WTN: California, Burgundy, Riesling and oxidation

Had David Bueker over for dinner last night. We opened a few fun bottles along with fried rice and chicken satay.

1999 Renaissance Cabernet Sauvignon (USA, California, Sierra Foothills, North Yuba)
Crazy stuff. It's hard to place this as a Californian Cabernet with the wild tarry, herbal and faintly oxidative aromatic elements here. With time the oxidative elements clear up and this becomes increasing Northern Italian like, showing ripe fig and red fruited flavours combined with tar, savoury earth and lots of exotic spicy notes. It's remarkably light and elegant in the mouth with really bright acidity that keeps it very fresh and precise, a touch volatile at times but certainly very interesting and fun to follow with time. Glad I have more in the cellar.

2008 Indian Creek Pinot Noir Reserve (Anderson Valley, Mendocino)
Smells like smoke and meat. The flavour profile here is closer to the Northern Rhone than to California, and I don't mind at all. Delicious stuff, with sauvage smoky and gamey flavours on top of fresh red fruits, refreshing acidity and gentle tannins and all too easy to drink now. A half bottle disappears almost instantly.

2004 Mongeard-Mugneret Echezeaux
Fresh black cherry and pomegranate fruit accented by high toned herbal and spicy flavours. It's a little tight at first aromatically, but opens up with time and becomes very pretty and elegant with air. Very pleasant to drink now, with a very finessed, silky mouthfeel, bright acids and good length.

2001 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese Goldkapsel Auction
Oxidized. Crap.

1998 Kruger-Rumpf Münsterer Dautenpflänzer Riesling Spätlese
Very pretty; lightweight to the point that it comes across like a traditional Kabinett in the mouth but it's quite delicious and refreshing with lovely developed petrolly/smoky elements around fresh citrus and pear fruit and a minerally base.

[David M. Bueker]

The Renaissance is interesting stuff. It had me totally stumped. I loved the Nebbiolo-esque finishing flavors, though something vaguely oxidating on the front end has me wondering if the wine needs to be drunk up quickly.

For those who do not know, the Indian Creek is declasified Navarro Reserve Pinot Noir. They are selling it for $7 a half bottle, and like the 2008 Anthill Farms Anderson Valley Pinot it can be polarizing stuff. I loved it.

The Echezeaux was certainly identifiable as a 2004, but I liked it a lot as well.

My comments on the two Rieslings are in the Wine Focus thread.

I ended up buying a case of Indian Creek Reserve half bottles this morning. You're a very bad influence (but I need more wines like that in my cellar).

Leftovers of the Echezeaux (there were a few, despite how quickly we were moving through the bottle!) and the Kruger-Rumpf were both lovely this evening.

...and like the 2008 Anthill Farms Anderson Valley Pinot it can be polarizing stuff.

Polarizing?

Love Renaissance. Had a bottle of their 1996 Red Wine which was utterly delicious. It happens that Terroir Wine Bar has the 1999 Cab right now.

This wine is LITERALLY a "cult wine." Kind of an odd trancendentalist religion and the Yuba foothlls are where their "compound" is based.

[David M. Bueker]

...and like the 2008 Anthill Farms Anderson Valley Pinot it can be polarizing stuff.

Polarizing?

Some people are enjoying the smoke element while others think it tastes like a dirty ashtray. It's the 2008 California version of 2004 Burgundy's green meanies.

Is the Indian Creek declassified Navarro?

Salil - just in case you don't know the winemaker (Gideon Beinstock) for Clos Saron is also the winemaker for Renaissance.

[David M. Bueker]

Yes, the Indian Creek is declassified Navarro.