WTN: I Venture into Sonoma

A good friend was in town this week, so we took a trip up to Sonoma for a mid-week vacation from the tough student life. (I’m being serious here folks)

The night before driving up, we went out to dinner and opened some fun wines, the 2004 Isole e Olena Chianti Classico which was nothing complex but good fresh Chianti fun for restaurant purposes. The 2003 Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano on the other hand was an absolute gem. Showed plenty of ripe 03 fruit, but well-framed by mineral acids. Maybe not the most long-lived example of this wine, but, plenty of fun now. Easy wine to please both the fruit lovers (my friend) and the mineral tasters (me) in the crowd. I used this as an example to show my friend how even very ripe European wines can taste restrained in comparison to CA. As we would find out the next day…

Our first stop was at Copain, where they have a lovely new tasting room and reception area. We were graciously welcomed and spent almost two hours chatting and tasting. I had never tasted these wines before, but they had been highly recommended as elegant examples of CA syrah. The 2006 Caties Corner Viognier was elegant in the sense that the fruit was not blowsy, and it seemed somewhat mineral and fresh. But the lack of gooey fruit was balanced by fierce and head splitting alcohol. Ouch.

We had two pinot noirs, the 2006 Tous Ensemble Pinot Noir and the 2006 Cerise Pinot Noir. Both were decent and smelled like pinot noir, with good crisp juicy character (obviously more structure in the Cerise). But, I find this CA pinot noir style (round and loosely knit) boring and not at all worth the price.

I was more excited to taste the Rhone-style wines, and the 2005 James Berry Les Copains was a good start, because it had deep fruit plus good framing tannins in the background. Very well made wine. But, sip again and find it a bit rich. Could use a bit of lift, and a bit of life. And then when I see the price, $44, I think about how much more life and expression I get for half the price with Rocks and Gravel. Let alone the ESJ Bassettis which make this look silly.

The 2006 Les Voisins Syrah is actually only 33% syrah, and has plenty of funky smells, perhaps from the pelercin, aubon, durif and carignan. This probably needs more time to come together, but I was more excited by the 2006 Madder Lake Syrah because I hear it is the “cool” climate syrah of the bunch, and it is plenty dark, but juicy and seems fresh, at first. So, we buy a bottle for dinner later that night.

After lunch, the other stop was at Saintsbury, where I had tasted several assorted wines, but never the whole lineup, so, was looking for an overview.

The rosé and the whites were pretty boring (although the 2006 Carneros Chardonnay was drinkable, not too much oak and some relatively crisp mineral character, yet, still probably not necessary). And, everyone in the room seemed more excited to move to the red wines.

I liked the 2006 Carneros Pinot Noir more than most in the room, but, that could have been predicted, it was the juiciest and easiest to drink. I found both the 2006 Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir and the 2006 Toyon Farm Pinot Noir to be too loose, simple, and uncompelling, especially for $45. I found redeeming qualities in the 2005 and 2006 Lee Vineyard Pinot Noir, better concentration, integration, tannin. But, they still spoke too much of this loosely knit CA style to really make me want to guzzle. I found the 2006 Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir to be the most interesting, with the best tannic structure, which makes sense considering the steeper and cooler conditions under which it was grown. So, this is what we purchased for dinner.

That night, we ate at the Girl and the Fig, and I was ready for something indifferent due to overexposure, but, I was pleasantly surprised with good quality food that had enough of a twist to keep me interested (i.e. pickled leeks on the salad instead of just lettuce). We drank the highlights from our day’s tasting, the 2006 Copain Madder Lake Syrah and the 2006 Saintsbury Cerise Vineyard Pinot Noir.

My friend didn’t like the Saintsbury because he found it ‘too light’. Which made me laugh on so many levels. But, I agreed that not everyone needed to share my preferences. And, it was true that the Copain was deeper and darker. So much so, that after a few glasses, it was tough to continue. Sure the wine was pretty, rich, clean, and relatively restrained for California. But, it tasted overworked to me, and had none of the life, complexity, development potential, or expression that I love in ESJ. Or am I just being too narrow in my preferences here .

The Saintsbury was lighter, yes, and went better with the food (panisse cake and arctic char), but, despite the crisp structure, it lacked the finesse or precision that I seek in pinot noir. Does that come with age on these wines? (Am skeptical, but, always willing to learn).

It was a fun trip, but, it was so refreshing to drink the 2005 ESJ Bassetti Syrah tonight, which made all these wines look small.

But, I find this CA pinot noir style (round and loosely knit) boring and not at all worth the price.

I most definitely agree. I don't know if it is still the "Sideways" effect at work, or if Cali is just piggybacking on the price increases in Eurpean wine brought on by the decline in the dollar, but the CA Pinots are a terrible QPR, in my opinion. We look to Washington, Oregon and Bourgogne for our Pinot purchases.

but the CA Pinots are a terrible QPR, in my opinion..

I must admit that there are some biases at work here. Personally, I know that I just don't like the style, so I would have a hard time finding it worth the money at anything over $5 per bottle for Mass Glugging. But, of course they still do seem expensive. I know this topic has been extensively covered in the past.

I'm not a big CalPN drinker, but have probably bought more Saintsbury than anything else. The Carneros is usually a decent value in the category. I've found the Reserve (which I think doesn't exist anymore, as they now bottle as single vineyards) to age pretty well- the 94 and 95 were nice recently. I still have one each of 94, 95, 96. Do they not make the Brown Ranch anymore?

I've liked a couple of Copain's lesser wines, but found the upper end a bit too aggressive/OTT for me.

thanks for notes

I'm not a big CalPN drinker, but have probably bought more Saintsbury than anything else. The Carneros is usually a decent value in the category.

