WTN: Two New DryCreekVnyd Wines...(short/boring)

Tried this weekend two new DryCreekVnyd wines:
1. DryCreekVnyd Chard FoggyOaks/RRV (13.5%; www.DryCreekVineyard.com) 2009: Light gold color; lovely fragrant/lemony/spicy/Chard very light toasty/oak/smokey/nutmeg nose; rather tart bright/lemony/melony/Chard spicy/nutmeg/cinammon light toasty/smokey/oak flavor; very long bright/melony/lemony/Chard slight earthy light smokey/oak/nutmeg finish; not a profound Chard but very well-made/spicy a just flat-out good drinking; much like the Radio-Coteau or Dutton-Goldfield in style; lovely Chard for a great price. $20.00
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2. DryCreekVnyd Zin OldVines DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (Avg vine age 90+ yrs up to 125 yrs; 14% PS; 14.5%) 2009: Med.dark color; some blackberry/Zin/raspberry slight dusty/old-vine/metallic slight alcoholic rather strong pencilly/toasty/vanilla/oak nose; fairly tart bit alcoholic strong blackberry/Zin strong pencilly/vanilla/oak flavor w/ ample tannins; long rather tannic ripe/blackberry/Zin strong pencilly/oak/vanilla finish; more RRV Zin in character than DCV Zin; fairly tannic/hard for a DCV OldVines; needs some 3-6 yrs of age. $30.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I have, of course, followed DryCreekVnyds from the very start..the '72 GamayBeaujolais. In one of my early visits w/ DaveStare at DCV in the middle '70's, there was this really cute little girl sitting in his office, drawing w/ crayons some pictures. You know...I think that Kim is still kinda cute!!!
2. DCV is primarily a DryCreekVlly specialist. A number of yrs ago, as DonWallace was casting about for new vnyd sources, they decided to plant this vnyd down in the RRV in 2000. It was a very good move on their part.
I...sniff/sniff...quit drinking Calif Chard yrs ago. However, in the last yr or two, I've been finding them really quite nice. I always get a little irked when yet another wine writer/blogger refers, once again, to "fruit-bomb/buttery/oaky Calif Chards". My experience is that that style of Calif Chard has gone the way of the dinosaur. But, then, haven't had a Rombauer Chard in quite a few yrs. Who knows...maybe even they have changed.
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3. I have, of course, followed DCV Zins from the very start...the '73. Came in a fat Gamay btl. I was underwhelmed. At that point in my vinous evolution, I was in the Neanderthal stage. The bigger/more alcoholic/more extracted/blacker/more oaked a Zin was...the better. I was unable to appreciate more restrained/brighter/elegant Zinfandels. Now...in my dotage...one step away from my kids moving me off into the nursing home...I'm starting to appreciate that style of wine. Hmmm....almost sounds like the story of certain Monktown attourneys.
As DCV winemaker, TimBell, asserts in Fo's interview with him ( Fo/TimBell ) , DCV doesn't get the recognition for their Zins they deserve. To which I would agree.
DCV makes 4 different Zins. The HeritageClone Zin is very nice drinking at around $16/btl; lots of pretty/bright raspberry/Zin fruit. The two SV Zins, SommersRanch and BeesonRanch, about $32/btl; have always been my favorite DCV Zins. The OldVines Zin have always struck me as nice Zins...but just that. They get longer aging in oak and tend to have more pencilly oak, more restrained/elegant/smoother fruit, than the SV Zins. This '09 version struck me as being harder, more tannic, than previous editions. I expect it will age into quite a nice Zin eventually.
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4. This TN will hit this wine board with a dull thud. Probably FoMan will be the only one who bothers to read it. Despite his weird predilection for that nasty Eyetalian stuff; he has very good tastes when it comes to DryCreekVlly wines and, like me, thinks the DCV wines are very good and under-appreciated.
Alas, DCV is not viewed as a "hot" winery because they make plenty of wine, have been around for a fair number of yrs, and are reasonably priced. So sad that people have such prejudices when it comes to a wine that is so good. Ohhhh, well...all the more for Fo & me, I guess.
Tom

Like their Chenin Blanc.

Like their Chenin Blanc.

Carl,
I'm not a very big fan of their CheninBlanc. To me, I find it a bit on the dull side...pleasant enough..
but just that. Doesn't have the zingy minerality I like in CB. It comes from the Clarksburg Delta...not an
area I find that makes very exciting wines. I guess...damning w/ faint praise.. the DCV does a good
job of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
DaveStare's first CheninBlancs came from the DCV...also a bit warm for CB...and I thought they
were a more interesting wine. You can't gripe about the price, though.
Tom

Some things in this world do not change and you can count on them. Rombauer chard has not changed but many in CA. have. Thank goodness.
I agree with you about Chenin Blanc in general in CA. Have never tasted one that even came close to say Huet for example in the Loire.

4. Not a thud. Of course, I'm a DCV fan of some years' standing, though not as far back as the 70's. (In the 70's I was busy making a living and driving race cars - two antithetical pursuits.)
Re Chards, try Hawkes if you get the chance. Alexander Valley, their vineyards are on the rim of AV and in the Chalk Hill area, fringing on RRV. Same price as DCV, and a bit more European to my aging taste buds.
Every time I open a bottle of Beeson Ranch, I'm once again thrilled. Almost as good as David Cooper's Yoakim Bridge. And to my tiny little mind, that's saying quite a bit.

John

Carl,
I'm not a very big fan of their CheninBlanc. To me, I find it a bit on the dull side...pleasant enough..
but just that. Doesn't have the zingy minerality I like in CB. It comes from the Clarksburg Delta...not an
area I find that makes very exciting wines. I guess...damning w/ faint praise.. the DCV does a good
job of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
DaveStare's first CheninBlancs came from the DCV...also a bit warm for CB...and I thought they
were a more interesting wine. You can't gripe about the price, though.
Tom

Different strokes for different folks I guess, Tom. It is grown on the Stockton Delta now and I don't know if that is the same as the DCV. Dan Berger just reviewed the latest vintage in his newsletter and wrote: "and this year's version of the Chenin Blanc is among the most fascinating wines you will ever taste."