CA Central Coast Trip summary - Day 4 Foxen Canyon Road

Day 4. Foxen Cayon Road

Curtis – Originally did not plan to stop at Curtis having not really enjoyed the stop last year but added it to fill the day and due to the good thing I have been reading about the assistant winemaker. Glad we did stop. Top to bottom everything was quality and well priced, shocked me how much I liked the viognier.

Foxen – Only planned this stop to force us a good way up the road. Really wanted to see the scenery but expected to hate the wines. Not a chance and a real destination stop. Beautiful setting, nice people, and good wines; favorites were the Julia’s Pinot and the Tinaquaic Chardonnay which I still have a hard time believing is dry farmed.

7200 – Separate tasting room from Foxen and different wines so will treat it as a separate. Loved the shack. Did not feel fake like Alma Rosa did. As for the wines, solid but I preferred the Foxen wines. Favorite here was the dry farmed Cab Franc, but more for the nose than the mouth. A little bigger than I prefer for Franc, will be interesting to see how it hold up to some time in the bottle.

Riverbench – Change in plans on the road. Our planned next stop had not been endorsed by any of the locals that we asked so this was suggested as a better stop. Not really exciting to me. Wife liked the bigger boned (Oak,full ML) Chapel View chard.

Zaca Mesa – Another surprise. Seems like everyone talks about the History of Zaca Mesa but not what its doing today. Found that today is not so bad. Slight preference for the whites over the reds but happy to drink either. Another beautiful site with nice folks running the tastings.

Dinner at Root 246. If you get a chance go on Tuesday. Its local night and there is a special wine list where a small selection of the full list is half off, which I think is almost retail pricing. Had the D’Alfonso Pinot Grigio for $20. Also the menu is less formal, more burgers, etc. and priced a little lower. Taste is not comprised even if preparations are simpler.

I try to hype Curtis to anyone who will listen. The white Rhone wines they make are excellent and very reasonably priced. The reds Rhones they make can be a bit large when young, but with a bit of age, they become something really nice. In honor of International Grenache Day today, in fact, I opened a 2007 Curtis Grenache, and it was excellent, with bright red fruit and a light/medium body with spice and pepper. Good stuff. And I think that Ernst's addition to the wine-making team has only made the wines better than they were.

Curtis is one of only 3 wineries from which I still receive regular club deliveries.

[Jenise]

Zaca Mesa--a winery I discovered a looooooooooooong time ago when it was just an old barn. I was there with a friend, we parked and walked into the barn. Before we could call out Hello Is Anybody Here an angry old man's voice came from the back of the thing. "Gawddamit! Gawdammit!" Uh Hello, we said, tiptoeing in. He looked up and then shoved a glass of sauvignon blanc at us. HERE, he said urgently, TASTE THIS. I sipped and then passed the glass to my friend. DO YOU TASTE JALAPENO PEPPERS IN THERE?, he demanded to know, waving a piece of paper containing a professional critic's tasting note at us. We didn't and said so, but it was pretty clear that this was the only right answer and if we'd thought otherwise we would have labeled ourselves Foes, not Friends, and that would have been the end of our tasting session at Zaca Mesa. As it was, having proven ourselves we got to taste everything he made and I had the first barrel samples of my life, and for my tastes at the time the wines were exceptional for the area. Many years would pass before I'd get back there, and by then a big tasting room with room for tourist buses had been built, and the wines had lost their artisinal charm. I've heard they're better again.

I think I remember the name Curtis from those days, but I'm not sure. Was it started by a woman who was a member of the Firestone family but wanted to create her own brand so used her maiden name, or some such? If not moot point, but if so I'm surprised and impressed that the wines are that good these days. I'll make a point of trying one next time I have an opportunity.

Jenise, yes, this is still owned by the Firestone family (they sold off their eponymous winery to, I think, Foley). However, they never interfered in the wine making, so Chuck Carlson, the wine maker, has been able to follow his own instincts. It's not an industrial-sized operation, but more boutique. And only Rhone varietals. Worth checking out.

I, too, spent a lot of time in the Central Coast area back in the day. Zaca Mesa was already somewhat fixed up, but they remained nice people and their wines generally were good QPR. Bedford Thompson, a tiny outfit, their tasting room was their kitchen,was some of the first and I think best cab franc from there, at least that I have tasted. And except for some excesses (in some single vineyards and Merlot, and so forth), I've usually enjoyed Foxen, Sanford (when Sanford was there), and Melville (which is newer and I still like). To my mind pinot from this area does speak of its terroir--overtones of coffee, cola, and, yes, a little green (though not jalapeno) pepper. It's not Burgundy, or even Sonoma, but when balanced and well-made, which it can be, I find it enjoyable on its own terms.
Thanks for the notes; you've made me went to go back and visit it all again.

Josh