Yes, it seemed like a decent wine, but perhaps it was cheaper in the past, because now it was $35 and I would have liked it better at $20.

Do they not make the Brown Ranch anymore?

Yes, they definitely still make the Brown Ranch. They didn't pour it for us because it all sold out before they could even bottle it.

I found it funny that I was most interested in the Anderson Valley wine, far from their usual vines. But, such is the convergence of terroir and my palate.

Rahsaan notes.....The 2006 Les Voisins Syrah is actually only 33% syrah, and has plenty of funky smells, perhaps from the pelercin, aubon, durif and carignan.

Sounds like an interesting blend. Durif eh, reminder for me to open my `02 from Nugan, land of Oz. Maybe tonite!

While still failing the QPR test ($38), I thought the Signorello Carneros Pinot Noir was actually pretty restrained, earthy, and elegant. Clos Du Val isn't bad, either.

Brian the Cali Pinot Hater

While still failing the QPR test ($38), I thought the Signorello Carneros Pinot Noir was actually pretty restrained, earthy, and elegant. Clos Du Val isn't bad, either.

Brian, what is your QPR benchmark for Pinot Noir? With the collapse of the dollar, I find it tough to find quality PN for less than $30 from any source. J.-P. Brun's and a few producers' Bourgognes probably constitute my own benchmark, but $35 seems OK to me for QPR in Pinot Noir these days.

Mark Lipton

Not sure anymore what good QPR is. To be honest, I like very few California wines that cost less than $30. I just think many are fruity and boring. Heck, I would rather drink a closed down hard Chenin Blanc than the average fruity oaky California Chardonnay.

Maybe I am becoming a "natural wines snob," but there is just something missing in many of these wines-they are not made for my slowly evolving palate. Not that I'm claiming I know the "right" answer, just what I like. Not all producers and all wines, of course-I am speaking in broad generalizations.

So...maybe you are right. $35 is really not bad, especially when compared with "famous" Pinots that to me taste like cherry cost syrup and cost $50-or $75, and feature alcohol levels of 15%+ (I say 16% on one $80 bottle, can't remember which one) The basic Clos Du Val was $25, and...I liked it.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la- ... 8681.story

Rahsaan, can you elucidate further on what you mean by loosely knit? Do you mean tasting all over the place rather than focused or something else? At a Saintsbury wine dinner in 2006 where we sampled the 2004 vintage of the single-vineyard wines, I prefered the Stanly Ranch over the Toyon or Lee wines.

Rahsaan, can you elucidate further on what you mean by loosely knit? Do you mean tasting all over the place rather than focused or something else?

Yes, I suppose that is it.

There is also the issue of probably having too much flesh and not enough acid for me.

But, of course some Burgundies have plenty of flesh, but the better ones have very precise acids that give them great structure and finesse. None of these wines seemed very "fine" in that sense. I'm sure some of them are delicious and complex with age, but, they just doesn't strike me as having the same level of finesse.

Or am I wrong.

I don't know that you are wrong. I've had limited experience with aging Saintsbury wines. I was impressed with the Brown Ranch Pinot Noir that we tasted in 2004 and thought it had good aging potential, but unfortunately, Saintsbury lost most of their library wines in the warehouse fire in the San Francisco area and can no longer offer earlier Brown Ranch vintages for purchase. I have one (not sure of the vintage--possibly 2001--that I'm holding for a few years.) (I may have an opportunity to discuss some of this with Dick Ward of Saintsbury in the next few days. He is likely to be at the Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend.)

JC (and Rahsaan): You guys are "pinot experts."

Is a possible reason for my antipathy to a lot of California Pinots because I drink them too young? Does the cherry cough syrup character decline over time?

Is a possible reason for my antipathy to a lot of California Pinots because I drink them too young? Does the cherry cough syrup character decline over time?

I'm not the right person to answer this question, I haven't been impressed by much CA pinot noir in general (pinot gris is a different story, Steve Edmunds does lovely things with that grape, although whether that is a question of him or of CA, I don't know, but, I appreciate pinot gris with a bit more sun and weight, a la Alsace vs. Northern Italy, so...).

So, I don't have the time or interest to pursue CA pinot noir much further when there are so many other things out there.

But, perhaps someone else can offer a more learned response on the issue of cherry cough syrup.

In my experience, based on vintages from the 80s and 90s, yes, Saintsbury's pinot noirs do age positively. But that was when they just had three bottlings (Sonoma, Carneros, Reserve [more oaky]), not all the single-vineyard stuff they have now. I wonder if the single-vineyard offerings have been at the expense of complexity in the Carneros bottling? I haven't had much Saintsbury recently. The post-Sideways prices have put me off.

-Paul W.

Brian,
If the cherry cough syrup (or cherry cola I sometimes find in Carneros Pinots) is there originally, it will probably remain. However, there are a number of California Pinot Noirs that don't start out with that flavor profile--especially from the Russian River Valley and maybe from Santa Barbara County (I don't have a lot of experience with the latter but am starting to explore the AVAs in Santa Barbara County, i.e. Santa Rita Hills.) Some that come to mind from the Russian River Valley are Martinelli, Merry Edwards, Gary Farrell and Pellegrini. Most of these are expensive but the Pellegrini is more moderately priced. The Merry Edwards often reflects dark fruit flavors such as dark plums or blueberries. One Carneros Pinot Noir that I have liked in several vintages and that is moderately priced is the Steele Carneros Pinot Noir. Also, if you can find them, the Casa Carneros Pinot Noirs are complex and have some depth and aging potential. The producer usually doesn't release them until about six years after the vintage but it is small production.