plastic slight Syrah/black berry bit earthy/oaked nose; tart slight vinyl plastic/herbal bit bretty light blackberry/Syrah flavor; med.long light blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry light oaked some herbal finish w/ light tannins; rather a strange/atypical Syrah and almost seems on the underripe side. $22.00
  5. Penner-Ash Oregon Rubeo red,red wine (14%; PinotNoir/Syrah 2002: Med.color; rather fragrant/Syrah/licorice/blackberry slight pungent/oak nose; tart bit hard/tannic slight bretty some blackberry/licorice some cherry/black cherry light pungent/oak flavor; med.long hard/austere/tannic slight walnutty/cherry light pungent/oak finish; seems dominated by underripe Pinot more than anything; interesting & needs age; some like the Ojai Travail d' l'Anglais blend w/o the richness. $19.00
  6. Andrew Rich Vintners Columbia Valley Coup d'Etat (14.1%; 31% Grenache, 30% Mourvedre, 21% Counoise, 18% Syrah) 2002: Med.dark color; rather earthy/chocolaty slight blackberry/ perfumed light toasty/oak quite interesting some complex nose; soft/lush blackberry/ boysenberry some earthy/mushroomy rather toasty/smokey/oak flavor; long bit earthy some blackberry/boysenberry pungent/oak finish w/ light tannins; fairly forward & drinkable; quite an interesting blend at a good price. $22.00
  7. Bethel Heights Vineyard Syrah DelRio Vineyards/Rogue Valley/Oregon (13.9%; www.BethelHeights.com) 2001: Very dark color; big/ripe chocolaty/licorice some coffee/roasted/Rhonish some black- berry/Syrah bit pungent/smokey nose; tart/rich bit tannic coffee/roasted/smokey rather chocolaty/licorice/blackberry/Syrah somewhat Rhonish flavor; long somewhat tannic pungent/ licorice/Rhonish blackberry/Syrah finish; needs 2-5 yrs age; a beautiful rather Rhonish Syrah at an attractive price. $26.00
  8. Penner-Ash Oregon Syrah (14.5%; www.PennerAsh.com) Columbia Valley/RogueRiver Valley 2002: Very dark color; strong pure/varietal/blackberry/boysenberry/black cherry rather gamey/meaty slight herbal some roasted/toasty/smokey nose; tart licorice/black cherry/blackberry/Syrah slight meaty/roasted bit tannic flavor; long bit hard/tannic gamey/meaty strong blackberry/ licorice/Syrah slight roasted/smokey finish; needs several yrs; probably the best Oregon Syrah I've yet tried. $30.00
  9. Andrew Rich Vintners Columbia Valley Counoise (14.1%) 2002: Dark color; strong black cherry/ boysenberry very perfumed slight earthy quite interesting nose; tart bit hard/tannic rich/ spicy/black cherry/Christmas candy/minty slight dusty flavor; long black cherry/minty/ boysenberry slight licorice fairly tannic finish; needs some age; rather hard & tannic on the palate but very interesting/exotic nose. $25.00
  10. Andrew Rich Vintners Columbia Valley Mourvedre Ciel du Cheval  Vineyard (14.1%) 2002: Dark color; slight earthy/musty (corked?) very interesting pungent/licorice/sausage/plummy complex some perfumey slight volatile nose; strong/intense/extracted plummy/licorice/blackberry exotic flavor w/ ferocious/hard tannins; very long plummy/licorice/pungent bit dusty/earthy very hard/tannic finish; lots of rich/licorice/lush character but a very hard/tannic backbone; needs much age; much like a Languedoc red. $35.00
  11. Harlequin Syrah Milbrandt Famile/Sundance Vineyard Columbia Valley/WahlukeSlope/WA (14.6%; 200 cs) 2002: Very dark color; beautiful boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah minerally/earthy some toasty/charred/pungent slighht herbal complex nose; tart/acid somewhat hard/tannic fairly lush blackberry/licorice slight earthy/minerally light toasted/pungent/oak flavor; very long boysenberry/licorice pungent/minerally light toasty/charred finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; very/very good Syrah w/ interesting minerality at a good price. $28.00
  12. Domino IV Columbia Valley Syrah Klipsun & ThePines  Vineyards (14.1%) 2002: Very dark color; very strong tarry/roasted/smokey/oak/pungent bit stemmy/herbal dusty/earthy some blackberry nose; tart/acid rather hard/tannic loads of charred/burnt/roasted/toasty/oak slight herbal/ blackberry flavor; med.long intense charred/burnt/toasty/oak pungent/roasted slight Syrah/ blackberry finish w/ ample tannins; slammed pretty hard w/ charred oak & not much fruit showing; needs age but hard to say where it will go. $28.00
