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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.

Some Wines from the Archives - May 7, 2014

Tried last week (5/7/14) Some Wines from the Archives:

  1. Joseph Swan Vnyds Pinot Noir Northern Sonoma (EB; TW) Forestville 1982: Med.color w/ slight bricking; rather pencilly/cedary/oaked light Pinot/Burgundian complex lovely nose; tart/tangy rather cedary/pencilly/oak some Burgundian/earthy very light cherry/Pinot flavor w/ slight astringent/drying tannins; med.long cedary/pencilly/oak some Burgundian/smokey/earthy w/ light astringent tannins; not much fruit left but some very pleasant oldBurg character; drying out a bit on the palate but still offers up some pleasure.
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  2. OjaiVnyd PinotNoir PisoniVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.5%) 1999: Med.color w/ slight bricking; very strong black cherry/PN strong toasty/oak bit herbal/SLH complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/grapefruity very strong/bright cherry/black cherry/PN some toasty/charred/oak bit herbal/thyme/SLH/pungent flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; very long bright/cherry/black cherry/PN bit herbal/thyme some toasty/charred/oak complex finish w/ light/angular tannins; a lovely fully-mature Pinot just starting its downhill slide.
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  3. StorybookMtnVnyds Zin SonomaCnty (13.7%) Blended/Cllrd/Bttld by StorybookMtnVnyds/Calistoga 1982: Med.light color w/ some bricking; rather cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit cardboard (not TCA) slight raspberry/Zin somewhat tired nose; tart/tangy/metallic rather cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit complex flavor w/ metallic/astringent/dried-out tannins; med.short metallic/tangy/grapefruity light pencilly/cedary/old Zin finish w/ some tangy/dried-out tannins; pleasant enough oldZin nose but not much pleasure on the palate. $7.50
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  4. StorybookMtnVnyds Zin NapaVlly (EG; 13.5%) 1983: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; light pencilly/ cedary/oldZin slight herbal/insecticide/cedar chest w/ mothballs light raspberry/blackberry/Zin rather complex/oldZin nose; tart/lean bit dried-out/tangy some blackberry/Zin complex cedar chest/mothballs/ insecticide rather strange/exotic flavor w/ some hard/drying tannins; med.long slight cedary/pencilly/old Zin light blackberry/Zin rathe exotic/perfumed/moth balls/cedar chest finish w/ light/dried-out tannins; some pretty exotic things therein but starting to get pretty tired. $9.30
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  5. EdmeadesVnyds Zin CiapusciVnyd/MendoCnty (14.8%; Hrvstd: Oct 6-10; TA: 0.67; RS: 0.48; pH: 3.40; 861 cs) Philo/AndersonVlly 1982: Med.dark color w/ some browning; some cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit funky slight alcoholic/fumey light blackberry/Zin some complex nose; tart/tangy/bitey light blackberry/ Zin/spicy somewhat cedary/pencilly/old Zin bit earthy/licorice flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long slight blackberry/spicy/Zin rather cedary/pencilly/old Zin slight earthy finish w/ light/smooth tannins; still some Zin fruit left and just clinging to life; only hints of the glories it once had.
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  6. EdmeadesVnyds Zin DuPrattVnyd/MendoCnty (14.1%; Planted in 1916; 583 cs) 1981: Med.light bit murky/brown color; rather TCA-laden/corked/musty cardboard very slight blackberry/Zin nose; very tart bitter/dried-out quite TCA/corked flavor; totally gutted by the TCA. $12.00
