We tried this week (3/9/11) the TreViti Wines:
1. TreViti Chard Anno di Isabella StoloFamilyVnyd CentralCoast (14.3%; www.TreViti.com)
StephenDooley/SantaMaria 2006: Med.gold color; strong melony/ripe/Chard/spicy/nutmeg slight earthy
strong butterscotchy/toasty/Fr.oak rather perfumed nose; fairly tart some toasty/nutmeg/oak strong
melony/Chard/ripe some perfumed/mineral flavor; long spicy/nutmeg/melony/Chard rather toasty/Fr.oak/
butterscotchy slight mineral/earthy finish; quite a nice Chard at a great price. $17.00
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2. TreViti Chard Anno di Isabella StoloFamilyVnyd CentralCoast (15.0%) 2007: Med.dark gold color; slightly
tighter/less ripe spicy/melony/Chard lighter toasty/spicy/Fr.oak slight mineral/earthy some perfumed nose;
softer/lusher/riper melony/Chard/lemony lighter toasty/tobaccoy/oak flavor; long lush/ripe melony/Chard/lemony
lighter toasty/tobaccoy finish; a bit riper and less intense than the '06, but very/very similar. $21.00
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3. TreViti PinotNoir Anno di Emma StoloFamilyVnyd/CentralCoast (14.9%) 2006: Med.light color; very attractive
floral/violets/bright/cherry/Pinot slight herbal/ruhbarb/hops some toasty/tobaccoy/Burgundian/oak lovely/
perfumed nose; tart very bright/cherry/Pinot/perfumed/vibrant slight earthy/Burgundian strong toasty/tobaccoy/
oak flavor; very long toasty/Burgundian/oak bright cherry/earthy/Pinot finish w/ light tannins; lots of bright
cherry somewhat Burgundian character; much like the Peay Pinots; quite a nice Pinot at a very good price. $28.00
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4. TreViti PinotNoir Anno di Emma StoloFamilyVnyd/CentralCoast (14.6%) 2007: Med.color; rather strong herbal/
eucalyptus/menthol/minty light black cherry/Pinot light toasty/oak nose; soft/flat strong menthol/eucalyptus slight
black cherry/Pinot/DrPeppery/RCCola some toasty/oak flavor; med.long soft/flat strong menthol/eucalyptus some
black cherry/Pinot/cola some toasty/oak finish w/ modest tannins; seems riper and not as bright/alive as the '06;
the wine was a bit bubbly and may have some sort of problen; just seems a bit off. $30.00
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5. TreViti PinotNoir BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.2%) 2005: Med.dark color; rather strong black cherry/Pinot/earthy
some toasty/tobaccoy/oak fairly fragrant/perfumed nose; softer lush/black cherry/Pinot light toasty/charred/oak
bit earthy/smokey flavor; med.long toasty/charred/oak strong lush/black cherry/Pinot/earthy rather toasty/charred/
oak finish w/ light tannins; pleasant enough Pinot but somewhat simple compared to the Estate '06. $25.00
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6. TreViti Syrah StoloFamilyVnyd/CentralCoast (14.0%; www.TreViti.com) 2004: Dark color; Dark color; somewhat herbal/
pungent rather spicy/peppery/cold-climate Syrah/roasted/smokey slight plastic/vinyl (NoeCork?) somewhat underripe
interesting sorta-Rhonish nose; very tart/acid/lean peppery/roasted/cold-climate Syrah/Rhonish some floral/violets/
Syrah flavors w/ somewhat hard/raspy tannins; long tart/lean peppery/cold-climate Syrah light violets/Syrah finish
w/ ample/hard tannins; very much like a young Texier Syrah; very Rhonish in character w/ a bit of other strange/
sauvage/earthy things therein; needs age but iffy w/ NeoCork. $21.00
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7. TreViti Syrah Don'sBlock/CentralCoast (14.0%) P&B by StephenDooley/SLO 2004: Dark color; very similar cold-climate/
peppery/herbal/Rhonish/pungent/smokey bit more lush/floral/violets/Syrah/blackberry/licorice complex nose; rather
tart cold-climate/peppery/Rhonish/roasted some blackberry/licorice/pungent/Syrah light toasty/oak rather tannic flavor;
long tart Rhonish/peppery/roasted/Rhonish more lush/blackberry/Syrah/floral/licorice finish w/ ample tannins; a bit
more ripe fruit/lusher and less hard tannins, but very much like the regular '04; more like a Graillot/Texier
cooperative Syrah. $25.00
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8. TreViti Syrah CentralCoast/Cambria (14.6%) 2005: Very dark color; very strong roasted/smokey/pungent/peppery/
cold-climate Syrah very Rhonish/Graillot-like pungent/licorice/blackberry/Syrah beautiful/complex nose; very tart
very peppery/cold-climate/Rhonish/roasted/smokey/pungent strong licorice/pungent/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak
some tannic flavor; very long/lingering cold-climate/peppery/roasted/pungent/smokey strong blackberry/licorice/
Syrah finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-8 yrs; a stunning cold-climate Syrah much like EdStJohn/Bassetti and a
Graillot Crozes-Hermitage; one of the most Rhonish Calif Syrahs yet; amazing wine for the price. $20.00
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9. TreViti Syrah WolffVnyds/EdnaVlly (15.0%) 2006: Dark color; some Alban-like/blackberry/Syrah/licorice/blueberry
