Elizabeth Spencer held their Winter Open House, with delicious lentil and ham soup and cheese and cookies. The star of the afternoon was definitely the 2006 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir. Definitely a little raw right now (brand new release), I think this will be stunning in six months or a year. Definitely the lighter, strawberry/red cherry style, with great acidity and excellent earthyness, even some mushroom. I prefer this kind of earthier Pinot. Much leaner style than the last Elizabeth Spencer Pinot I opened, which was pretty jammy and big. I'll rate this in six months or so.
I also enjoyed another raw young tannic wine, the 2005 Howell Mountain Merlot. Served from an Imperial, so this was definitely pretty tannic and primary right now. Maybe five to ten years? Sadly, the 2002 Cabernet was not showing all that well today. I'm running into a few 2002 Cabs that I don't like. Any opinions on this vintage? I think even (my mailigned) 2003 vintage is giving me better luck??? Hope my 1 bottle is better.
After that, my friends like Rombauer Chardonnay, so we hit this tasting room. Great great tasting room patter-the guy was personable, knew his stuff, and poured us "extras."
My highlight was the straightforward 2004 Napa Valley Merlot, which had very nice earthy, loamy, savory elements in addition to the fruit. At $28, not bad-I even preferred this base bottling to the reserve. 15 points.
I also liked the 2001 Diamond Mountain Reserve, which showed very well for the second time. Already have some of that at home, and it still needs time. Very minerally, with some good tannic structure. Not a fruit bomb at all-those expecting more Napa big juicy fruit should look elsewhere. 16.5 points/
The Chard was typical Rombauer Chard. Just don't really like it, but my friends do. 11 points.
Strangely enough, given the quality of the other reds, the Zinfandel was, to be honest, awful. Thin, sweet, even insipid. 8 points. Perfect wine for the Coca-Cola and Sunny D Generations?
I was spitting and pacing myself, and my friends wanted one more try, so we hit Frank Family. Although pricey, I really liked their 1998 Brut. Good sweet fruit and nice yeastyness. Yum.
The 2006 Chardonay was much more to my taste! Bright citrus, lime, excellent acidity. Not nearly as heavy on the oak. I would rate this a solid 14.
The Zin was a big boy, but I really enjoyed it. Lots of interesting earthy spices and zinberry going on. Much better than the Rombauer Zin. 13 points.
In contrast, the Cab, a 2003, was just OK. A little green for my palate preferences. 11 points.
Invited to dinner (ribs) I brought a 2002 Bennet Lane (Calistoga) Cab-Merlot-Syrah blend called "Maximus" Very well mad wine, but this is ALL fruit. Not jammy, not flawed in any way-and it did go well with the ribs, but I just like more savory notes and other things going on. I can respect what they are trying to do without preferring it anymore (my tastes have shifted over the past three years). 12 points???