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.

 

Rhones (and some Sauternes)
Closed out the tasting year w/ an End-of-the-Year Fling at Rhones
Edmunds St. John Calif Viognier Alban-Durell vnyds (15.3%) '97: Med.gold color; fragrant ripe/pear/peach/Viognier bit toasty/oaked slight minerally/earthy nose; tart metallic slightly bitter rich lush ripe/peachy/pear/Viognier light earthy/minerally light oak/toast/pungent flavor; long tart/metallic big rich lush pear/peach/Viognier light pungent/toasty slight minerally slight alcoholic finish; a big huge rich ripe Viognier w/ lots of fragrance; Steve Edmunds best Viognier yet.
Gregory Grahm Knights Vlly Viognier (14.5%) '97: Med.gold color; beautiful fragrant/floral/ripe pear/peach/Viognier very lush/spicy/bit minerally nose; beautiful rich floral/very spicy/fragrant pear/peach/Viognier very perfumed flavor; very long lingering lush/ripe/floral/fragrant/peach/pear/ Viognier some minerally very spicy finish; a beautiful lush ripe Viognier; on the soft side but a very nice Condrieu-like character to it. Very good price at $20.00.
Gregory Grahm Napa Valley Viognier (14.5%) '96: Med.gold color; rather grapey/ pineapply/spicy/lush bit clunky nose; soft grapey/pineapply/peachy/Viognier slight earthy flavor; long grapey/floral/pineapply/peachy/Viognier slight metallic finish; lots of very ripe grapey character but not the fragrance or finesse of the KnightsVlly one.
Georges Vernay Les Chaillees de l'Enfer ("slopes of Hell") Condrieu (13.5%) '96: Med.light gold color; beautiful fragrant/aromatic/floral pear/Viognier lush/intense rather minerally classic Condrieu nose; soft beautiful lush ripe pear/Viognier/fragrant minerally/very spicy classic Condrieu flavor; very long beautiful pear/Viognier very perfumed/aromatic rather minerally classic Condrieu finish; a beautiful incredible very intense classic Condrieu.
Georges Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon (13.5%) '96: Med.gold color; less intense bit closed earthy/dusty/complex bit oaked some pear/Viognier/ perfumed talc nose; rich bit earthy/dusty/closed light pear/peach/Viognier some smokey/oaked bit clunky/coarse flavor; long some earthy/dusty bit smokey/pungent/oaked light floral/pear/Viognier light minerally finish; not as fragrant & intense and more a WhiteBurg style of Condrieu; seems a bit closed & clunky but more complex.
Domaine de la Solitude Cotes du Rhone '97: Med.color; fragrant strawberry/ Grenache bit earthy/spicy nose; tart bit earthy some strawberry/Grenache clean spicy/fragrant flavor; med. dusty/earthy some strawberry/Grenache/ plummy finish w/ light tannins; a very nice bright lively CdR; better than most Guigal CdRs. Very good price at $11.50.
Andrew Murray Santa Barbara County Esperance (45% grenache, 30% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre; 13.5%) '97: Very dark color; some hot/VA/EA nose clears to fragrant/ blackberry/ boysenberry/ cinammon/spicy slight earthy/funky some pungent/oaked nose; big rich rather tannic intense fruit/blackberry/boysen- berry ripe/Grenache some toasty/pungent/oaked slight brett/ funky/horse- collar flavor; long intense tannic boysenberry/ blackberry/strawberry/ Grenache intense fruit slight horsecollar/funky bit pungent/toasty/oak finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-6 yrs; a serious Rhone blend.
Ridge Calif Lytton Estate Dry Creek Vlly Syrah (95% Syrah, 5% Viognier; 14.2%) '96: Very dark color; rather strong/oaked/bit milky strong blackberry/black cherry/bit gamey Am.oaked some dusty nose; big rich some milky/Am.oaked strong blackberry/black cherry dusty bit gamey flavor; long tannic milky/ Am.oaked intense blackberry/black cherry bit gamey finish; needs 3-7 yrs; a big Syrah sort of like a MonteBello Syrah would taste if they made one.
Behrens & Hitchcock Napa Valley Syrah (14.1%; Unfined/Unfltrd) '96: Very dark color; very intense menthol/minty/oaked strong blackberry/Syrah bit Aussie- style nose; soft very intense minty/menthol/oaked some blackberry/Syrah bit simple Aussie-style flavor; med.long intense menthol/oaked some Syrah/ blackberry soft finish w/ some tannins; clearly Aussie in style and loaded in oak but not enough fruit to support the oak; a good drinking bit simple Zin-like red at a stupid price.
