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.

RhoneRangers 2006 -

I attended last Saturday's RhoneRangers tasting at FortMason. The crowd seemed a bit smaller from the previous yrs. As in yrs past, the event was very well run. My only wish is that they'd double the number of stand-up tables on which to take notes; there's plenty of room to do that. Lots of friends and winemakers there, not so many marketing types, which makes for a better event. Got to, finally, meet Mike Drilling, who personally applied my wristband. I was honored and flattered. Although we'd never met, he recognized me from CyberSpace pictures. Not sure that that's really a good thing, though; that I actually look like those pictures!!

Mostly, I ignored tasting many of my old...errrr...long-time friends unless they had some new wines I'd not tasted. So a lot of my favorites are not represented in the notes below. I did manage to get thru some 70 wines in the 4 hrs I was there. Not a very admirable pace, I must admit; I shoulda trained as hard as I did on the fencing strip.As before, I focused on trying new wineries I'm not familar with or are new on the scene. There are always a few new discoveries. This was no exception:
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1. SilverPines Vnyds: www.SilverPinesVineyards.com This was probably my biggest "new find".
Earlier in the week, I'd had the opportunity to taste a few BennettVlly wines; an up-and-
coming area with which I'd not had a lot of experience heretofore. This is the vlly located to the south-east of SantaRosa and up in the mtns, adjacent to SonomaMtn. Quite a cool growing area, apparently; Pinot country. Yet many of the Syrahs I tried from there were very impressive (Novy, Carlisle, Bevan). An area, definitely, to keep your eye on for Rhone varietals.

I had the chance to visit w/ owner Norm Silverman. Greg LaFollette is making his wines. The BennettVlly Syrah '03 was very impressive; showing that cracked black pepper/spicycharacter w/ loads of roasted/Syrah fruit that shows so well in cold-climate growing conditions. Very impressive wine, a winery I plan to follow from the very start.
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2. Tallulah Wines: www.TallulahWines.com This was not really a new discovery. Owner/winemaker
Ben Davis has posted a few times on WCWN w/ his URL after his name. I took a look-see amonth ago, was attracted, ordered 3 of his wines, and tried them the night afore I left for Reno. My group was very/very impressed with them. The '03 DelRio/OR Grenache we very much liked, the '03 DryCreek Syrah was very good (for DryCreekVlly), and the '03 Sonoma Coast Syrah was dynamite.

Ben was pouring his '04 MtVeeder/BaldMtn Syrah, '04 DelRio/OR Grenache; both of which very/very good. But both the '04 SonomaCoast and '04 DelRio/OR Syrahs were dynamite; classic cold-climate Syrahs w/ loads of peppery character. Killer wines. Interestingly, Ben makes his wines at the Copain/Carlisle facility in SantaRosa but, alas, was not there the Tues afore when I visited Mike there. This is a winery also worth following from the very start.
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3. Sawtooth Wnry: www.SawToothWinery.com Also not really a new discovery, as I had already
discovered them the yr before. But worth repeating this yr. He was pouring the '03 Viognier
and the '02 Syrah. The Viognier was loaded w/ floral/aromatics and the Syrah had lots oftoasty/ roasted/mocha character. BFD (Kansas colloquialism), you say?? Well.... this wnry is located in Idaho, of all places. Who'd thunk!! Moreover, price at onlt $16; it's dishonest to be buying wines this good at such a cheap price. Worth taking for a test drive.

