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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.
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Some New Wines -
December 16, 2009 |
We tasted last night (11/11/09) some Chronic Wines:
- We tried last night (12/16/09) Some New Wines:
1. Chester'sAnvil Zin MtVeeder/NapaVlly (15.5%; 49 cs; www.LagiierMeredith.com; www.PottWine.com;
old ChesterBrandlin Ranch) 2007: Med.color; beautiful/perfumed very spicy/berry/raspberry/
blackberry/Zin light oak very aromatic complex nose; tart very spicy/raspberry/blackberry/Zin
bit peppery very perfumed light oak some tannic balanced/seamless flavor; very long/lingering
tart/balanced/seamless bright/raspberry/blackberry/Zin light oak some tannic very perfumed
finish; needs 2-5 yrs; an incredible purity of Zin fruit w/ a ton of spiciness; reminds me some
of the early MikeBernstein MtVeederVnyds Zins; one of the best Zins this year. Worth every penny
of $32.00
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2. Radio-Coteau Zin vonWeidlichVnyd/OccidentalRidge/RRV (15.2%; 272 cs; U/U) 2007: Dark color; intense
blackberry/boysenberry/Zin quite dusty/old vines some pencilly/oak very aromatic complex nose; very
tart deep/dusty/old vines some pencilly/oak intense blackberry/peppery/boysenberry/Zin fairly tannic
complex flavor; very long/lingering fairly tannic intense peppery/blackberry/Zin/spicy some pencilly/
oak rather dusty/old vines finish; great depth & length and classic dusty/old vine character w/
great intensity of fruit; needs 2-7 yrs; maybe the best R-C Zin yet. $43.00
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3. Talty Zin WilliamTaltyVnyds/Estate/DCV (15.1%; www.TaltyVineyards.com) 2006: Med.dark color; light toasty/
oak fairly strong blackberry/framboise/Zin slight pungent/licorice/chocolaty bit alcoholic rather spicy/
lush/fragrant nose; tart bit hard/tannic slight alcoholic strong blackberry/framboise/Zin light vanilla/
toasty/oak flavor; med/long strong blackberry/framboise/Zin somewhat hard/tannic bit toasty/oak finish;
needs several yrs; alcohol seems a bit intrusive; attractive solid Zin. $37.00
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4. Talty Zin WilliamTaltyVnyds/Estate/DCV (15.0%) 2005: Med.dark color; deeper more concentrated blackberry/
Zin pretty light toasty/vanilla/oak pretty spicy quite attractive nose; rather softer/rounder/lusher
strong blackberry/Zin quite spicy bit menthol light toasty/oak flavor; slight tannic strong blackberry/Zin
quite spicy light toasty/oak finish; more balance & more spicy than the '06 w/o the alcohol intruding.
$37.00
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5. Talty Zin FeliceConnollyVnyds/NapaVlly (15.0%) 2006: Med.dark color; bit alcoholic pleasant Zin/raspberry
slight dusty/earthy bit tarry/pungent light oak nose; slightly tart pleasant raspberry/Zin slight earthy/
dusty light oaked bit alcoholic flavor; med. attractive Zin/raspberry light pungent/oak bit hot/alcoholic
finish; not the lushness of the first two and a bit hot/alcoholic. $37.00
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6. Talty Zin FeliceConnollyVnyds/NapaVlly (14.5%) 2007: Med.dark color; some vanilla/pungent/oak light
raspberry/Zin some volatile/hot/EA/fumey nose; soft somewhat hot/alcoholic/fumey light raspberry/Zin
light vanilla/oak flavor; med.long slight herbal/celery seed pleasant raspberry/Zin bit fumey/hot finish
w/ light tannins; pleasant Zin flavors but a bit on the fumey/volatile side. $37.00
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7. Talty Zin DwightFamilyVnyds/DCV (14.7%) 2007: Dark color; slight herbal/dusty quite spicy/raspberry/Zin
light vanilla/pencilly/oak fairly perfumed nose; tart bit lean fairly spicy/raspberry/Zin light
pencilly/oak rather elegant/balanced slight herbal flavor; med.long rather spicy/raspberry/Zin light
pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; an attractive/balanced nice-drinking Zin. $30.00
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11. BigBasinVnyds RattlesnakeRock/SantaCruzMtns Syrah (14.9%; www.BigBasinVineyards.com;
135 cs) 2003: Black color; very intense espresso/coffee/pungent/roasted/smokey very strong blackberry/
