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.

We launched the NewYear (1/11/06) w/ some New Calif Rhones:

1. EdmundsStJohn Shell&Bone PasoRobles WW (RozetVnyd; Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne; 14.2%) 2004: Med.gold color; fragrant pear/Viognier/appley/Marsanne very minerally/chalky
lovely/perfumed/aromatic nose; very tart/citric/grapefruity slight steely/metallic very minerally lovely pear/Viognier flavor; very long minerally fragrant/pear/Viognier steely/minerally finish; one of the most Chablis-like whites I've had from Calif...and it ain't even Chard; this wine will easily go 10 yrs; well-priced at $24.00
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2. EdmundsStJohn Roussanne TablasCreekVnyd/PasoRobles (14.5%; www.EdmundsStJohn.com)
2004: Med.gold color; lovely/perfumed/floral/honeysuckle slight honeyed rather minerally nose; tart/austere but very lush/pineapply/floral/honeysuckle bit chalky/minerally flavor; very long/ lingering floral/pineapply/honeyed some minerally/chalky finish; not as flamboyant as S&B, but more richness & texture w/ that same laser-sharp acidity; terrific Roussane and another 10 yr wine. $30.00
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3. K Viognier ColumbiaVlly (14%; www.K-Syrah.com) 2004: Light gold color; lovely fragrant/
perfumed/Viognier/pear slight volatile bit earthy some buttered popcorn/CrackerJacks unusual nose; soft/fat pineapply/peach/Viognier slight earthy/oak slight bitter bit CrackerJacks/caramel flavor; med. peach/pineapply/Viognier bit earthy/CrackerJacks finish; interesting/strange Viognier and fairly priced at $20.50.
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4. TablasCreekVnyd Mourvedre PasoRobles (14.3%) 2003: Med.red color; strong earthy/plummy/
dusty/Mourvedre bit jammy/ripe nose; tart very plummy/Mourvedre slight earthy/dusty light cherry bit tannic flavor; med.long plummy/jammy/Mourvedre/licorice bit tannic/dustyfinish; needs several yrs; interesting Mourvedre w/ some Rhone character. $30.00
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5. Duo Grenache LarnerVnyd/SBCnty (14.2%) 2004: Med.color; lovely/strawberry/Grenache/soda
pop/juicy very aromatic slight peppery nose; tart bright/zippy strawberry/alpine strawberry/Nehi soda pop candied flavor; very long bright/zippy/strawberry/Grenachefinish w/ light tannins; classic Nehi strawberry soda pop for a hot Kansas summer afternoon after a day in the fields; very pretty Grenache. $24.00
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6. DrewFamily Grenache HearthstoneVnyd/PasoRobles (14.8%; 100 cs) 2003: Med.color; very
ripe/jammy/juicy/plummy slight volatile/aromatic deeper/strawberry/raspberry/Grenache slight oak/coffee nose; soft very ripe/overripe plummy/strawberry/Grenache bit earthy/tannic flavor; long ripe/plummy/jammy/strawberry/Grenache slight toasty/coffee finish; lots of ripe/jammy Grenache character. $28.00
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7. Esca NapaVlly Syrah (14.5%; www.EscaWines.com) 2002: Very dark color; intense plummy/
jammy/very ripe/Syrah some Lodi/mushroomy slight coffee/licorice/toasted coconut light oak nose; soft/fat plummy/very ripe/jammy/blackberry/Syrah bit tannic/soupysome licorice/coffee bit earthy/Lodi flavor; med.long bit tannic overripe/plummy/licorice/blackberry light earthy/ mushroomy; ready to drink and lacks structure; interesting Syrah but more Lodi-like than Napa; fairly priced at $18.00.
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8. Bilancia Hawke'sBay Syrah NewZealand LehenyGibson (13.5%; www.Bilancia.co.NZ) 2003:
Very dark color; beautiful/exotic very intense black pepper some roasted/coffee light toasty/oak slight blackberry nose; soft bit tannic very intense black pepper very light blackberry/Syrah/ earthy some coffee/oak flavor; med.long very intense black pepper light Syrah/blackberry some roasted/coffee w/ some tannins; very intense cracked black pepper character w/ slight NorthernRhone character; fairly priced at $30.00.
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9. TablasCreekVnyd Syrah PasoRobles (14.5%; www.TablasCreek.com) 2003: Very dark/black
color; intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry slight roasted/peppery/spicy light toasty/coffee/ oak complex nose; tart rather peppery/coffee very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit minerally/earthy flavor; very long some tannic intense/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry slight peppery/coffee finish;needs 2-6 yrs; more austere than most Paso Syrahs; interesting/very good Syrah. $30.00
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10. Duo Syrah ColsonCanyonVnyd/SBCnty (13.5%) 2003: Very dark/black color; intense black-
berry/boysenberry/Syrah some coffee/peppery bit green olive very interesting nose; tart rather green olive/peppery intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light roasted/coffee flavor; med.long toasty/peppery/coffee/green olive intense blackberry/Syrah w/some tannins; needs several yrs; much in the Qupe style; very good Syrah at a great price. $24.00
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11. Babcock Syrah FryingPan section/AlisosVnyd/SBCnty (15%; www.BabcockWinery.com; Optimum Quod Possum) 2003: Black color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah lovely black pepper very spicy/roasted tons of fruit nose; tart intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some
green olive/peppery slight toasty/roasted/oak/espresso flavor; very long toasty/coffee intense blackberry/Syrah spicy/green olive somewhat tannic finish; needs 2-6 yrs; terrific Syrah at a fair price. $50.00
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12. Babcock Syrah Nook&Cranny/Estate/SantaRitaHills (15%) 2003: Black color; beautiful
intense peppery/cracked black pepper/coffee/roasted intense blackberry/spicy complex
nose; tart/hard/tannic Texier-like very cracked black pepper/roasted/coffee intense blackberry/ Syrah very NorthernRhone complex flavor; very long/lingering intense black pepper/spicy/ NorthernRhone/espresso/roasted intense blackberry/spicy/Syrah finish; needs 4-10 yrs age; a stunning cold-climate Syrah much in the Texier style; bargin at$50.00
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13. Babcock Syrah Radical section/HearthstoneVnyd/PasoRobles (14.5%) 2003: Black color;
very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah pure fruit slight jammy light peppery/toasty/roasted nose; soft/rich/lush intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah ripe slight peppery/toasty flavor; long intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah ripe slight jammy finish w/some tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; loads of pure/ripe/Syrah fruit yet good structure. $50.00
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14. EdmundsStJohn BassettiVnyd/SLOCnty Syrah (13.3%) 2003: Black color; very intense
complex/NorthernRhone/spicy/peppery strong blackberry/Syrah slight reduced/stinky/pungent some coffee/roasted complex nose; tart hard/tannic very intense/blackberry/Syrah some peppery/spicy hard/bit closed flavor; long hard/tannic bit closed intense/blackberry/ Syrah/ peppery slight roasted/smokey/pungent finish; seems a bit closed now; huge/extracted Syrah yet has great balance; should age forever; very good value at $40.00
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15. Pier Carlo Semino La Colombera VegiaRampana DOC: ColliTortonesi (13.5%; www.
LaColomberaVini.It) 2003: Dark color; some dusty/earthy rather spicy/peppery/Barbera some mineraly/salami nose; tart spicy/peppery/salami/Barbera somewhat earthy/dusty bit tannic/rustic flavor; med. tart/rough/rustic bit tannic spicy/peppery rather dusty/earthy finish; somewhat rough/rustic but authentic Barbera at a steal of a price. about $EU3.00
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16. Domaine du Caillou LesQuartz Chateneauf du Pape (14%) 1999: Howard&Rhoda's mystery
wine: Very dark color; quite spicy/dusty/earthy/minerally some blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak fairly complex nose; rich/lush/powerful dusty/earthy/minerally strong Syrah/blackberry/fruity light toasty/oak flavor; very long dusty/minerally some blackberry/Syrah finish w/ fair tannins & good complexity; rather Calif-style CdP that still needs more age.