Deakin Estate Victoria Shiraz (13.3%) '97: Very dark color; intense Syrah/ blackberry spicy/cinammon/oaked some gamey/dusty/earthy nose; rich hard bit lean rather menthol/smokey/oaked some gamey/blackberry/Syrah rather hard/dusty/earthy flavor; long licorice/blackberry/Syrah dusty/earthy/hard lean gamey/tannic rather menthol/pungent/oaked finish; needs several yrs; Blair's mystery wine and a steal about $8.00
Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape '90: Med.dark color; rather funky/ complex salt marsh/CdP some Grenache/strawberry rather bretty/horsecollar nose; bit tannic/dried out rather earthy/bretty/ horsecollar/funky slight strawberry/Grenache flavor; med.long earthy/bretty /horsecollar/funky slight Grenache finish; lots of funky CdP character but drying out a bit and a bit tired. Larry's mystery wine.
Edmunds St.John Sonoma Vlly Durell Vnyd Syrah (14.2%) '96: Black color; bit stinky/funky/reduced/H2S nose clears to a strong blackberry/Syrah/fruity almost Zin-like gamey/funky some pungent/oak bit herbal/bacon fat/complex nose; soft rich lush blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some gamey/toasty/ pungent/ pencilly/oaked spicy flavor; long soft blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some pungent/pencilly/oaked finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; more of a Calif-style Syrah and less French/Syrah character than the '94 and '95 versions; seems softer & more ripe & less hard & structured & tannic than the previous 2 vintages; another terrific Durell.
Andrew Murray Santa Barbara County Syrah Hillside Reserve (13.5%) '96: Black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah dusty/gamey/peppery slight bretty/funky nose w/ a whiff of VA that blows off; very strong minty/menthol/ toasty/Fr.oaked very intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some dusty/gamey rather hard/tannic flavor; very long intense oaked/toasty/menthol intense boysenberry/blackberry/ Syrah hard/tannic almost Aussie-style finish; needs 4-10 yrs; lots of oak but plenty of intense fruit to carry the oak; Andrew's best Syrah yet.
Georges Vernay Cote-Rotie (12.5%) '95: Dark color; very strong blackberry/ Syrah/peppery/spicy/cloves some espresso/roasted/C-R/toasty nose; thin hard/ tannic/lean earthy/dusty slight roasted/C-R light blackberry/Syrah flavor; med.long lean/thin quite tannic/hard slight roasted/peppery/espresso light Syrah finish; a great Calif-style nose but a thin/mean wine on the palate; needs age but not the fruit to go anywhere; disappointing.
Kongsgaard Napa Valley Syrah HudsonVnyd/Carneros (14.1%) '96: Black color; very strong/blackberry/Syrah/earthy ample toasty/menthol/oaked some gamey nose; soft rich lush supple fat blackberry/Syrah/earthy rather menthol/toasty/ pungent/oaked bit clunky/simple flavor; soft fat lush ripe/blackberry/Syrah rather earthy/smokey strong pungent/toasty/menthol/oaky finish w/ some tannins; lots of ripe fruit & some of the typical Carneros/clunky/earthy character w/ loads of smokey/menthol oak but seems on the soft side and not the structure for aging more than a few yrs; a good $30 Syrah from the first Syrah from John.

and then to celebrate one of the old guys BD, we had a few Sauternes:
Chateau Climens '88: Med.gold color; lovely complex apricotty/ripe/figgy/ ripe fruit light botrytis elegant/racy nose; tart lean elegant/racey spicy figgy/ripe fruit/apricotty light botrytis flavor; very long lingering elegant figgy/ripe fruit slight earthy/dusty light oak finish; a beautiful/ racy/very elegant almost delicate style of Sauterrnes. Killer stuff.
Chateau Rieussec '83: Deep golden color; beautiful complex intense botrytis/ caramel/butterscotchy/creme brulee some aged Sauternes/complex nose; soft rich big lush butterscotchy/apricotty/botrytis some pungent/aged/caramel flavor; very long soft complex/aged strong caramel/creme brulee/butter- scotchy earthy finish; showing lots of aged Sauternes/complex character; wonderful near-mature Sauternes.