spicy/Syrah very NorthernRhonish complex very aromatic nose; tart slight earthy intense roasted/espresso/
coffee/pungent slight tarry some blackberry/Syrah complex beautiful/Rhonish flavor; very long intense
roasted/espresso/pungent/tarry strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery finish w/ fair tannins; needs 3-6 yrs
yet; a stunning very NorthernRhonish Syrah in the style of AlainGraillot. $48.00
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12. Ridge Calif Zin DusiRanch LateHrvst (100% Zin; BenitoDusiRanch/PR/SLOCnty; Palnted: 1923;
15.5%; 51 brls; SaH: 28.7%; RS: 1.4%; Drk: 6/08-6/14: EB) 2007: Very dark color; very intense jammy/
boysenberry/blackberry/Zin bit herbal/vegetal slight raisened/overripe/late harvesty nose; soft very
intense jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin some pruney/raisened bit hot/alcoholic overripe flavor; very
long off-dry very ripe/jammy/Smuckers blackberry jam/Zin some hot/alcoholic finish w/ light tannins;
a bit on the overripe/hot/jammy side for a Dusi. $30.00
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13. Boheme Syrah SantaLuciaHighlands (15.1%) KurtBeitler 2003: Fairly dark color; strong licorice/blackberry/
Syrah rather cracked black pepper/cold-climate some pungent/toasty/oak spicy/complex lovely nose; tart
pungent/smokey cracked black pepper/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/charred/oak some licorice/tarry
complex flavor; very long roasted/herbal/pungent blackberry/Syrah/black pepper light charred/toasty/oak
complex finish w/ modest tannins; in a very good place right now and will probably hold for several yrs
before heading down; a lovely/complex cold-climate Syrah. Kevin's mystery wine.
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14. VillaCreek Avenger (40% Syrah/30% Grenache/30% Mourvedre; 15%) 2001: Dark color w/ slight bricking; some
pungent/jammy very ripe bit fumey/alcoholic some blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice some toasty/oak
nose; soft/fat some blackberry/Syrah/jammy/boysenberry rather toasty/charred/oak somewhat hot/fumey/
jammy/overripe flavor; med. ripe/jammy/overripe some blackberry/Syrah rather toasty/oak finish w/ light
tannins; bit overripe & alcoholic and not going anywhere. $40.00
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15. Tensley Syrah ColsonCanyon/SBC (15%) 2008: Very dark color; very strong pungent/licorice/tarry/smokey
intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah beautiful nose; tart very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some
licorice/pungent/tarry light toasty/oak very spicy flavor; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah
somewhat pungent/licorice/tarry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs and will go out maybe 10;
less exhuberent Syrah fruit and more interesting things than previous young Tensley Syrahs; another
Tensley killer Syrah. TomKwan mystery wine.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Chester'sAnvil: Doesn't mention it on the label, but this comes from the old block of BrandlinRanch
that Chester kept for himself. A joint effort between SteveLagier/CaroleMeridith and AaronPotts.
A first-time effort that will be repeated in 2009. One of the most stunning Zins I've had this year.
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2. This is, alas, the last vintage of R-C for vonWeidlich Zin. It all now goes to BradAlper/BillKnuttle
for their Otimmino label. The R-C vonWeidlich has consistently been over the yrs one of the best
Zin from Calif. I dearly hope EricSussman will be able to locate another old-vine Zin vnyd to work with.
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3. Talty: This is a new wnry I heard a few things on the internet about and thought I'd give them a test
drive. The Dwight '07 was my favorite, closely followed by the Estate '05. I thought the Zins were good/
solid Zins, sorta in the DavidCafarro style, but a bit on the pricey side compared to other Zins out
there. The two Napa Zins were the least interesting to me; pleasant but just that. I'll likely try them
again in a few yrs.