And, so.... on to the rest of the show. Listing is alphabetic, in no particular order:
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4. A Donkey and Goat: www.ADonkeyAndGoat.com I must admit that I was attracted to this wnry
because of my childhood connections (let's not go THERE!!) w/ the Utter's goats next door, Billie and Nanny. The label is rather...ummmmm...unusual. But the wines are not. They were pouring '04 VidmarVnyd/YorkvilleHighlands/Mendocino Syrah, '04 CarsonRidge/ElDorado Syrah,'04 VieillesVignes/ McDowellVllyVnyd Syrah and a GrenacheGris. All three Syrahs were absolutely first rate and characteristic of their origins (that terroir thingey). I'm impressed w/ the few Syrahs I've had coming from the YorkvilleHighlands thus far (Copain, Bink). This is another wnry to follow from the very start. And the Syrahs coming out of ElDorado just seem to keep getting better and better.
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5. Bink Wines: www.BinkWines.com They were pouring their '03 HawksButte/YorkvilleHighlands
Syrah. Lots of ripe blackberry/spicy character, slight toasty/peppery; absolutely first rate. The two ladies behind Bink seem to really know what they're doing from my conversation with them and another wnry to follow from the very start.
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6. BenjaminSilver Wines: www.SilverWine.com Ben was pouring his '03 TrentottoFile(?)/WhiteHawk
Vnyd Syrah. Very classic ripe/blackberry Syrah w/ great structure and very attractively priced
at $24.
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7. BunnellFamily Cllrs: www. RiverAerie.com Another wnry w/ which I'd had no experience. They
poured the '04 Boushey-McPherson, CliftonHills, and HorseHeavenHills Syrahs. All were pretty
impressive WashState Syrahs, lots of terroir character. Reminded me a lot of the WalterDacon
Syrahs. All three very reasonably priced at $29.
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8. CopainCllrs: www.CopainWine.com Wells' table was pretty much mobbed the whole day, so it was a real effort to get any of his wines (why can't people ever learn the etiquette of these
events...take your sample and retreat so others can get a shot??? Rude to the max are most
people). The '04 JamesBerry Roussanne was aromatic/floral and powerful, one of my best whites
all day. The '04 ThompsonVnyd Syrah was classic Thompson dusty/peppery/spicy & intense; a
killer Thompson. Wells seems to be ranging further afield to source grapes from some pretty
top-notch vnyds in recognition of what he's doing w/ Rhone varietals.
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9. Crushpad: www.CrushPadWine.com Alas, I wanted to try more of their wines, but never made it
back to them The BrokenLeg/AndersonVlly Viognier '05 was one of the best Viogniers I tried;
powerfully aromatic but w/ good acidity and structure.
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10. DavidGirard Vnyds: Another (sorta) new wnry for me. I got to the FestivalPavillon about an
hr afore it opened, saw this very attractive lady sitting on the bench outside, so sat down and
started chatting her up. Small world; we had a lot in common other than the obvious stunning
good looks. Turns out she was Amanda Mansfield, daughter of Ron Mansfield, who farms in the
ElDoradoFoothills Goldbug Farms, plus Wylie, Fenaughty, and Witter vnyds from which Steve
Edmunds sources grapes. And she had recently met Ken Musso, who grows Dolcetto & Nebbiolo up
there. I recounted how I'd met her father at lunch w/ SteveEdmunds a few yrs afore. The '04 (?)
Roussanne/Viognier blend was attractive, low-key pear/fruity w/ good acidity. The '03 Wylie-
Fenaughty Syrah was excellent w/ that dusty/mushroomy character that ElDorado gives. Quite
attractive wines I thought.
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11. EdmundsStJohn: Obviously, the chance to taste three Wylie-Fenaughty Syrahs in one day was
irrestible. So tried Steve's '03 W-F Syrah and thought it best of the three; classic dusty/earthy ElDorado Syrah w/ more blackberry Syrah. Also tried his '03 Bassetti Syrah. A huge/brooding/ powerful/spicy/peppery Syrah which will outlast Steve and maybe even me. And, of course, a wnry I've followed from the very start.
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12. Holly'sHillVnyd: www.HollyShill.com I've still not had a chance to taste thru all their wines
yet, but made a valiant attempt this time. The '04 TranquilleBlanc was a very pretty, earthy/
aromatic/floral white and very reasonable at $14. Both the '04 Grenache and Mourvedre were
very attractive. The '03 Wylie-Fenaughty Syrah was quite good, dusty/spicy/blackberry and
very well-priced at $19.
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13. HugCellars: www.HugCellars.com I was most interested in trying Augie's new '04 Central Coast
and Bassetti Syrahs. I liked both of them; quite a lot. The Bassetti was big/powerful and very spicy/peppery cold-climate Syrah. Augie's wines seem to continue climbing thru the ceiling in quality, whilst his bowling skills fall off the deep end. Such a shame to see a once-great athlete in their declining years!!
