As we sat out on her portal, gazing across the RioGrandeVlly, at the JemezMtns burning in the distance; Susan & I tried:
1. L'Ecole#41 CheninBlanc ColumbiaVlly (13.5%; 2160 cs) 2010: Light yellow color; light flowery/CB/carnations/pineapply/mango somewhat chalky/mineral/earthy/metallic very pretty nose; fairly tart off-dry (0.6%?) bright floral/fruity/spicy/CB/carnations/mango/carnations light earthy/mineray flavor; med.long lush flowery/CB/carnations/mango off-dry some earthy/chalky/mineral finish; not the usual tutti-frutti CB; nice mineral/earthy character but not as austere/terroir-driven as the Chalone; a pretty/serious CB. $19.00
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2. OjaiVnyd OjaiRed Calif TW (13%) 1992: Rather light reddish color w/ considerable bricking; some volatile/EA slight maderized/oxidized light toasty/oak old Pinot/walnutty/earthy interesting old complex nose; soft light maderized/oxidized smooth no fruit some toasty/oak rather old/aged/Pinot complex flavor; med bit oxidized/maderized smooth bit washed out old Pinot/tobaccoy/cedary toasty/oak rather interesting old Pinot finish; some like a light/elegant Maderia, some like an old Pinot; interesting old wine & better than I expected given the color.
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3. PrideMtnVnyds Viognier SpringMtn/SonomaCnty (14.8%) 2010: Light gold color; lovely bright/vibrant peach/pear/floral/Viog slight chalky/mineral quite spicy/fragrant nose; soft/rich/lush textured/heavy bodied slight alcoholic very strong ripe/peach/pear/mango/Viog balanced slight earthy/chalky flavor; very long lush/rich/ripe/soft slight alcoholic strong peach/mango/pear/Viog slight earthy finish; lots of rich/ripe Viog fruit & a bit of heat but just short of straying into DollyParton-land; very attractive Viog.
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4. TreViti StoloFamilyVnyd Syrah CentralCoast/Cambria (14.6%; http://www.TreViti.com) StephenRossDooley/SantaMaria 2005: Very dark color; beautiful very strong cold-climate/peppery/cracked black pepper rather blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some smokey/toasty/oak some Rhonish/green olive beautiful complex nose; rather tart very strong cracked black pepper/cold-climate/Syrah/blackberry bit green olive/Rhonish bit tannic/hard some charred/toasty/oak lovely/intense flavor; very long/lingering cracked black pepper/Rhonish/green olive strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice bit tannic/hard some charred/oak finish; needs 2-5 yrs yet; rather Graillor/Rhonish-like and very cold-climate Syrah character; beautiful Syrah 'tis/it is.
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5. BuehlerVnyds Zin NapaVlly (14%) 1980: Med.color w/ some bricking; strong toasty/oak/charred/smokey strong pencilly/cedary/old Zin rather ripe/blackberry/Zin rather perfumed/complex nose; soft very ripe/blackberry/Zin/boysenberry strong toasty/charred/oak/licorice smooth complex flavor w/ light tannins; very long smooth/polished very ripe/boysenberry/Zin/blackberry strong pencilly/cedary/old Zin strong toasty/oak/charred finish w/ light/smooth tannins; a very ripe bit late-harvesty Zin w/ still plenty of fruit & no signs of drying out; still very much alive.
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6. Tria Zin NapaVlly (13.5%) BillKnuttle 1994: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; slight bretty/unclean rather cedary/cigar box/old Zin slight blackberry/fruit/Zin light smokey/oak complex nose; soft bit bretty/unclean some cedary/cigar box/old Zin light blackberry/Zin bit toasty/oak some dried out/astringent flavor; med.short bit bretty/unclean rather cedary/cigar box/old Zin slight blackberry/Zin finish w/ some astringent/dried out tannins; a bit on the tired side but still offers up some pleasure.
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7. Drew Albarino WentzelVnyd/AndersonVlly (13.7%; http://www.DrewWines.com) 2010: Med.light gold color; lovely classic floral/stoney/Albarino rather minerally slight herbal/spicy bit SauvBlanc-like very attractive nose; rather tart/lean rather mineral/metallic/steely bright/floral/stoney/Albarino some rich/lush slight herbal flavor; long rich rather tart/lean metallic/stoney bright floral/Albarino finish; a classic crisp/stoney/floral Albarino w/o the tight/austere character of most Spanish ones.
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8. RiverRun Syrah VentanaVnyd/MontereyCnty (13.2%) 1993: Med.dark color w/ slight bricking; slight herbal/dusty/green olive rather smokey/pungent light toasty/oak some blackberry/Syrah rather complex nose; fairly tart bit metallic rather herbal/blackberry/Syrah slight green olive/peppery light toasty/oak rather complex smooth lovely flavor w/ light tannins; very long rather herbal some blackberry/Syrah some smokey/pungent/toasty/oak rather complex finish w/ light tannins; distinctly Ventana/herbal but a lovely/mature/complex Calif Syrah still full of life.
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The usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. OjaiRed: This is Adam's bleded red, mosty Pinot & Syrah, of mostly left-over wine. This was from when he vintage dated it. Now there is a laser-etched bottling date near the bottom of the bottle. By all rights, this wine should have been dead & gone. Maybe on its last legs, but it still offered up some interesting pleasure.
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2. RiverRun: I followed RiverRun Vintners from the very start...for a few yrs. They made some pretty interesting Syrahs and Zins. Then they sorta vanished from my radar. They appear to still be in business & I should order up a sample pack to try.
Tom