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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.

Mt. Veeder Wines - July 14, 2010

We tasted last night (7/14/10) some Mt. Veeder Wines:

  1. LaTourVnyds Chard MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.5%; www.LaTourVineyards.com) 2006: Med.dark gold color; ripe melony/Chard/spicy/pear somewhat toasty/oak/smokey lush/ripe nose; soft rather lush/ripe spicy/melony/ Chard fairly toasty/oak some tropical fruit/mango flavor; long somewhat toasty/oak rich/lush/ripe/ melony/Chard/tropical fruit finish; a fair amount of toasty oak w/ lots of ripe fruit; an attractive NapaVlly Chard. $25.00
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  2. LaTourVnyds Chard HeritageClone MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.5%) 2007: Med.gold color; strong less ripe appley/ melony/Chard/quite spicy slight Mosel valve oil light toasty/oak/nutmeg very attractive nose; light toasty/oak textured/rich more tart malony/appley/Chard/spicy/nutmeg bit valve oil quite spicy flavor; very long textured/lush/tart melony/Chard/appley/pear very spicy/nutmeg finish; a lovely NapaVlly
    Chard at a very good price. $25.00
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  3. ParasVnyd Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.8%) 2005: Very dark/black color; strong blackberry/Syrah/ spicy/ boysenberry rather alcoholic/ripe/Oz-like slight licorice/plummy interesting nose; soft somewhat hot/ alcoholic blackberry/spicy/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe some tannic some licorice/Oz-like/pungent flavor; long some hot/alcoholic blackberry/Syrah some tannic/hard ripe/boysenberry/Oz-like light toasty/oak finish; still needs a few yrs; slight MtVeeder spiciness but seems a bit on the overripe side and not the
    structure the earlier JadeMtn/ParasVnyd had. $46.00
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  4. LaTourVnyds CabernetSauvignon NapaVlly (14.8%) 2006: Dark color; rather pencilly/toasty/oak rather blackcurrranty/ Cab light earthy slight herbal nose; tart fairly pencilly/toasty/oak ripe/plummy/ blackcurranty/Cab some tannic/ structured flavor; long pencilly/toasty/oak ripe/blackcurranty/Cab/ plummy some tannic/hard/structured finish; needs another 4-10 yrs; a pretty good/standup NapaVlly Cab. $25.00
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  5. LaTourVnyds Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.8%; www.LaTourVineyards.com) Napa 2005: Very dark color; lovely/beautiful spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight pungent/toasty/oak/licorice light roasted/ pungent bit complex nose; tart very spicy/ blackberry/Syrah/licorice light toasty/oak/pungent slight tannic smokey/complex flavor; very long bit tannic/ hard very strong blackberry/Syrah very spicy light licorice/pungent/smokey/oak some complex finish; a really beautiful very spicy Syrah; can go another 3-5 yrs probably; screamin' deal at $16.50
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  6. LaTourVnyds Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.8%) 2006: Very dark color; slightly less intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight pungent/ozone/WWII beacon light toasty/charred/oak more pure blackberry/blueberry/Syrah nose; softer/lusher pure/bright/blackberry/Syrah/spicy very light toasty/pencilly/oak somewhat tannic/hard/angular bit pungent/WWII beacon flavor; strong lush/blackberry/Syrah/very spicy light toasty/charred/oak bit pungent/ licorice/WWII beacon some hard/tannic/structured finish; needs 3-6 yrs; bit more lush fruit and not the complexity of the '05; terrific Syarh at $25.00/$18.00
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  7. Lagier-Meredith MtVeeder/NapaVlly Syrah (www.LagierMeredith.com; 770 cs; 14.5%) 2003: Very dark color/no bricking; some toasty/pencilly/oak very perfumed/aromatic very spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight mineral/stoney slight roasted/pungent complex beautiful nose; tart complex very spicy/ blackberry/Syrah some pencilly/toasty/oak slight erathy/stoney slight pungent/licorice/smokey/roasted complex some tannic flavor; very long very spicy/ strong/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/pencilly/oak light pungent/licorice complex some tannic finish; starting to develop secondary flavors & smells but still very stongly spicy/blackberry; will probably go another 10 yrs or more. $53.00
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  8. Lagier-Meredith MtVeeder/NapaVlly Syrah (700 cs; 14.8%) 2004: Very dark color; pure very spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight smokey/licorice light toasty/pencilly/oak beautiful nose; tart some hard/tannic intense/spicy/blackberry/ Syrah light pencilly/oak slight pungent/coffee bit simpler flavor; very long somewhat hard/tannic intense/spicy/ blackberry/Syrah light pencilly/oak finish; more pure Syrah fruit than the '03 and not showing much development; seems a bit hard & akward right now; needs 5-10 yrs. $52.50
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  9. Lagier-Meredith MtVeeder/NapaVlly Syrah (940 cs; 14.8%) 2005: Very dark color; intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy some licorice/pungent/coffee very light toasty/pencilly/oak beautiful nose; tart slight herbal very intense/blackberry/Syrah/very spicy quite structured/tannic light toasty/oak some coffee/roasted/pungent flavor; very long intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy rather tannic/structured some pencilly/toasty/oak finish; ample tannins but not the hardness of the '04; beautiful very young Syrah. $52.50
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  10. Lagier-Meredith Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (10'th vintage; 850 cs; 14.4%) 2007: Very dark/black color; very intense/blackberry/Syrah/very spicy/boysenberry light pencilly/toasty/oak very primary nose; tart very intense/ blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy light pencilly/oak very slight pungent/licorice quite tannic/structured flavor; very long/lingering intense/blackberry/Syrah/very spicy light toasty/oak pungent/licorice slight DrPepper rather tannic/structured finish; plenty of tannins but plenty of Syrah fruit to carry it off; needs much age. $43.50
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  11. Lagier-Meredith Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.8%) 1999: Dark color w/ no bricking; lovely very spicy/ blackberry/Syrah/DrPepper/RCCola bit peppery light toasty/pencilly/oak some complex/perfumed nose; fairly tart smooth/polished/vlevety strong blackberry/Syrah very spicy/DrPepper/RCCola light pencilly/oak rather complex flavor; very long/lingering lightly tannic smooth/velvety very spicy/blackberry/Syrah light pencilly/oak somewhat complex finish; starting to show some secondary characteristics but still plenty of youthful/spicy/blackberry fruit; classic MtVeeder spice; should go another 3-6 yrs I would guess.


