It was a beautiful drive from Reno to Amador. We arrived at Plymouth and pulled up into
Terre Rouge while a club appreciation lunch was in session. The grounds were crowded but the tasting room wasn't too packed. Unfortunately they only had a few bottles opened for tasting inside. We started out with a
2007 Viognier. It had all the peach and apricot and citrus and stone going, but the fruit seemed a tad muted. The
2006 Easton Barbera (from the Cooper vineyards) was also a good example where the varietal showed itself but very heavily veiled. The
2008 Tete a tete is a GSM blend which for it's price was actually a pretty good wine. They also have another higher priced GSM blend
L'Autre which wasn't open. I bought a bottle to compare l'autre day. The
2006 Sierra Foothills Syrah was also another good wine, a much better example of what Terre Rouge can do. Unfortunately they had little open today and interestingly older vintages. Terre Rouge/Easton tend to release their wine late, explained the much harried pourer.
Down the road was
Vino Noceto. The wines here were very solid. They had the
2008 Sangiovese which was very fresh cherries/cocoa/nutmeg going. Great acidity. The
2009 Sangiovese was recently bottled and still young. Grapey but showing the same undertones as the 2008 vintage. Very nice. The
2008 OGP Zinfandel was very delicious. I agree with Mike that it shows better than previous vintages. Earlier this year, I opened a 2003 OGP Zin and it was on song. These wines last well. There was a single vineyard Sangiovese, the
2008 Dos Oakies (named after the 2 oaks which once stood in front of the tasting room; alas, the bigger one was victim of a recent storm) which was stunning. Reminded me of some older Seghesio Sangiovese, only more exuberant. Vino Noceto makes a
Frivolo (the 2010 was poured) which is spritzy Moscato. Reminded me of drinking lime soda. Will be nice on a hot day.
As we drove up Shenandoah (Yes, Virginia, there is one outside of Virginia) Road,
Borjon comes up immediately on the right. We decided to try only the reds. The 2008 Barbera had apparently won the Barbera Festival here in June. We started with the
2007 Xinfandel. It was Zinfandel al right, but extremely hot. The alcohol was overpowering. I joked that it should be rechristened as Ginfandel. the
2008 Barbera was a decent Barbera but again with the alcohol. The Xinfandel was north of 16% and the Barbera was kissing 15%. The
2008 Los Portales (a blend of Zin, Primitivo, Barbera and Sangiovese) was served next. It was with trepidation that I approached it ( twice burnt, thrice shy) but it actually was a really decent wine for the price. Not too hot and good flavah and structcha. Not bad. They had a Primitivo and Sangiovese but it was all tasting similar to the Xinfandel and the Barbera. If served blind, I would have had some trouble distinguishing them
The last wine was called
2009 Differente ( a 50/50 blend of Zin and Barbera). True to it's name, this was totally different. It had personality, deliciousness, blueberry/chocolate going on, a long finish etc. etc. I wish this were the only wine I had tried here (OK, maybe the Portales as well). It was also $45 a bottle and they had made less than 100 cases. Borjon would do well if they were a little bit more "Differente"!
After some time, we went to
Cooper which sits on Shenandoah School Rd. We passed Karmere, but were still recovering from the alcoholic haze from Borjon and drove on (maybe next time Tom). Cooper wines were impressive. The
2009 Rousanne was sharp, flinty, citrusy, tropical. The
2009 Barbera Riserva had a great mouthfeel, chocolate/blackberries/pepper/mace/nutmeg. Apparently the 2009 Barbera (not the Riserva) was sold out and according to the server was a tad better wine. Has anyone here tried it? Most wineries here source their Barbera from Cooper (Easton, Borjon, Wilderotter to name a few). Interesting how they all taste different, granted that most were from different vintages. The Primitivo and Sangiovese here tasted true to varietal and not like each other. Both were good wines. The
2008 Mourvedre was meaty/mushroomy/earthy. The wines at Cooper ranged from good to excellent across the board!
The last stop for Saturday was
Wilderotter. The
Viognier was good being more on the floral side than the stone fruit side of the fence. The
2008 Mourvedre was the first red. I was expecting a dark crimson wine in the glass and what was poured looked like a middle aged Pinot Noir. I had to check the bottle to see if the right wine was poured. It was. And it was really good. It felt light on the tongue, lightly spicy, flavorful and a nice finish. The
2008 Tempranillo was an excellent wine as well- lots of berries/meat/smoke/tobacco. The
2007 Petite Sirah was deep and purple and I was expecting a tannic monster. But for how young the wine was, it was very approachable. It was peppery/blueberry/chocolate.
The next day we went to Sobon Estate, Shenandoah and Cedarville. Notes to follow.
By the way, the Amador Vintage Market is an excellent place to stock up on picnic food before heading out to taste.
