We tried these ystrday w/ Patrick&Laura Comiskey:
1. SQN Forward&Backward WTW (14.0%; 40% Chardonnay, 30% Roussanne, 30% Viognier) 1998: Med.burnished gold color; strong nutty/toasted hazelnuts/celery seed very ripe some toasty/tobaccoy/oak slight honeyed/old Chard bit oxidized/oatmeal nose; tart bit ripe/alcoholic toasted hazelnuts/celery seed/bit oxidized/nutty some tobaccoy/oaked flavor; long slight honeyed/oxidized toasted hazelnuts/celery seed/old Chard some tobaccoy/toasty/oak finish; a bit like an old Rhone blanc, mostly old/slight oxidized Chard; interesting wine and not at all unpleasant.
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2. EdmundsStJohn LesCotesSauvages (TW) 1986: Med.color w/ some bricking/browning; rather attractive toasty/spicy/pungent/roasted/peppery slight plummy/earthy/blueberry/meaty/funky rather complex/interesting nose; tart quite pencilly/cedary slight spicy/plummy/roasted/pungent rather lean/tannic/dried-out slight menthol bit complex flavor; med.tart/lean/dried out/tannic smokey/pencilly/pungent finish; very attractive classic old EdStJ nose but rather dried-out/tannic on the palate.
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3. Neyers Cuvee d'Honneur Syrah HudsonVnyd (14.4%) 2003: Dark color; beautiful roasted/smokey/espresso/mocha green olive very NRhone some blackberry/Syrah quite complex nose; tart very strong roasted/green olive/NRhone/coffee/smokey/pungent some blueberry/Syrah very smokey/pungent complex flavor w/ modest tannins; very long/lingering pungent/roasted/green olive/NRhone/moch/peppery some blueberry/Syrah very complex finish w/ modest tannins; loads of classic NorthernRhone Syrah character; terrific wine.
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4. AlbanVnyd Syrah Reva (13.9%) 1999: Very dark/black color; intense boysenberry/Syrah/blackberry/perfumed/black cherry strong toasty/burnt/charred/oak slight menthol/pungent/mineral some complex nose; tart very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry strong charred/burnt/toasty/oak bit spicy/mocha/black cherry cola flavor w/ modest tannins; very long some tannic strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light cola/mocha rather burnt/charred/oak finish; huge Syrah fruit w/ lots of charred oak but the tannins are starting to smooth out; a classic Alban Syrah.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Patrick: I've known Patrick for a number of yrs when I first started reading his articles in the LATimes. He and JonBonne are two of my most favorite Calif writers. He asked for restaurant recs in the hinterlands when he & Laura were going to be out here in NM over the Christmas holidays. I suggested we get together whilst he was here and I'd see if I could find something interesting to try. After a failed attempt on Christmas day, they stopped in at Susan's ystrday afternoon coming down from Ojo to work thru the above btls w/ some light apps. Joining us was LarryArchibald.
Patrick is writing the definitive book on the Calif Rhone movement. He's completed most of the historical part. He links the RhoneRanger movement to the days of turmoil & revolution in Berkeley in the '60's. That connection puzzled me a bit but, as he explained it, it did seem to make some sense. It should be a very interesting read for those who lived the Calif Rhone movement, especially those few who followed it from the very start.
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2. SQN: Followed Manfred's work from the very start, I did, back when he was making his wines at AdamTolmach's and JohnAlban's. These grapes were probably entirely Alban grapes. The wine was pretty characteristic of old Chards and, if you don't mind the slightly oxidized/nutty character, was thoroughly pleasant.
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3. EdStJ LCS: This is one of the very early (maybe the first) of Steve's Rhone blend. Couldn't resurrect the exact blend but I think it had BrandlinRanch Mourvedre and Durell Syrah. I was expecting a bit more from it. It had a really lovely classic EdStJ nose, but it was rather dried-out/tannic on the palate.
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4. Neyers: This CdH is always one of my must-buy Syrahs from Calif. Made from LeeHudson's Syrah grapes in small amounts, the CdH honors ThierryAllemand (where EhrenJordan once worked) and made w/ very low sulfite levels. It has always been one of the most NorthernRhone in style Syrahs made in Calif. This '03 is in a beautiful place right now and should continue to be great drinking for another 4-6 yrs. Easily the best wine of the bunch.
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5. Patrick selected what wines to open. Skipped was L-M '00, Failla-Jordan QueSyrah '00, SQN TheOtherHand '95, EdStJ R&G '98, Texier Brezeme '01, and Jaffurs Ampelos '04. Too bad, nuther time.
Tom
