We tried last night (5/9/12) Some New Calif Wines:
1. OjaiVnyd SauvBlanc McGinleyVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13.0%; 12.5%; 987 cs) 2010: Light yellow color; low-key/light/
grassy/herbal/SB slight earthy/mineral some melony rather pretty nose; rather tart/lean/crisp light herbal/SB/
melony some mineral/chalky low-key flavor; long tart/lean/crisp low-key/herbal/SB/grassy/mostly melony bir mineral
finish; more like a Sancerre than a Calif SauvBlanc; quite a pretty/low-key wine that should get better w/ age.
$25.00
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2. OjaiVnyd Chard SolomonHillsVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%; DijonClones; 267 cs) 2009: Light gold color; light pencilly/
toasty/oak fragrant/low-key/melony/Chard slight spicy/nutmeg nose; very tart/lean/acid/austere light/melony/Chard
light/spicy/nutmeg bit chalky/mineral flavor; long tangy/grapefruity/crisp quite acid/lean light melony/Chard
spicy/nutmeg bit mineral/chalky light pencilly/oak finish; reminds me a lot of lean Alsatian PinotBlanc; a bit of
a severe/pinched Chard that should improve w/ age. $28.50
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3. OjaiVnyd PinotNoir KickOnRanch/LosAlamosVlly/SBC (12.5%; 46 cs) 2009: Med.light color; very attractive/pretty
bright/cherry/PN/very floral/violets light pencilly/oak slight earthy lovely slight Burgundian nose; tart bright/
spicy/vibrant/cherry/PN very floral/violets light pencilly/oak slight earthy/Burgundian flavor w/ some tannins; very
long bright/cherry/PN very floral/violets/aromatic light pencilly/oak slight Burgundian/earthy finish w/ modest
tannins; an electric/neon/red rendition of PinotNoir; reminds me a lot of the ClosPepes. $33.00
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4. OjaiVnyd PinotNoir BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.3%; MartiniClone/Q Block; 327 cs) 2009: Med.color; stronger
classic BN/black cherry/Pinot less floral/violets bit spicy/cinammon somewhat toasty/oak fragrant attractive nose;
quite tart somewhat tannic/hard/astringent strong black cherry/BN PN stronger toasty/charred/oak spicy/cinammon
slight earthy/loamy flavor; long classic BN PN/black cherry/bing cherry some toasty/smokey/oak rather hard/tannic
finish; needs much age; a classic BienNacido Pinot w/ lots of black cherry character. $37.00
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5. ForlornHope MilAmores DeWittVnyd/AmadorCnty (325 cs; 60% Touriga/40% Tempranillo; 14.1%) 2006: Very dark color;
strong blackberry/boysenberry some Port-like/licorice/chocolate spicy/cinammon some toasty/charred/oak quite
perfumed/intense nose; strong rather tannic/hard/structured intense blackberry/boysenberry rather dryPort some
toasty/charred/oak intense flavor; very long intense mulberry/boysenberry/blackberry/spicy somewhat toasty/
charred/oak quite dryPort pretty tannic/hard/structured intense finish; needs 3-10 yrs of age; big/huge wine
that reminds a lot of dryPort from the Duoro; great price at $28.00
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6. ForlornHope MilAmores DeWittVnyd/AmadorCnty (97 cs; 60% Touriga/40% Tempranillo; 13.3%) 2007: Very dark color;
strong blackberry/boysenberry/briary/spicy/brambly/big fruit light toasty/oak attractive nose; tarter lighter/
brighter strong briary/bramble/blackberry/boysenberry/Zin-like quite spicy bit tannic/hard light pencilly/buttery/
oak flavor; long strong blackberry/boysenberry/briary/brambly light pencilly oak finish; needs 2-6 yrs; resembles
more AmadorCnty Zin than dryPort; quite an attractive wine. $29.00
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7. ForlornHope GasconyCadets PetiteVerdot KingAndrewsVnyd/SuisunVlly/SolanoCnty (97 cs; 14.5%) 2007: Very dark color;
very strong blackcurranty/Cab/herbal quite spicy/peppery slight earthy/Bdx-like/loamy slighht chocolaty/minty
some toasty/oak complex nose; rather tannic/hard/structured some toasty/oak intense peppery/chocolaty bit herbal/
Cab/earthy slight minty/spicy extracted flavor; very long herbal/Cab/Bdx-like ripe/chocolaty strong toasty/oak
extracted finish; needs 4-10 yrs of age, maybe more; a very interesting Cab at a very good price. $34.00
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8. Ryme CabSauv ChalkHill/SonomaCnty (14.1%; www.RymeCellars.com) 2009: Very dark color; somewhat herbal/Cab/tea
some blackcurranty/chocolate rather Bdx-like lighy buttery/toasty/oak quite attractive nose; soft/rich somewhat
tannic/structured some Bdx-like/herbal strong blackcurranty/Cab light toasty/oak flavor; very long Bdx-like/
herbal some ripe/blackcurranty/Cab/chocolaty light toasted/roasted coffee bean fairly tannic/structured balanced
flavor; a really delicious old-timey Calif Cab some like MonteBello or SpringMtn back in the '70's; just enough
herbaceous character to make it really good.
