We spent the day in the Pleasant Valley area of El Dorado County. When we left Reno and were driving through the mountains, it was snowing quite heavily at the summit and we feared the day would be ambushed by the weather. But our fears were unfounded as we arrived in Placerville to beautiful clear skies and sunshine. Our first stop was Holly's Hill, where it was barrel tasting of the Patriarche 2007 components. The latter is a CdP version by this winery which has never failed to impress me. In fact, I liked every wine that has come out of this place. Kudos to Carrie Bendick who is perhaps one of the best winemakers in this region. The barrel tasting bodes well for the 2007 Patriarche with quite a fruity Mourvedre which will be the dominant grape in the blend and an acidic Counoise which will give this wine quite a balance. i had the chance to taste the 2005 Patriarche and it was quite a muscular wine redolent with fruts, leather, smoke, gaminess and a nice long finish. Another which remain in my memory are the 2005 Wylie-Fenaughty Syrah which is dangerously easy drinking. Also the 2006 Mourvedre Classique and the 2005 Tranquille (a CdR version) were quite noteworthy.
Our next stop..Sierra Vista next door.