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14. KathyrnKennedyWnry: www.KatherineKennedyWinery.com Tried the '03 SantaCruzMtn Syrah and the'02 MaridonVnyd/SantaCruzMtns Syrah. The first Maridon was a killer Syrah and the first of what I was convinced great SCM Syrahs. Alas, they seemed to have gone downhill. Both of these wines were profoundly unclean/bretty/funky and grossly overpriced at $36 and $85. So sad.
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15. McCreaCllrs: www.McCreaCellars.com Tried both the '04 Ceil du Cheval Roussanne and Viognier.
As usual, liked them quite a bit w/ that earthiness/mineral character WashState whites usually
show. Alas, didn't make it back around to try the reds. A favorite wnry of mine.
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16. Montemaggiore: www.Montemaggiore.com Another new wnry to me. Grapes are organically grown and soon to be BioDynamic certified. Alas, didn't get a chance to visit w/ him 1-on-1 about
BioDynamics, though he seemed not to be on the lunatic fringe on outward appearances. Tried the
'03 Paola'sVnyd DryCreekVlly Syrah and found it quite spicy/peppery/raspberry/blackberry; liked
it quite a lot in fact.
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17. PeayVnyds: www.PeayVineyards.com Another table that was attracting quite a lot of attention. Since I'd done a visit to Nick Peay on Wed, I was already sold on the wines and didn't get in the way. Tried the '04 Viognierr and really liked it a lot; very spicy/pear/floral and very
minerally. Also tried two different barrel samples of the '04 Syrah. Vety spicy/aromatic w/ loads of mineral/roasted/cracked black pepper character. Stunning wines they are. But, boy,
that vnyd is located out in the middle of nowhere!!
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18. RocinanteWines: www.RocinanteWines.com I think it was Nick Peay who suggested I check out
their wines (John&Susan Vowell) from DryCreekVlly. Tried the '04 PalindromeVnyd/DCV Syrah and
liked it quite a bit. In the JCCllrs mould; big/dense/powerful perfumed/blackberry/Syrah. One of the better DCV Syrahs I've tried.
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19. SierraVistaWnry: www.SierraVistaWinery.com Another wnry I've followed from the very start
with the '85 Syrah (a spectacular wine when I had my last btl a few months ago). The '04
Roussanne was a beautiful/floral/honeysuckle/pear aromatic slightly earthy white. The RedRock
Ridge Syrah '04 was intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah w/ a slight earthy/terroir character. I baited John a bit; noting that I thought his wines have taken an order of magnitude leap in quality since Michelle and Vince have taken more responsibility for winemaking; but he just smiled sweetly and refused the proffered bait. A wnry whose wines keep getting better and better, yet reasonably priced.
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20. SteeleWines: www.SteeleWines.com I've been pretty underwhelmed w/ Jed's wines ever since he departed from Edmeades. I tried his '02 LakeCnty Stymie Syrah. Surprise/surprise. It was a pretty terrific Syrah w/ loads of blackberry fruit and good tannins/structure. One of the best
LakeCnty Syrahs I've had the occasion to try. There's hope yet for LakeCnty.
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21. TablasCreekVnyd: www.TablasCreek.com Jason Haas was there pouring his new wines and I
couldn't resist, even though they're old friends. The '04 Roussanne and GrenacheBlanc were highly perfumed whites w/ the mineral/chalky character they seem to get in their wines. Very lovely whites. Alas, didn't make it back to try the reds. TablasCreek has been hitting on all cylinders for the last few yrs.
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22. TinBarnVnyds: www.TinBarnVineyards.com I had one of their Syrahs a few yrs ago and was pretty impressed (especially at the mis-marked price of $21 at BottleBarn). Tried the '03 Coreyelle
FieldsVnyd SonomaCoast Syrah and liked it quite a lot; loads of very spicy/blackberry/peppery
slight olive Syrah character. Reasonably priced at $32.
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So....there you have it. Had I not been such a slaggard, I'd have had a better performance. But,
be assured, it has nothing to do w/ old age...just didn't train hard enough. There were a few I
wanted to try but ran outta time: Atelier, BrassfieldEstate, BurchHall, Calcereous, Ca'Na/Tamayo,
ClosSaron, CraneBrothers, Io (Io..it's off to work we go), JCCellars, JusSoli, Kuleto, Longboard,
MartinFamily, MartinRanch, Palmeri, SanSakana, Topel, Travieso, TwistedOak. Oy...so many wines,
so little time.

The RhoneRangers event is one I would highly recommend. It is not nearly the zoo that the ZAP
tasting is. Plenty of room to taste in a relaxed manner. I'll definitely be back again next year.
TomHill

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