We bid Christian adieu and head across University for a scheduled appointment at Donkey&Goat Wnry.
Hosting us today is TraceyBrandt. Joining Susan & I is KayRiley, a member of my SantaFe tasting group, who
happened to be in the area. I tried the D&G wines a number of yrs ago when they first poured at RhoneRangers
and was impressed by what they were making, primarily in the Rhone varietals. They, and SteveEdmunds, have
shown that you can make great Calif Rhones from ElDorado; primarily using grapes farmed by RonMansfield,
regarded by many as the best vnyd manager in ElDorado.
Tracey proceeds to show us the D&G Spring Release wines:
1. D&G Chard BrosseauVnyd/Chalone/Monterey (13.2%) 2008: Med.gold color w/ slight cloudiness; very aromatic
perfumed melony/Chard slight earthy/minerally slight oak nose; very tart minerally/chalky/lean ripe/bright/
melony/appley/Chard flavor; med.long bright/crisp/melony/Chard some chalky/minerally finish; clean/crisp/
bright Chard w/ a bracing acidity.
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2. D&G Roussanne ElDorado Fenaughty&EllenRidge vnyds (14.1%) 2008: Med.light gold color; beautiful aromatic/
perfumed very spicy/floral/honeysuckle slight earthy complex nose; tart very rich/lush slight nutty/
oxidized very spicy/Roussanne/honeysuckle/honeyed complex flavor; very long slight nutty very lush/ripe/
Roussanne/honeyed/honeysuckle/floral/melony finish; a bracing acidity and rather minerally/earthy almost
Rhonish rendition of Roussanne.
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3. D&G Rose Isabel'sCuvee McDowellVllyVnyd/MendoCnty Grenache Rose (13.5%; U) 2009: Pale strawberry color;
very perfumed/cranberry spicy/fragrant nose; very tart spicy/cranberry/watermelon perfumed/fragrant bright/
clean/zippy flavor; med. bright/crisp/clean spicy/cranberry finish; a lovely gulpable rose.
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4. D&G 413 ElDorado RW Blend (14.3%; U) 2008: Med.color; somewhat earthy/mushroomy very spicy/Grenache/
strawberry somewhat Rhonish interesting/lovely nose; fairly tart bit tannic/hard rather earthy/mushroomy/
ElDorado somewhat strawberry/Grenache/light plummy some Rhonish/smokey flavor; med.long bit tannic rather
earthy/mushroomy some Grenache/strawberry/plummy finish; needs a yr or two; interesting blend that speaks
mostly of ElDoradoCnty.
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5. D&G TheProspector Mourvedre GirardVnyd/ElDorado (14.5%; U) 2008: Med.dark color; strong plummy/Kansas hay
mow/slight herbal rather smokey/pungent lovely nose; tart very perfumed/plummy/licorice bit herbal strong
smokey/pungent light earthy flavor; long some plummy/licorice/earthy/hay mow/herbal rather smokey/pungent
finish w/ soft tannins; interesting Mourvedre.
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6. D&G ElDorado Syrah Lightner&Wylie vnyds (14.2%; U) 2008: Med.color; quite spicy earthy/blackberry/Syrah
bit pungent/dusty/smokey nose; tart bit tannic/bitey earthy/blackberry/Syrah some mushroomy/dusty/earthy
attractive flavor; long earthy/mushroomy some blackberry/Syrah bit tannic/bitey slight pungent/Rhonish
finish; a rather tight/structured Syrah that needs a few yrs yet.
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7. D&G VielliesVignes Syrah MendoCnty (13.7%; U) 2007: Dark color; deep smokey/pungent/bit Rhonish strong
blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/dusty fairly complex nose; tart very spicy pungent/smokey/bit Rhonish fairly
strong blackberry/Syrah light dusty/earthy complex flavor; long some smokey/pungent/Rhonish fairly
strong/very spicy/blackberry/Syrah finish w/ modest tannins; a bit on the lean/tight side and needs
some age.
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BloodyPulpit:
1. Rose: This rose is made specifically to be a rose wine. When they were visiting BillyCrawford up at
McDowellVllyVnyd one time; they noted an old-block of vines there on the GibsonRanch. Billy told them
it was actually GrenacheGris, the lightly pigmented variation of Grenache; apparently held in low
regard by most Grenache producers. Leaving it on the skins for 3 days, they managed to pick up enough
color to make this rose.
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2. Chard: Tracey&Jared use a rather unique technique on this wine. They prefer wines w/ high acidity, but
made from grapes w/ good phenolic ripeness. They do a very early harvest of a portion of the grapes,
crush them, and refrigerate the high-acid/low-sugar juice. With the normally harvested crop, this juice
is then returned to the riper must to boost the acidity, without having to resort to bags of tartaric.
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3. VV Syrah: This wine comes from the GibsonRanch block of McDowellVllyVnyds. It contains some of the
1910 Syrah plantings and some of the late '70's planting of Estrella clone. Crops at about 3/4'th tons/
acre.
Tom