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.

 

New (mostly) Calif (mostly) Red (mostly)
Tasted an ecclectic collection of New (mostly) Calif (mostly) Red (mostly) wines this week (9/2/89):
Ritratti Trentino Pinot Grigio (12.5%) '96: Med.light gold color; bit grassy/ stoney/fragrant/perfumed/pear nose; tart stoney/citric bit metallic/bitter pear/fragrant flavor; med. lean stoney/citric slight bitter finish; a typical lean/stoney Italian PG.
Luna Vineyards Napa Valley Pinot Grigio (13.5%) '97: Med.gold color; lush/ripe/fragrant pear/pineapple bit toasty/oaked nose; big ripe/soft/lush very spicy pear/ pineapple light toasty/oak flavor; very long lingering soft/lush/ripe pear/ pineapple very spicy light butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak finish; a big rich lush very spicy PG towards the Chard part of the spectrum w/ some Alsatian PG character; by far the best non-Alsatian PG I've ever had.
Dry Creek Vineyard Sonoma County Old Vines (13.5%) Zinfandel '96: Med.dark color; fragrant Zinberry/raspberry juicy bit milky/dill/Am.oak nose; soft forward very Zinberry raspberry fragrant sweet up-front milky/Am.oaked flavor; long buttery/milky Am.oaked lush soft Zinberry/raspberry finish w/ light tannins; a classic bright zippy DryCreek Zinfandel; less oak than previous ones; best regular OV Zinfandel from DryCreekVineyards for the last 3-4 yrs.
King Estate Oregon Zinfandel (14.5%) '94: Med.color; some blackberry/licorice quite dusty some earthy/mushroomy nose; tart dusty/earthy/mushroomy some blackberry/ toasty/oak flavor; long tart some blackberry rather dusty/earthy bit mushroomy finish w/ some tannins; some like old vine Mendocino Zinfandel but not that Zinfandel-like; a very interesting wine.
Rosenblum Cellars Redwood Valley Annette's Reserve/Rhodes Vineyard Zinfandel (14.9%; 19% Carignane) '96: Med.dark color; fragrant very spicy/blackberry/peppery/black peppery/dusty/old vine nose; tart rich blackberry some dusty very spicy peppery lush ripe flavor; very long lush bright blackberry very spicy/peppery some milky/buttery/oak finish w/ light tannins; just a really lovely drinking classic Rosenblum-style Zinfandel; after the Maggie's/Samsel this is my favorite Rosenblum '96 Zinfandel thus far.
JC Cellars Rhodes Vineyard Redwood Valley Zinfandel (15.3%) '96: Dark color; strong toasty/ smokey/Fr.oaked very dusty/old vines blackberry/licorice complex nose; rich intense blackberry/licorice dusty/old vines complex toasty/pungent/Fr.oak flavor; very long toasty/pungent/Fr.oak strong blackberry/black cherry cola finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-4 yrs; one of the best Mendocino Zins I've had in quite awhile.
Il Podere Dell'Olivos Calif Barbera/Nebbiolo Riserva Ragazzo Legnoso (64% Barbera, 36% Nebbiolo) '96: Med.color; very badly corked/musty no fruit nose; tart lean thin hard tannic/oaked some musty low fruit flavor; med.long tart lean bit musty finish w/ fair tannins; too corked to tell much.
Il Podere Dell'Olivos Santa Barbara County Barbera Riserva Buon Natale (EB; 13%) '96: Very dark color; rich very strong/toasty/menthol/blackberry/black cherry cola nose; rich pungent/toasty/menthol/Fr.oaked spicy/spicy sausage/black cherry cola tart bit bretty flavor; very long tart very menthol/smokey/pungent/toasty/black cherry cola/Dr.Pepper slight bretty finish w/ fair tannins; a big rich lush loads of fruit wine w/ that classic Barbera acid backbone; a terrific Barbera that should be the envy of Angelo Gaja.
Bonny Doon DEWN Monterey County Barbera Ca'del Solo Vineyard (13.5%) '96: Black color; strong dusty/smokey/pungent/black cherry very plummy nose; soft very ripe lush plummy/black cherry cola/cough syrup bit toasty/pungent flavor; short tart rather tannic plummy/black cherry cola spicy dusty smokey finish; needs several yrs; a very interesting very ripe Barbera.
Remelluri Rioja (13.5%) '94: Med.dark color; very dusty/earthy strong perfumed talc/walnutty low fruit nose; hard tannic extracted very dusty toasty/pungent earthy/walnutty low fruit flavor; long hard tannic dusty/earthy low fruit finish; needs 5-10 yrs but not much fruit there; much like a Languedoc red.
Andrew Murray Syrah North Slope Santa Barbara County Estrella River Clone (13.5%; 1 barrel) '96: Black color; very intense stemmy/blackberry/Syrah/licorice some toasty/ Fr.oak aromatic/pungent/cough syrup nose; tart hard tannic extracted pungent blackberry/Syrah/licorice some roasted menthol/toasty/oaked smokey flavor; very long hard tannic/extracted menthol/oaked blackberry/licorice/Syrah finish; needs 4-15 yrs; more of the AndrewMurray style & less of the up-front black- berry Syrah fruit than Hillside Reserve.
Andrew Murray Syrah Hillside Reserve Santa Barbara County Durrell Clone (13.5%; 400 cs) '96 Black color; intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah loads of fruit some toasty/ pungent/Fr.oaked nose; softer tannic bit ripe lush blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some menthol/toasty/oak flavor; very long lush tannic blackberry/blueberry/ Syrah rather toasty/pungent/menthol finish w/ ample tannins; needs 4-10 yrs; loads of ripe Syrah fruit but a strong tannic backbone; maybe Andrew's best Syrah yet; absolutely first-rate Calif Syrah.
Edmunds St. John Calif Syrah (14.5%) '96: Med.dark color; beautiful big pungent smokey/peppery/very roasted/Rhonish slight toasty/oak slight stemmy nose; tart very gamey/pungent/smokey/black pepper/roasted complex flavor; very long pungent/smokey/roasted/toasty black pepper/gamey/Syrah very Rhonish finish w/ some tannins; not quite as big & rich as the '95 but very Rhonish in style; a terrific Syrah at a great price.
Edmunds St.John Les Cotes Sauvages Fin de Siecle (14.5%!!) '96: Dark color; deep complex/dusty/pungent/peppery rather floral/Grenache/strawberry some smokey/Rhonish nose; rich complex roasted toasty strawberry/Grenache/spicy/ floral/aromatic lush very spicy flavor; very long peppery/floral/Grenache/ strawberry very spicy some smokey/pungent finish w/ some tannins; needs some 3-8 yrs; not as big & extracted as the '95 but a beautiful/complex rather Rhone style blend; balanced & very well-made; terrific.
Horton Vineyards Orange Cnty Virginia Norton '96: Black color; strong foxy/grapey rather dusty/earthy bit smokey/oaked nose; tart metallic grapey/blackberry/ foxey dusty/smokey flavor; med.long very tart/metallic very grapey/foxy/black- berry bit sour finish w/ ample tannins; rather interesting & unusual wine.
Matthews Yakima Valley (43% CS, 37% CabFranc, 20% Merlot; 13.9%) '96: Med.dark color; intense black cherry cola/fragrant bit herbal/dusty/menthol complex nose; soft rather herbal/dusty some black cherry cola/floral bit oaked flavor; long soft herbal/dusty/menthol black cherry cola complex finish w/ some tannins a very nicely done WashState Cab w/ some restraint on the oak; too bad about the price.