1. EdmundsStJohn whites: Steve doesn't seem to get a whole lot of recognition for his
whites but, to me, they're some of the most interesting whites being made in Calif.
Even though good alcohol levels, they usually seem to have a minerality and a wirey
character, which is probably why they age so well I find. The S&B and the Roussanne
are exactly of that mold; are not very flashy & flamboyant (unlike Steve) and will
not appeal to the novice drinker. But if you want a white that'll age, these two
are it.
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2. TablasCreek: There first wines were on the austere side and were not that impressive
out of the gate. But they seemed to age well. The last few yrs, JasonHass has really
hit his stride w/ these wines and they're some of the best they've ever made. As they
release more single-variety wines, I'm finding them more interesting/exciting than the
blended ones. Tablas Creek is one of the most special of Calif's Rhone vineyards.
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3. Babcock: Brian has made a few very good black label Syrahs over the years. These three
single-vnyd ones are a huge jump up in quality; some absolutely terrific Syrahs.
Alas, very tiny quantities. I was blown away by his estate Nook&Cranny, one of the best
SantaRitaHills Syrahs I've ever had; much like some of the Jaffurs and Ojai Melville
vnyd versions. Stunning/stunning wine. A few preferred the Alisos, but my easy
favorite was the N&C.
The Optimum Quad Possum on the label refers to Brian's unique practice of tossing
four dead possums into each fermenting vat to enhance the efficacy of the proteanaceous
fining agent he uses. Bit unconventional, but seems to work.
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4. EdmundsStJohn Bassetti: Steve regards this as maybe the best Syrah he's yet made and
one that'll outlive us all (that being those of Steve & my ilk...so....another 30
yrs we talking). It seems a bit closed and primary right now, not as dramatic as the
Babcocks, but you gotta trust Steve on this one; terrific Syrah now and if you belive
(I do), then it's destined to be one of the great/mature Calif Syrahs down the road.
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5. LaColombera: This was a mystery wine brought back from their recent trip by PatBoyer &
KevinAnderson. It was a good/basic/sound Barbera at an absurd price. As best I can
tell, these wines are not imported into the USofA. In addition to two Barberas, they
also make Niblo (Dolcetto w/ pedincolo rosso), Timorasso, Cortese, and Freisa; all of
which I'd love to try. ColliTortonesi... a DOC you don't see a whole lot of.
TomHill