We had dinner w/ Susan's cuz & husband in Summerland:
1. FrancoisVillard LesContours de Deponcins VdP CollinesRhodaniennes (13.5%; Viognier) 2008: Light yellow color; slight SO2/reduced/pungent nose clears to very fragrant/pear/Viog some minerally/Condrieu beautiful/complex nose; tart beautiful/zippy/bright pear/spicy/Viog some minerally/Condrieu flavor; very long fresh/bright strong pear/minerally/Condrieu finish; a dead ringer for a very good Condrieu; great price at $30.00
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2. Jaffurs SBC Roussanne (13.5%) 2008: Med.gold color; lovely fragrant/honeysuckle/floral/Rouss slight pungent/toasty/oak nose; tart floral/honeysuckle/Rouss/spicy structured/balanced rich flavor; very long/lingering tart/structured ripe/floral/honeysuckle/spicy/ripe finish; lots of richness but the structure to age for maybe 10 yrs. Beautiful Roussane at a good price. $30.00
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3. EnvyWnry NapaVlly BeeBee'sBlend (14.2%) 2007: Very dark color; very strong blackcurranty/blackberry/Cab strong toasty/charred/oak nose; rich/structured/rather tannic strong charred/toasty/oak ripe/blackcurranty/blackberry/Cab flavor; long rather tannic/hard ripe/blackcurranty/Cab strong toasty/oak finish; lots of ripe fruit & lots of oak; needs 3-8 yrs yet. $58.00
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4. LaTourVnyds MtVeeder/NapaVlly Syrah (14.6%; www.LaTourVineyards.com) 2006: Black color; very intense blackberry/Syrah/spicy some licorice/pungent light toasty/charred/oak/smokey quite perfumed nose; tart intense blackberry/spicy/Syrah/boysenberry some toasty/oak rather tannic/structured flavor; very long intense blackberry/Syrah/spicy some toasty/oak rather tannic/structured finish; plenty of blackberry/Syrah fruit and that MtVeeder spiciness; very similar to the Lagier-Meredith Syrah if a bit less intense blackberry fruit and a bit more oak. Screamin' deal at $18.00
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5. FortressVnyds Finale RedHills/LakeCounty Semillon (100% Semillon) SniderFamilyVnyds/Calistoga 2007: Med.dark gold color; very intense botrytis/peachy/apricotty/canned fruit cocktail slight caramel quite clean/fragrant/perfumed nose; fairly tart intense peachy/botrytis/apricotty light butterscotchy/oak rather sweet flavor; very long/lingering intense peachy/botrytis/apricotty light butterscatchy/caramel/oak rather sweet finish; a dead ringer for a very good Sauternes; fairly sweet, but good acidity & structure that will carry it out for quite a few yrs. Very fairly priced at $30.00/hlf
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6. Enkidu E RossoFazekas NapaVlly RW (14.7%; www.EnkiduWines.com; 1530 cs; Sangiovese) 2008: Dark color; strong plummy/black cherry/blackberry some smokey/toasty/oak almost Zin-like fragrant nose; slightly tart spicy/plummy/black cherry/blackberry somewhat charred/toasty/oak some tannic/structured almost Zin-like flavor; med.long strong black cherry/plummy/blackberry rather charred/toasty/oak fairly tannic finish; needs 3-6 yrs; more like a Zin than anything and speaks only quietly of Sangio. One of the better Calif Sangios I've had. Very attractively priced at $19.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Villard: The stuff FrancoisVillard is making from his CollinesRhodaniennes vnyds is absolutely first rate. This wine was a dead ringer for a $60 Condrieu. His l'Appel Syrah is a dead-ringer for a good Cote-Rotie...and a steal at $14.50.
One of the better/best produces from this non-AOC area.
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2. Jaffurs: This '08 Roussanne is a new release that I picked up at the wnry. Previous vintages have been a bit on the soft & alcoholic side. This '08 is much more modest in alcohol, but still has loads of fruit and richness. Both Jaffurs and Qupe are making world-class Roussanne these days...as good as any in the world.
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3. Envy: This is the new label for NilsVenge (hence NV..Envy) wines. Don't know what the blend is, but presumably a Cabernet-based blend. Have no clue who BeeBee is, either. This was a wine DaveHill (husband of Susan's cuz, Nancy) brought out. It was made by his son-in-law, LarsBjorkman, who's wife is MollyHill, winemaker at SequoiaGrove. For a Cabernet, I thought this was pretty good wine. Priced for a NapaVlly Cab price.
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4. LaTour: Another new wnry for me. Owned by restrauteur TomLaTour. 25 acres up on MtVeeder, but no idea of its location relative to Steve&Carole. Sorta surprised that some folks over in Bdx didn't get their knickers in a knot over this name. I think Lars has some association w/ this wine, but not quite sure how. I thought it showed striking similarity to the L-M Syrah; one of the few up-valley NapaVlly Syrahs I like. I sorta assumed it was priced up in the $40 price range. Couldn't believe it when I saw an $18 price on their WebSite. Terrific deal.
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5. Fortress: Another new label for me that Dave trotted out to try. Also made by his son-in-law, Lars. I notice they also make LakeCnty PetiteSirah and Musque-clone SauvBlanc. I should try their other wines as well. But this Finale was one of the best Sauternes-style Semillons I've had in some time. And probably one of the greatest LakeCnty wines I've ever had. World-class.
Tom