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  7. HopKilnWnry Primitivo (TM) Zin GriffenVnyd/RRV (13%; Planted in 1880) Healdsburg 1981: Med.color w/ some browning; slight earthy/dusty/herbal slight bretty/barnyardy bit minty/eucalyptus slight blackberry/Zin some complex nose; soft slight tangy/metallic bit minty/eucalyptus some blackberry/stewed tomatoes bit cedary/pencilly/old Zin some bretty/unclean flavor w/ light/drying tannins; med. slight minty/eucalyptus rather cedary/pencilly/oldZin rather bretty/barnyardy some earthy/dusty finish w/ light/ astringent tannins; a bit too unclean for my tastesbut still clinging to life.
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  8. Hacienda Del Rio Zin LenoMartinelliVnyd/SonomaCnty (14.5%) Fulton 1983: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; some cedary/pencilly rather dusty/earthy slight funky/barnyardy/coffee/pungent some ripe/blackberry/Zin complex nose; soft overripe/raisened/pruney slight funky/coffee light boysenberry/Zin light cedary/pencilly/old Zin flavor w/ soft/smooth tannins; med.long overripe/pruney/raisened light boysenberry/Zin some cedary/pencilly rather dusty/earthy finish w/ light/soft tannins; loads of overripe Zin character; some thought there was a hint of TCA, but I didn't pick that up. $7.50
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  9. Montevina Zin AmadorCnty (14.5%; EB) 1977: Very dark color w/ slight browning; strong toasty/ cedary/pencilly/ oak quite briary/blackberry/Zin slightly overripe bit licorice/smokey/pungent quite complex youthful nose; soft slight alcoholic some briary/bramble/blackberry/Zin/licorice rather smokey/toasty/ cedary/oak flavor w/ soft/smooth tannins; very long/lingering smokey/Am.oak/cedary some briary/ bramble/blackberry/classic Amador Zin smokey/pungent quite complex finish w/ smooth/gentle/ripe tannins; speaks loud & strong of a youthful Amador Zinfandel; amazing old Zin. $4.50
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  10. Ravenswood Zin DickersonVnyd/NapaVlly (14.1%; LmtdEd) 1983: Light cloudy/murky brown color; rather old/tired/mousey/funky appley/stewed apples/apple sauce some oxidized/aldehydic strong eucalyptus complex nose w/ no remaining fruit; some hot/alcoholic slight pencilly/eucalyptus rather oxidized/aldehydic flavor w/ light/gentle tannins; med.long rather oxidized/aldehydic strong eucalyptus/ dusty/earthy/pencilly finish w/ light/soft tannins; not an altogether bad wine but has evolved in a strange/bizarre way; coork was sound and no ullage to speak of. $10.00
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  11. CedarvilleVnyds {Syrah} SierraFoothills/ElDoradoCnty (14.4%; www.CedarvilleVineyard.com) Fairplay 1998: Very dark color w/ no bricking; beautiful smokey/toasty/pencilly classic earthy/ mushroomy/truffly/dusty bit Rhonish/roasted/smokey/pungent quite complex nose; soft/smooth strong mushroomy/dusty/earthy/truffly some blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight roasted/Rhonish flavor w/ light/ smooth/gentle/tannins; very long/lingering light blackberry/spicy/Syrah some earthy/dusty/mushroomy/ El Dorado bit pungent/smokey/roasted/Rhonish complex finish w/ gentle/smooth/polished tannins; speaks strongly of its El Dorado origins, still has fruit left, shows some low-key Rhonish character and has come together well into a complex/smmoth interesting old-bones.
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  12. OjaiVnyd Syrah RollRanchVnyd/Venture/Calif (14.5%) 2006: Very dark color; strong toasty/ charred/smokey/oak ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy quite intense classic RR/ripe nose w/ some complexity; soft very strong charred/toasty/smokey/oak intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy very ripe flavor w/ soft/smooth tannins; very long/lingering rather ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very spicy strong charred/toasty/oak finish w/light/smooth tannins; still lots of ripe fruit & strong oak component but tannins seem fully resolved.


