We tasted last week (9/6/06) Some New Calif/Oz/WashState Rhones:
1. Domaine des Senechaux CdP Blanc (MeBaD; 14%; Roussanne+GrenacheBlanc & Clairette) 2005:
Light yellow color; lovely floral/honeysuckle/perfumed light earthy nose; tart slight
earthy rich/floral/honeysuckle/spicy flavor; very long floral/Roussanne/honeysuckle finish
w/ light stony/earthy character; like a good mid-range Calif Roussanne; bit pricy at
$34.00
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2. St.Cosme AC Condrieu (13%) Louis et Cherry Barroul/Gigondas 2004: Med.gold color; very light
toasty/oak huge/powerful/peach/pear/Viognier classic Condrieu/mineral beautiful nose; soft
big/rich/lush some pear/peach/Viognier light minerally attractive flavor; med.short pear/
peach/Viognier slight Condrieu/minerally finish; a beautiful/classic Condrieu nose but
doesn't follow thru on the palate; rather Calif in style; overpriced at $56.00
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3. ChelhamCreek Viognier LarnerVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.5%; 75 cs) 2002: Light gold color;
pleasant pear/Viognier some fragrant/perfumed slight graphite/gunpowder/reduced/metallic
nose; soft/fat/lush pleasant floral/pear/Viognier flavor; med.long soft/fat/lush attractive
peach/pear/Viognier finish; nice Viognier but on the soft/fat/porky side. $22.00
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4. Harlequin Viognier CliftonVnyd/WahlukeSlope/ColumbiaVlly (14.5%; http://www.HarlequinWine.com;
2005: Med.gold color; beautiful very fragrant/perfumed/Viognier/pear/peach some minerally/
Condrieu-like/earthy lovely/interesting nose; tart big/rich/powerful very floral/perfumed/
Viognier/peach/aromatic some minerally/earthy flavor; very long tart/rich/lush light minerally
ripe pear/peach/Viognier finish; more minerally like the '03; a terrific Viognier at a
great price. $21.00
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5. Novy RussianRvrVlly Viognier (15.2%; http://www.NovyFamilyWines.com) 2005: Slight cloudy med.gold
color; very ripe syrupy/candied peaches/Viognier grapey nose; soft/fat slightly sweet rich/
lush/canned peaches/pear/very floral/Viognier slightly bitter flavor; med.long soft/fat
strong peachy/canned peach/floral/Viognier very ripe off-dry finish; appears to be a stuck
or stopped fermentation; atypical Viognier but still an attractive wine. $16.00
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6. Lattitude 46 N CliftonCuvee MilbrandtVnyd/WahlukeSlope/ColumbiaVlly RW (14.5%;
http://www.Lattitude46.com; 59% Grenache, 36% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre; 470 cs) VinAmisVentures/
Touchet 2005: Med.color; lots of perfumed/aromatic/strawberry soda/Grenache/cheap perfume/
candied slight earthy nose; soft very candied/Grenache/perfumed/strawberry soda some tannic
slight earthy flavor; med.long candied/Grenache/strawberry soda bit earthy/appley finish w/
some tannins; somewhat cheap Christmas candy character; an attractive CdR-level red; bit
pricey at $36.00
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7. Massena BarossaVlly TheMoonlightRun (50% grenache, 30% Shiraz, 15% Mataro, 5% Consault;
http://www.Massena.com.Au; 15.0%) 2003: Very dark color; dusty/appley bit tobaccoy/toilet
deordizer very ripe/strawberry/Grenache tomatoe paste/black currant syrup some oaked nose;
soft tomatoe paste/deordizer/strawberry soda/Grenache light toasty/oak flavor; med.long
candied/strawberry/Grenache/tomatoey finish w/ little tannins; attractive Grenache but
rather pricey at $28.00
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8. Tir Na Nog (Land of the Youth) BlewittSprings/McLarenVale OldVines Grenache (15.9%;
http://www.TAPWC.com.Au) 2003: Dark color; strong minty/menthol ripe/Grenache/strawberry rather
strong Am.oak nose; soft candied very strong Grenache/strawberry some minty/menthol/pak
flavor; long strong candied/Grenache/strawberry minty/menthol finish; a nice Grenache
but a bit on the soft/goopy side. $27.00
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9. Alkoomi FranklandRiver WA Shiraz (5% Viognier; 13.5%; http://www.AlkoomiWines.com.Au) 2004: Dark
color; beautiful/complex blackberry/cough syrup/spicy/peppery bit toasty/roasted/smokey/
Rhonish some spicy/cranberry nose; tart/balanced bit roasted/spicy cranberry/blackberry/
Syrah/cough syrup flavor w/ light tannins; med.long quite spicy/peppery/smokey some Rhonish/
roasted/peppery blackberry/cranberry finish w/ light tannins; an absolutely lovely/
drinkabe some Rhonish very interesting Shiraz at a great price. $23.00
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10. Ulithorne FruxFrugis Shiraz MclarenVale (Vines planted 1971; 14.5%; EG) 2002: Very dark
color; intense blackberry/blueberry/boysenberry some green olive/spicy some vanilla/Am.oak
bit peppery lovely nose; rich/ripe intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/spicy some vanilla/
oak fairly structured some tannic flavor; very long vanilla/Am.oak blackberry/boysenberry/
Syrah some spicy/green olive finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; one of the better
McLarenVale Shirazs I've had in some time; fairly priced at $53.00
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11. SpannVnyds MoZin SonomaCnty (72% Zin, 23% Mourvedre, 5% PS; 14.3%; 1050 cs) 2003: Med.