  13. Andrew Rich Vintners Columbia Valley Syrah (14.1%; www.AndrewRichWines.com) 2002: Black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/jammy/ripe slight herbal/dusty rather roasted/ coffee/Rhonish bit minerally complex nose;  tart rich/ripe/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some licorice/coffee/roasted/pungent minerally flavor; very long jammy/ripe/boysenberry/ blackberry/Syrah rather roasted/espresso/pungent/licorice finish w/ light tannins; loads of very ripe fruit & lots of Rhonish character; great Syrah for the price. $22.00
  14. Andrew Rich Vintners Columbia Valley Syrah Reserve (14.1%) 2002: Black color; slight reduced/ pungent/stinky more pungent/toasty/roasted/oaked more ripe/jammy bit more brighter/strawberry bit more complex nose; big/ripe/lush bit more hard/tannic mory blackberry/boysenberry/ Syrah more charred/toasty/oak flavor; very long ripe/lush/jammy boysenberry/blackberry strong charred/toasty/oak finish; needs some age; a bit more of everything more than the Regular and may age longer, but not sure it's worth the price differential; terrific Syrah. $38.00
  15. Columbia Wnry Red Willow Vineyard David Lake Signature Yakima Valley Syrah (14.1%) 1999: Med.dark color; soft/lush very plummy/black cherry/licorice bit earthy nose; soft/fat/flat bit earthy/ mushroomy rather plummy/Lodi-like/licorice rather strawberry flavor; med.long soft/fat licorice/plummy/strawberry/earthy finish w/ light tannins; bit disappointing for DavidLake; interesting nose but too soft & fat & lacking structure & brightness. Dotty's mystery. $30
  16. Arther Earl Calif Grenache (13%) CollinsRanch Vineyard 2000: Rather light color; quite earthy/ dusty rather aged some grapey/strawberry nose; soft/fat light plummy/grapey/strawberry fairly earthy/dusty flavor; med.short soft/fat earthy/dusty slight grapey/strawberry/plummy finish w/ little tannins; some like a 10 yr old Clos du Gilroy; old afore its time. Steve Costigan mystery. $20.00
  17. Destefanis Dolcetto d'Alba Vigna Monia Bassa (14%) 2001: Very dark color; some earthy/ plummy bit oaked slight cardboardy nose; quite hard/lean/tannic quite acid some grapey/ earthy/plummy/dusty flavor; med.long hard/acid/tannic light earthy/dusty/plummy/grapey finish w/ hard tannins; needs some age; interesting nose but very hard/austere on the palate. Larry's mystery. $20.00
Some thoughts from the Bloody Pulpit:
  1. OregonRhones: I'd had the RockBlock (Domaine Serene) Syrah at HdR, with grapes from the RogueRiver Valley area, and was quite impressed. These two Syrahs were equally, maybe more so, impressive. I was kinda expecting these Oregon Syrahs to taste like...maybe a Syrah made by a Pinot producer. But they don't. Definitely first-rate Syrah w/ a lot of Rhonish character. These Oregon folks are starting off with a bang. We all can follow them from the very start, too.
  2. Andrew Rich Counoise/Mourvedre: The few Calif Counoise I've had have not been impressive. A pretty fragrance but rather hard/lean/tannic on the palate. The AR Counoise is by far the best Counoise I've had, though the TablasCreek is close. Much more richness & texture than any I've had. The Mourvedre was also very/very impressive. With the ferocious tannins it shows, it'll be interesting to see where this wine goes.
  3. AndrewRichVintners: I'd not had any of his Rhones before that I recall, but I'm going to be tracking them more closely now. All pretty impressive wines I thought. Even more amazing... he's so on top of his vnyds that all the wines came out at 14.1% alc!! :-)
  4. NorthWestRhones: No surprise to anybody who's been following them from the very start.. Syrahs from Washington, and now Oregon it looks like, are some of the most impressive most Rhonish wines from the USofA. Unlike their early Cabs & Merlots, which were often clobbered w/ toasty/charred/FrenchOak; they seem much more restrained in their oak usage w/ Syrah. These wines seem to much more routinely display their NW terroir than one can usually ferret out the terroir in the Calif versions. I'd love to see what SteveEdmunds can do with WashState Syrah.

    TomHill

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