And a wee BloodyPulpit:

1. Cedarville: I have, of course, followed Jonathan & Susan's wines from the very start. I regard their Syrah as one of the best being made up in ElDoradoCnty. When I try them young, they speak strongly of their ElDorado terroir & show very attractive Syrah fruit. Well-made/balanced Syrahs in a quiet/underwhelming way. Nothing I'd consider as a candidate for long aging. Wanted another Syrah in the group, so grabbed this, my oldest Cedarville. Was mightly surprised. Not only had it held up, but it had come together in the most beautiful of ways. Performed way beyond my expectations.
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2. Edmeades: These two wines are my last from the MendocinoCnty hay-days. Back in the '70's-early '80's, some of the greatest wines ever made in Mendocino were coming out. Cab/Zin/Petite from Edmeades and Milano. Heck, even BarneyFetzer was making great Zins back then. Wines that were as good as anything being produced in Calif.

This was just as the greatness of AndersonVlly Pinot was being discovered. These two Edmeades were just at the end of JedSteele's days there. Alas, except for AndersonVllyPinot, those days of greatness for MendoCnty were a thing of the past. Fortunately, w/ Carlisle making DuPratt Zin, Drew making MendoHighlands Syrah, and the Bilbros taking over GibsonRanch in McDowellVlly, these glory days of MendoCnty may yet return...though on a much smaller scale.
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3. Hop Kiln: This wine was from back in the glory days of Mart yGriffen. His old-vine Zin & PetiteSirah were terrific. His Mart yGriffen's Big Red was one of the real steals in Calif wine. In the early '80's, when close ampelography studies indicated that Puglia's Primitivo and Calif's Zin were one in the same, Marty got the clever idea to trademark the name Primitivo. His Zin was just old-vine Calif Zin...it was not Primitivo. It always puzzled me how he pulled the wool over the eyes of the bureaucrats at the trademark agency...you can't trademark the name of a grape variety unless you invent that grape variety. Eventually the Feds saw the error in their ways and rescinded the trademark. Alas, HopKiln being in the heart of the RRV, those old vines were pulled and replanted to...yup.. PinotNoir.

On my last trip out to Calif, I stopped into HopKiln, something I hadn't done in over 20 yrs. Mostly they
had Pinots to try. They were nice enough..just that. The HopKiln winemaker is ChuckMansfield, son of
reknowned ElDorado grape grower, RonMansfield. Chuck makes his 4 Fields Rhone wines, from grapes grown at his Dad's GoldBud Farm, there at HopKiln. The wines are quite good.
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4. Hacienda Del Rio: Back in the early '80's, Bert & Ernie...errrr...Ed Selyem started making their Pinots in their garage in Forestville, not far from the Russian River. They also made a little bit of Zin from Martinelli Vnyd as well. It always was on the overripe/alcoholic side. Has they started to make a name for themselves, over in the town of Sonoma, journalist FrankBartholomew/HaciendaCllrs took umbrage to the Hacienda in their name and felt their wines were negatively impacting his brand (the Hacienda wines were nothing very special) and he sicked his lawyers (probably was John Holdredge I suspect) on Bert & Ed. They caved & renamed their wnry Williams & Selyem. The rest is history. The Hacienda name was eventually purchased in '93 by Fred Franzia. The old Hacienda wnry eventually became BartholomewParkWnry. Never tried those wines.
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5. Montevina: This was the wnry founded out on ShenandoahSchoolRd by CaryGott. His father-in-law, WalterField, was the $$'s behind. Cary was fresh out of UC/Davis & started in 1973. They made some exceptional/classic AmadorCnty Zins thru the '70's. And some of the greatest Barberas ever made in Calif. Walter & Cary had a falling out and the left in the early-'80's to run CorbettCanyon, then to the (CocaCola) MontereyVnyd, then on to GM at SterlingVnyds. I remember DarrellCorti & I stopped at Cary's house there in the ShenandoahVlly to pick up Cary&Vicki to go have dinner at ScottHarvey's home in nearby ??Pines. There was this cute little tyke there racing his little tricycle around the living room. Name was JoulGott. Cute kid.

Montevina was eventually bought by BobTrinchero and is now named Terra d'Oro Wnry. The wines are nowhere near what Cary's Montevina wines were.

TomHill

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