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9. Ryme Aglianico LunaMattaVnyd/PasoRobles (15.8%) 2008: Very dark/black color; slight volatile/alcoholic very
intense blackberry/boysenberry/chocolaty/licorice some Paso/jammy/ripe quite perfumed/spicy/aromatic some
pencilly/oak very intense nose; rather tannic/hard/extracted very intense bing cherry/boysenberry/chocolaty/
huge fruit some toasty/oak bit Paso/jammy/ripe slight alcoholic rich/mouthfilling structured flavor; very long
intense huge fruit/bing cherry/boysenberry/chocolaty/licorice tannic/extracted/hard some toasty/pencilly/oak
bit jammy finish; best Aglianico I've yet had; a big/huge wine but it carries it off w/o being over the top
and grotesque; the alcohol shows a bit but not fumey or hot. $35.00
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10. TerredorA DiPaola DOCG: Taurasi RW (100% Aglianico; 18 mo. in Fr.oak; 13.5%; www.Terredora.com) 2005:
Med.dark bit bricked color; rather hot climate/goat pen/earthy/unclean slight boysenberry/chocolaty rather
funky/unclean nose; hard/fiercely tannic rather unclean/funky/goat pen/earthy/hot climate some boysenberry/fruity/
chocolaty some tired/dried out flavor; med.long rather unclean/goat pen/hot climate slight chocolaty/bing cherry
rough/hard/tannic/coarse fairly dried out/tannic finish; age won't salvage this wine; quite hot-climate/unclean
SouthernItalian red w/ little fruit therein. $35.00 (SFW&S)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. OjaiWhites: We are now several yrs into Adam's segue into a different style with his whites. Harvesting earlier
to achieve lower alcohols, less use of oak, more mineral and terroir (how, exactly, does one do that?), higher/
crisper acidity. It's a show that's not played well in Monktown. He's been severely rebuked by noted critics for
his excessive yields.
I guess for me the jury's still out on this move. Some ask if he's gone too far? I rather liked this SauvBlanc
for its understated character; finding many Calif SauvBlancs agressively herbal & grassy. If this were judged as
a Sancerre, nobody would blink an eye. The Chard, however, didn't do a lot for me. Certainly, the acidity was there
in spades, but no more than your basic AC CHablis of yore. But it seemed sort of lean and eviscerated on the palate
and didn't deliver much flavor.
The big question is what are these wines going to age into?? My guess is that they'll do just fine with age and
turn, like Chablis and German Rieslings can do, from rather severe wines into something pretty interesting. But,
right out of the gate, these are tough wines to taste. They won't win any kudos out of Monktown. Sometimes, you
just gotta believe and trust Adam's instincts.
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2. Rhyme: This is a cooperative effort of Ryan & Megan Glaab. Ryan's asst winemaker for Pax at WindGap. They are making
some very/very interesting wines. Quite a bit of interest in Friulian wines and orange/qvevri style of wines. I was
quite taken by these two reds. The Aglianico is a bit riper than they are interested in making, but thought it was
pulled off very well. Best Aglianico I've ever had. The Cab was a gift from Ryan because I'd not ordered it (not
much of a Cabernet fan) and he thought I should try it...with an open mind. Glad I did. I liked it quite a lot. It
was an old-timey Calif Cab the likes of which I seldom seen any more. It had that touch of Cabernet herbaceousness
that made it very interesting; a trait that has become anathema for most Calif Cabs anymore, driven towards that
super-ripe style. It reminded me of the Freemark or the MikeRobbins/SpringMtnVnyd Cabs I used to love in the '70's.
Reminded me of why I was once a big Cabernet fan...afore I done see'd the light and went to Syrah.
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3. ForlornHope: Winery of MattRorick whose focus is on lesser known varieties..grapes that are a "forlorn hope". He's
doing some very interesting things. He makes his wines up at the TenbrinkWnry in SuisunCity...also the home of Abe's
ScholiumProject...another set of interesting wines. Over the yrs, I've had a number of wines from SuisunVlly/
SolanoCnty. Not been impressed at all. They have seemed to have a soft/soupy/unstructured quality to them. But
what Matt has done w/ this PV and PetiteSirah from here has totally changed my thinking about the SuisunVlly.
The MilAmores comes from up in AmadorCnty, the DeWitt Vnyd where he also get Verdelho. This is a blend much like
they use in the DouroVlly, where they are now making a lot of dry red wines. Tempranillo is known there as
TintaRoriz. The '06 vintage was a much warmer one in Amador than the '07 vintage. Probably why the '06 reminded
me a lot of the dry reds out of the Douro, which resemble the aromatics of Porto w/o the searing alcohol those have.
I much preferred the '06 to the '07...but it may be just the additional age on it.
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4. A tasting w/ two Cabernet wines....and two that I actually liked quite a lot. Shocking, it is.
Tom