1. The '05-'07's are still available on the TreViti WebSite, some at discounted prices. The '08's are also available, but I didn't get them included here.
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2. The two '04 Syrahs were closed by NeoCorks. Although they showed no problem in the wines, it is not a good omen for long aging, which those two Syrahs need. All the rest were closed w/ conventional cork corks.
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3. I have, of course, followed TreViti from the very start, the '04 vintage. I have been a big fan of the Syrahs from Susan & Ellis Basetti's vnyd that's one of the cooler climate Syrah vnyds in Calif. When I heard about another vnyd even further out towards Cambria, I thought this was sorta nuts. When I made an inquiry to their WebSite (www.TreViti.com) about their vnyd, I got an immediate response from Maria Bennetti, Don Stolo's daughter.
So I ordered a couple of them, tried them, and liked 'em quite a lot. And have been fans of them ever since. Two yrs ago, before HdR, I made arrangements w/ Maria to walk the vnyd. Joining me was John & Kimberly Cabot. It's a beautiful vnyd, about 2 mi from the Pacific, to the NW of Bassetti (about 5 mi from the ocean). Dowwn on the flats near SantaRosaCreek, they have some newer plantings, including SauvBlanc. The vnyd was purchased in 2002 by DonStolo. Before that, AugieHug actually made a DosCruces Pinot from that vnyd. The farm house on the property has been renovated. There's an old bunk house and a dilapidated barn on the property. After a long hassle w/ the CoastlandsComission, they finally got approval to convert the barn to a wnry & tasting room. That should be completed early next yr if things go smoothly (usually they don't). I am curious to the effect they eucalyptus trees there near the barn might have on the wines. We shall see.
Winemaker for TreViti is SteveDooley. I...ahem...followed him from the very start when he was winemaker at Talley. He then started his own label, Stephen Ross, plus consults for a number of other wineries besides TreViti.
As for the wines; the Pinots and the Chards reminded me a lot of the Peay wines. Lots of bright acidity; a rather bright/zippy/vibrant fruit to them. The Syrahs are not quite as Peay-like. They are some of the more Rhonish in character you can find in Calif. Lots of acidity with fairly hard tannins. These are probably the most Texier-like Syrahs to come out of Calif I would say. Very/very impressive, atypically Calif Syrahs. These would fit right in w/ the Pax/Windgap and Arnot-Roberts AFWE-style of Syrahs. All some of my favorites.
I thought the BienNacido and Wolff wines were pretty typical of their respective vnyds, but they just seemed a lot simpler and rather blocky compared to their Estate versions. Clearly, StoloFamilyVnyd is a pretty special site.
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4. Because their vnyd is not in a recognized AVA, the only options of labeling is Calif, Central Coast, or SanLuisObispo. Maria to the CentralCoast option as it implies a costal location. The '05 had a Cambria appellation on the label that had slipped by the TTB. But, for now, it's just CentralCoast.
TomHill