And profundities from TheBloodyPulpit:


1. LaTour Chard: The '06 is primarily from Wente clone grapes. The '07 was made from a clone they got from the HydeVnyd. Not sure why that is a "Heritage clone" and the Wente is not. Of these two, I preferred the '07 for more acidity/less oak and somewhat more interesting in character.
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2. Paras: This vnyd was planted up on MtVeeder when he owned JadeMtnWnry, which was sold to the ChaloneGroup in 2000. JimParas kept the vnyd and has continued to make Viog/grenache/ Cab/ Syrah from their. In its early days; DougDanielak made some very impressive Syrahs back in the early '90's. He left JadeMtn when it was sold to Chalone, but has returned as the winemaker at ParasVnyd, in addition to winemaker at Clark-Claudon. This Paras Syrah had the spiciness that characterizes MtVeeder Syrah, but seemed a bit on the ripe side and not as structured & interesting as some Doug made from this vnyd back in his JadeMtn days.
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3. LaTourVnyds: This is a property on the north-west flank of MtVeeder that is owned by Tom & Barbara LaTour. I'm sorta surprised that some of those whiney/persnickity/snooty Bordeaux folks haven't objected to him using his name on the label. The Gallo attourneys would have been on him in a flash...open & shut case. The wines were mostly from a 4-pak special they have at $99/4-pak. Very good value. The '05 Syrah was gifted me by DaveHill. We had dinner w/ Nancy (Susan's cuz) and him a month ago. It was late in the evening, but he hauled out the '05 Syrah. I thought that this was pretty good Syrah, rather like the Lagier-Merediths w/ a lot of MtVeeder spice, but didn't give it much more thought. Then I looked at their WebSite to harvest more details on LaTour and when I saw it was on close-out at $16.50; I nearly flipped my wig. What a screamin' deal that is. So I was interested in trying the LaTour Syrahs under the more objective circumstances of my tastings. My original impression of the '05 Syrah was even more favorable. Classic MtVeeder spice. Rather similar to the Lagier-Merediths; but not quite the intensity of fruit and not quite the structure & tannins. But still pretty impressive Syrahs for the price. I preferred the '05 to the '06 somewhat. Screamin' deals they are.
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4. L-M: I have, of course, followed SteveLagier-CaroleMeredith's Syrahs from the very start. I'm not a big fan of many up-valley/non-Carneros NapaVlly Syrahs. Way too many of them taste like Syrahs made by a Cabernet producer (which many of them are); lots of extraction and way too much toasty/Fr.oak that tends to obliterate the Syrah fruit. The L-M Syrah is one, year in and year out, that I always buy. It has great Syrah fruit, that classic MtVeeder spiciness, and the structure to take them out a good many yrs. Plus the people behind the label are great folks and do an amazing job of guarding the Nation's nuclear football when called upon to do so. The L-M Syrahs are very consistent in style from yr to yr; loads of bright/laser-sharp Syrah fruit w/ a
very strong MtVeeder/spicy component. They typically have good tannins and are very structured for the long haul. Yet they have a balance to them and don't at all seem over-extracted like some made by Cabernet producers. Definitely one of Calif's primo Syrahs.

Of these L-M Syrahs, I'd have a hard time choosing my favorite. Even though the younger ones had lots of tannin, the intensity of fruit did not make them painful to drink. Maybe I'd give the '99 and '03 a slight edge because they were showing some bottle development; but the purity of Syrah fruit made the younger ones outstanding.
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5. MtVeeder: The MtVeeder AVA has a terrific WebSite (www.MtVeederwines.com/) that is great to take a look-see at the location of all the vnyds by GoogleSatellite. The LaTour vnyd is up in the north-west part of the AVA and quite a ways from the L-M vnyd. I suspect at a rather lower altitide as well. According to Carole, the vnyd was the old DonaldHarmsRanch and the Syrah was planted in 1995 for the long-gone VichonWnry. She states the vnyd is very cool. Carole indicates the WebSite is dated and is in the process of being updated. My first real exposure to MtVeeder wines was from the old AlBaxter Veedercrest Wnry. He had a vnyd up there (now the site of the Paras vnyd), but made his wines in an old/abandoned Shell Van de Graf generator bldg in downtown/scenic Emeryville. Don't know if the bldg exists still or not. Al bought a lot of different grapes from a variety of vnyds and made some lovely/elegant/refined wines in his day; as Calif was segueing into the "bigger is better" style.

The next exciting wines from MtVeeder were those of Mike&Arlene Bernstein under their MtVeederWnry label; back before it went corporate and when there was some quality in the wines. Zinfandel and Cabernet. Dynamite wines. Plus Chard from ZelmaLong's vnyd and PS from HowellMtn's ?? Vnyd. And I had some very fine ChristianBros wines made by Brother Tim, a man I never met but would have loved to have. Their wnry is now the HessEstate but don't know if any of those old vnyds there exist or not.

TomHill

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