And all the usual rants from the bloody pulpit:
Two really terrific releases from Steve Edmunds here. In the days of $100 Cabs and $40 Zins, the Calif Syrah sure looks awfully good. A relatively recent release and should be available. Run, don't walk, to buy this wine. The Cotes Sauvage, when I tasted it at Raisin'Rhones, really struck me for its big deep pungent very Rhonish character. The bottle really struck me for it's high-toned floral elegant character. Whatever it is, it's also a great red blend at a good price.
The Andrew Murray Syrahs: I've followed Andrew's wines from the very start. He makes big rich tannic extracted rather oaked wines; wines to put away & leave alone for a fair number of yrs. These two Syrahs seem the best Andrew has yet made; more lush Syrah fruit and less hard fierce tannins; yet w/ plenty of structure & tannins there for aging. As his vnyds gain maturity and he tweaks his winemaking; Andrew's going to be making great Syrah as good as anybodys in Calif. Keep your eye on this winery.
Tasting the Il Podere Buon Natale Barbera, I'm once again struck by what a large spectrum of outstanding wines come from this (Bien Nacido) vnyd. Obviously a great cool-climate vnyd (the Pinots & Chards are all outstanding), yet it can also produce great wines from more warmer-climate grapes like Syrah & Barbera. Makes you wonder what they could do w/ Zinfandel??
The Luna Pinot Grigio: I've been very very underwhelmed by the Pinot Grigio/ Pinot Gris from Calif (and Oregon); they don't hold a candle to Alsatian Pinot Gris. And, of course, the Italian ones are nowhere. I tasted this last Oct near the end of its fermentation & was quite impressed. And John Konsgaard really delivered on this when it was bottled. It has a richness & lushness & fullness that you only find in Alsatian PG. The oak, which I don't regard as excessive, pushes it towards the Chard part of the spectrum, but it still has that pear/ pineapple/spice that you often find in Alsatian versions. This is how Angelo Gaja would make Pinot Grigio if he dared try. Keep your eye on Luna Vineyards, there'll be some great Syrahs from here also in the future.