color; rather overripe/plummy/bit raisened/Zin/raspberry Am.oak slight volatile pleasant
nose; soft very ripe/plummy/Zin/boysenberry/raspberry some Am.oka bit hot/alcoholic flavor;
med. very ripe/plummy/blackberry/Zin bit hot/alcoholic finish w/ light tannins; pleasant
but rather overripe Zin red. $14.00
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12. SpannVnyds Syrah SonomaCnty (14.6%; 950 cs) 2002: Dark color; some toasty/oak ripe/black-
berry/boysenberry/jammy slight bretty/earthy slight spicy/peppery attractive nose; soft/
ripe/lush blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some spicy/DryCreekVlly slight bretty flavor; very
strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit tannic finish; needs a yr or two; quite an
interesting Syrah at a very attractive price. $16.00
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13. Cazar SonomaCoast Syrah (14.0%) HunterWineCllrs/Sebastapol 2002: Very dark color; big/rich/
huge jammy/blackberry/Syrah peppery/spicy slight charred/toasty/smokey/oak beautiful/
peppery complex nose; tart/rich beautiful peppery/roasted/Rhonish very ExtremeSonomaCoast
ripe/blackberry/green olive/peppery toasty/espresso/roasted very strong blackberry/Syrah
flavor; very long/lingering Rhonish/roasted/espresso very strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah
complex finish; needs several yrs; a terrific Syrah at an unbelieveable price. $17.00
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14. AlaineGraillot LaGuiraude Crozes-Hermitage 1998: Very dark color; rather roasted/smokey/
espresso/black pepper dusty/old vines beautiful NorthernRhone complex nose; tart very strong
green olive/roasted/espresso/smokey very complex flavor; very long/lingering espresso/black
pepper/roasted/espresso tart very complex finish w/ fair tannins; will probably go another
6-8-10 yrs; a beautiful example of a classic NorthernRhone Syrah. $26.00
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More nonsense from the BloodyPulpit:
1. HarlequinViognier: I've followed RobertGoodfriend's Viognier from the very start, the '03.
That '03 I thought was one of the finest USofA Viogniers I've had, showing some of that
Condriey minerality that you seldom find in this country. The '04 version was bigger/richer
and more in a Calif style. This '05 version is much more akin to the '03, with much of that
same minerality, yet some of the richness the '04 shows. Some of the best Viogniers, IMHO,
being made in this country.
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2. NovyViognier: I've followed Adam's Viogniers from the very start. The '04 version was well
over 16% and rather on the hot/fumey side. This '05 version, at a degree less alcohol, is
much more attractive, w/o the alcoholic burn. But still on the overripe side and some
folks thought the residual sugar off-putting. I didn't particularly mind that at all,
but it does have a somewhat overripe character.
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3. AlkoomiShiraz: Like many others in the USofA, I've been tiring of Oz Shiraz a bit, with
so many of them showing the same Barossa/McLarenVale flavor and aroma profile. But then
I hit something like the Alkoomi and it jolts me back to reality that there are some
great Oz Shirazs out there coming from cooler climate areas. This '04 Alkoomi is an
absolute gem of a wine, with great cool-climate character, and a steal of a price.
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4. SpannVnyds: Not a whole lot of info out there on Spann Vnyds, owned by Peter and Betsy Spann.
Betsy apparently worked for one of the distributors here in NewMexico, but not sure our paths
ever crossed. The Syrah was very much liked by the group and we were able to get another
two cases up in Boulder. It sparked my interest enough that I'd like to try other of
their wines.
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5. Cazar: Holy cow...another winery I can't find anything about. Whoever they are, this was
one terrific example of SonomaCoast Syrah. And at a fantastic price as well. Got orders
for several cases but not able to track any more down, alas. I think they may be associated
with Chasseur Wines in Sebastapol (the labels certainly look the same) but have not been
able to verify that. A mystery, how the heck can I follow them from the very start if I
can't figure out who they are??
TomHill