1. Chenin Blanc: This is a variety that's sorta been neglected in Calif. 'Tis a pity, because it can make some lovely wines. This F-H came from Amador...not a place you much associate w/ that variety. It had a stony minerality that resembled Loire CB and reminded me a lot of the Chalone CB Old-vine that DarrellCorti sells.
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2. Arneis: These were a really interesting set of Arneis. I've liked the Vietti in the past because of the strong floral aromatics it has shown. This wine seemed a bit on the funky/strange side. Both Italian versions seemed to have been refreshed w/ CO2 afore bottling. The Correggia is about as good as it gets from the Roero.
I was mightly impressed by Sam Bilbro's Arneis. Some of the most amazing/powerful aromatics I've ever seen in Arneis. OTOH, intensity & power are not everything in a wine, unless you're a Monktown attourney. If you worship at the altar of terroir and insist that your Arneis display the terroir of the Roero, then the Correggia is what you want. However, if you like powerful aromatics that Arneis can give that only hints of the Roero mineral/stony character, than the Idlewild is your bag. I think it's a pretty amazing rendition of Arneis.
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3. Gruner: Solminer is a vnyd in LosOlivos of David & Anna deLaski. Planted to GV & Syrah. Both have had winemaking experience in Austria and GV is one of their passions. Their first GV ('12) was from the JohnSebastiano vnyd down near the SantaRitaHills. This is (I believe) their first GV from their Estate deLanda Vnyd. I thought it was a notch up in quality from their '12.
Mike Officer has been making GV from Steiner for about 3 yrs now. Fortunately, the planting of GV at Steiner is increasing, so there will be more in the future. I have, of course, followed GV in Calif from the very start. The von Strasser was a joke and way overpriced at $60. The Zocker/EdnaVlly is a pleasant enough GV, but a bit on the lightweight/bland side. The best Calif GV I'd had, until the Carlisle came out, was the Chien out of Santa Barbara. But the first Carlisle GV stood in a class by itself. Until the Solminer came along, there was nobody even close.
The Reustle GV was the first GV made in the USofA. They had to get approval from the TTB to use the name of that grape. In 2005, from the UmpquaVlly in OR. It is quite a pretty/well-done GV, but not up to the level of these two GV's.
Both of these GV's are first rate. The Solminer seemed more Austrian in character, more restrained, and resembled a good Federspeil=level GV. The Carlisle showed more powerful aromatics, more ripeness, and could go toe-to-toe w/ any Smaragd I've had from Austria. Some would argue that it's stupid to pay $30 for a Calif GV when you can get the real thing from EdnaVlly or Austria for $20/btl or less. I would suggest that the Solminer or Carlisle are a big step above those and the equivalent of any I know of from Austria that can run you $40-$60/btl. You get what you pay for....some folks think it stupid to buy anything but CharlesShaw Chard.
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4. Carlisle: Mike is very highly regarded for the Zins & Syrahs he makes. Probably because their production is so limited, he doesn't get the recognition he deserves for his whites. Amazingly good.
TomHill