Bloody Bully Pulpit:
Greg Grahm Viogniers: I have been very impressed w/ this guy's Viogniers; some of the best produced in Calif. At Raisin'Rhones'98, I thought his two Viogniers there were nearly the best Calif ones shown. The Napa Valley ones seem to be a bit more on the ripe/overripe side. Sometimes I prefer the Napa ones, sometimes the Knights Vlly ones. Impressive Viognier at a fair price.
Vernay Condrieu: There just ain't no denying it.... when it comes to Viognier Condrieu is the absolute benchmark. This was my first Chaillees de l'Enfer and I was highly impressed w/ it; as good a Condrieu as I've had this year. Classic beautiful very intense Condrieu. This is about my 5'th or 6'th bottle of Coteau de Vernon and again I was not impressed. I've always liked his regular Condrieu to the CdV. A bit more complex from the oak aging but just not the intensity I like in great Condrieu. Supposedly, the CdV is a Condrieu that needs age, but I've had one at 4 yrs of age & it still did not impress me.
I had tasted the Syrah from barrel some time ago & was not particularly overwhelmed by it. Then tasted it in Sept when Donn Riesen brought a bottle to NewMexico & liked it a lot then. This bottle was even better. Not a classic Calif Syrah to me; it speaks more of the Ridge style than Calif Syrah, but I really loved this wine. A lot of fragrant fruit in the Lytton Springs style but a very big wine, like a MonteBello Cabernet almost. A terrific first effort at Syrah by Paul Draper. Hope he continues w/ this wine. Too bad so little was made of it.
Edmunds St. John: Two more very successful releases from Steve Edmunds. The Viognier is probably his first white that has really impressed me; a big huge Viognier that has a lot of HermitageBlanc character in the mouth. The Durell Syrah struck me as the most Calif and least Rhonish in style that he's yet made from those grapes; not the bigness & structure to age as long as the previous few. But it ain't a gonna die very soon either.
Andrew Murray: And yet two more very good releases from Andrew. Every time I taste a new wine from Andrew, I always feel that he's made another notch up in quality. The Esperance '97 is his best Rhone-blend yet, but still a very big wine that needs age. The Hillside Reserve is also his best Syrah yet. When I had Andrew's first Syrah, I was quite struck by the intensity of fruit (especially for young vines) and the fierce tannins and the intense toasty French oak; huge extracted outta-joint kind of wine that had many yrs afore it. He seems to be toning down the oak and managing the tannins better, but still keeps great fruit in the wines and still has the structure for aging. Note quite first tier Calif Syrah but getting awfully close. Keep your eyes on this guy, they're soon going to be great Calif Rhones.
Kongsgaard: John Kongsgaard used to be winemaker at Newton Vnyds, where he made some stunning Chards. He now has his own wnry where he's making wines w/ Mike Moone (Luna label) and Fritz Hatton (Arietta Merlot) and his own label (Chard & Syrah). This Syrah, his Chards, and the Merlot have NOT YET been reviewed by Robert Parker. They WILL BE getting numbers in the mid-90's when he reviews them. If you missed out on the Arajuo, the Colgin, the Screaming Eagle, the Bryant Family, the Marcassin, the.... mailing lists; then RUN, do NOT dwaddle to get on John's mailing list. These are destined to be the next unattainable cult wines.... guaranteed!!. John Konsgaard Wines; P.O.Box 349; Oakville, CA 94562 Fax: 707/963-4512. Do it TODAY!
Lou Hudson's Carneros Vnyd: There a 3 Syrahs made from these grapes; the JadeMtn Carneros, the Neyers Syrah, and now the Kongsgaard Syrah made from the premium block of the Syrah plot. They all seem to me to have a bit of that slightly clunky/earthy/dusty/funky character that I get a lot in the Carneros Pinots. They don't seem to have the same high-toned blackberry/ Sarah character you find in, say, Durell Syrah. Of the three, I prefer the JadeMtn as the more balanced & rounder and more fruity. The Neyers is a bigger, more tannic & structured Syrah & may eventually be the best of the three. This Kongsgaard had plenty of new oak but seemed rather soft & fat and not the tannic structure for aging long. But could be wrong... it's happened before.... I'm still waiting for my '76 Sutter Home White Zin to evolve into something great!!