strong toasty/charred/oak rather attractive nose; softer/lusher rather simpler blackberry/Syrah/blueberry some
toasty/charred/oak flavor; med.long strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry charred/toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins;
some like a junior Alban Syrah; a rather attractive Syrah but simple compared to the Estate versions; quite an
attractive Syrah for the price. $20.00
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10. TreViti Syrah Anno di Emma StoloFamilyVnyd/CentralCoast (14.6%) 2007: Very dark color; very strong somewhat
herbal/aspargras/almost vegetal/underripe very Rhonish/roasted/pungent/mocha/espresso some blackberry/Syrah/peppery
light toasty/oak complex nose; tart/lean/tannic very cold-climate/peppery/roasted/Rhonish/Bassetti-like/mocha/
espresso some blackberry/cracked pepper/Syrah flavor w/ ample tannins; very long/lingering very Rhonish/roasted/
peppery/espresso rather tart/lean smokey/pungent/herbal some blackberry/Syrah bit charred/oak fairly tannic finish;
needs 3-10 yrs; terrific very Texier-like Syrah at a great price. $25.00
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11. TyrusEvan WallaWalla Syrah 7HillsVnyd (own-rooted vines; 14.5%) TyrusEvan/Carlton/OR 2005: Black color; very strong/
intense licorice/blackberry/Syrah slight herbal/hybridy/plastic garbage pail strong toasty/charred/burnt/oak rather
interesting nose; soft rather tannic lush/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/licorice/tarry strong burnt/toasty/oak flavor;
long burnt/toasty/oak very strong/intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice soft rather tannic finish; very good/
interesting example of WashState Syrah.
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A the usual BloodyPulpit:
1. The '05-'07's are still available on the TreViti WebSite, some at discounted prices. The '08's are
also available, but I didn't get them included here.
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2. The two '04 Syrahs were closed by NeoCorks. Although they showed no problem in the wines, it is not a good
omen for long aging, which those two Syrahs need. All the rest were closed w/ conventional cork corks.
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3. I have, of course, followed TreViti from the very start, the '04 vintage. I have been a big fan of the Syrahs
from Susan & Ellis Basetti's vnyd that's one of the cooler climate Syrah vnyds in Calif. When I heard about
another vnyd even further out towards Cambria, I thought this was sorta nuts. When I made an inquiry to their
WebSite (www.TreViti.com) about their vnyd, I got an immediate response from Maria Bennetti, Don Stolo's daughter.
So I ordered a couple of them, tried them, and liked 'em quite a lot. And have been fans of them ever since.
Two yrs ago, before HdR, I made arrangements w/ Maria to walk the vnyd. Joining me was John & Kimberely Cabot.
It's a beautiful vnyd, about 2 mi from the Pacific, to the NW of Bassetti (about 5 mi from the ocean). Dowwn on the
flats near SantaRosaCreek, they have some newer plantings, including SauvBlanc. The vnyd was purchased in 2002 by
DonStolo. Before that, AugieHug actually made a DosCruces Pinot from that vnyd. The farm house on the property
has been renovated. There's an old bunk house and a dilapidated barn on the property. After a long hassle w/ the
CoastlandsComission, they finally got approval to convert the barn to a wnry & tasting room. That should be completed
early next yr if things go smoothly (usually they don't). I am curious to the effect they eucalyptus trees there
near the barn might have on the wines. We shall see.
Winemaker for TreViti is SteveDooley. I...ahem...followed him from the very start when he was winemaker at
Talley. He then started his own label, Stephen Ross, plus consults for a number of other wineries besides TreViti.
As for the wines; the Pinots and the Chards reminded me a lot of the Peay wines. Lots of bright acidity; a rather
bright/zippy/vibrant fruit to them. The Syrahs are not quite as Peay-like. They are some of the more Rhonish in
character you can find in Calif. Lots of acidity with fairly hard tannins. These are probably the most Texier-like
Syrahs to come out of Calif I would say. Very/very impressive, atypically Calif Syrahs. These would fit right in
w/ the Pax/Windgap and Arnot-Roberts AFWE-style of Syrahs. All some of my favorites.
I thought the BienNacido and Wolff wines were pretty typical of their respective vnyds, but they just seemed
a lot simpler and rather blocky compared to their Estate versions. Clearly, StoloFamilyVnyd is a pretty special site.
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4. Because their vnyd is not in a recognized AVA, the only options of labeling is Calif, Central Coast, or SanLuisObispo.
Maria to the CentralCoast option as it implies a costal location. The '05 had a Cambria appellation on the label
that had slipped by the TTB. But, for now, it's just CentralCoast.
Tom