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4. DusiLateHarvest: Ridge has always done a good job w/ the Dusi Zins even when the sugars are on the high
side. They usually have a very intense boysenberry/blackberry character w/o being overripe/raisened in
character. This wine just seemed a bit over-the-top to me and over in the LateHarvest camp compared to
their previous ones. Not really a bad wine, but I don't see it going anywhere with age. Drink w/
pungent cheeses or nuts is probably its best use. A bit of a strange duck I think.
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5. Zins: A tasting like this of Zins always takes me back to my roots in the '70's when Zin was my favorite
red wine...afore I succumbed to the siren-song of Syrah. I still think the world of Zin out there is
just as alive and well has it ever was after the stupid food-wine Zins of the early '80's. They just
don't seem to have the pizzazz that they did back then. But when I taste Zins like the Chester'sAnvil,
or the Radio-Coteau, or the DryCreekVnyds, or the Ottominos....I recall...yeah...this is what used to
really jazz me about Zinfandel. Heck...I may go back to ZAP again this year.
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And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit: |
1. Some of these wines were given to us to try, so don't know the price on all of them.
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2. VinoV: These wines are made by MichaelMeagher. He was formerly winemaker w/ AdamTolmach/OjaiVnyds before striking out on his own. He makes his wine at the OldCreekRanch, near OjaiVnyd, where he's also the winemaker. Michael & I go way back to his early days at Ojai.
I've tried his VinoV wines in the past, sorta on a hit or miss basis. So when Michael offered his current wines to try, plus the vertical of his WhiteHawk Syrah, I jumped at the chance. The Chard was a lovely/interesting Chard; one of the better ones I've had this year. The Pinot was
not nearly as thrilling. Of the Syrahs; the '04 seemed to have a slight funk to it and seemed a bit ragged at the edges; as if it was not evolving gracefully in the btl. Hard to tell where it will be going. The '05 was a good/solid classic SantaBarbara Syrah. But the '06 I thought was absolutely first-rate; as good as any from SantaBarbara, and probably the best I've from WhiteHawk. Terrific job I thought.
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3. SolomonHills Pinot: I've not had many SantaMaria Pinots from this side of the river that have really hit my sweet spot. Most seem to have a somewhat earthy/Burgundy character to them and lack the bright cherry/Pinot fruit you find in the BienNacido Pinots. Also owned by the Miller brothers. It is one of the coolest & westernmost vnyds in the SantaMariaVlly. The soil appears very sandy in character, in stark contrast to very stoney/gravelly BienNacido soils.
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4. ShakeRidgeVnyd: When I was researching HdR, I noted a new wnry, Yorba. This is NapaVlly wine made by KenBernards. The grapes are grown by highly-regarded viticulturist AnnKraemer in her ShakeRidge vnyd up in AmadorCnty. This vnyd is up in the Sierra foothills; east of SutterCreek and south of the ShenandoahVlly. Ann has a lot of interesting stuff planted there in a rather complicated vnyd. The wines did not strike me as typical AmadorCnty/ShenandoahVlly wines. They did not have that strong briary/blackberry/ripe component typical signature of ShenandoahVlly. They seemed much more akin to the wines from the Fiddletown area, just east of the ShenandoahVlly and slightly higher elevation. They did not show that earthy/mushroomy character you typically find in the ElDorado reds. They did not have a ton of lush/opulent fruit but showed more restraint and all very structured for aging. Stylistically, I found a lot of similarity in these wines, but still very much varietally correct. Definitely a wnry/vnyd to watch in the future. I was impressed by my first test drive of Ann's wines.
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5. OldBlackMagic: I didn't find much in this wine to excite me. It reminded me some of a middling Cotes du Rhone, not one of my favorite genres. However, like the Rocks&Gravel, Steve's wines have this way of rising up and biting you on the a$$ with some age. I would guess that this OBM is one of those wines. Sometimes you just gotta believe.
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6. NovySyrah: This was SteveCostigan's mystery wine. On release; it had big boysenberry fruit w/ strong herbal character typical of SLH. This wine has since developed a strong cracked black pepper character and in a very good place for drinking right now.
TomHill
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[Additional Wine Reviews from Tom Hill] |
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