We tried last night (10/8/14) Some New Wines:
1. Dirty & Rowdy Especial Mourv SantaBarbaraHighlandsVnyd/SBC (12.4%) 2013: Med.light color; some cherry/Mourv
rather earthy/dusty bit funky/rustic slight TCA nose; rather tart/lean slight cherry fairly earthy/dusty/
metallic rather beat-down/subdued flavor w/ some bitey tannins; med.short very tart/tangy some earthy slight
cherry/Mourv beat-down finish w/ bitey tannins; not any obvious TCA on nose but a little funky/musty on the
palate and seems beaten down by TCA probably. $29.00
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2. Dirty & Rowdy Mourv SantaBarbaraHighlandsVnyd/SBC (12.5%) 2013: Med.color; strong plummy/Mourv/cherry/black
cherry/Pinotish slight earthy/Rousillon-like/Provencal-like quite attractive/perfumed nose; fairly tart some
plummy/Mourv rather cherry/Pinotish/earthy slight tangy/metallic attractive/perfumed flavor; long bright/cherry/
cherry pie bit plummy/Mourv finish w/ slight bitey tannins; quite an unusual rendition of Calif Mourv w/ lots
of perfumey/high-toned cherry character more like a Pinot than a Mourv; lovely wine. $36.00
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3. Tercero Mourvedre SBC (14.5%) 2010: Med.dark color; strong plummy/Mourv/blackberry/spicy slight earthy fairly
perfumed nose; lightly tart spicy/plummy/Mourv/blackberry bit tangy/earthy flavor w/ light/angular tannins;
long tart/tangy strong plummy/blackberry/Mourv/black cherry cola finish w/ light/spikey tannins; much more
mainstream likable Mourv at a more than fair price. $30.00
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4. Tercero CuveeChristie SBC (65% Grenache/15% Mourv/10% Syrah/10% PS; 14.5%) 2009: Dark color; very pretty bright
strawberry/Grenache/very spicy bit floral/violets quite attractive nose; rather tart/tangy bright/strawberry/
Grenache/quite spicy structured flavor w/ some hard/angular tannins; very long strawberry/Grenache/plummy slight
dusty finish w/ some hard/tannins; a rather structured red w/ lots of spiciness; needs 2-6 yrs; quite a good
Rhone blend for the price. $30.00
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5. Tercero Grenache WatchHillVnyd/SBC (15.0%) 2009: Med.color; quite fragrant bright/strawberry/Grenache/alpine
strawberry very floral/perfumed/aromatic quite spicy lovelly nose; fairly tart bright/vibrant/strawberry/alpine
strawberry/cherry slight earthy very fragrant flavor w/ light tannins; very long/lingering bright/alpine
strawberry/Grenache/very spicy slight earthy/dusty finsh w/ light tannins; a bright/vibrant/zippy drinkable
expression of Calif Grenache and one of the better ones I've had this year. $30.00
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6. BedrockWineCo Grenache (Gris or Rouge) GibsonRanch/McDowellVlly/MendoCnty (14.0%; 50% whole cluster w/
carbonic frmtion; 13.8%) 2013: Med.color; some earthy/dusty/OV deeper quite spicy/Grenache/strawberry/blackberry
complex beautiful nose; softer rich/lush bit buttery/oak/vanilla quite dusty/OV deep very spicy/Grenache/
strawberry lovely flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite dusty/OV strong strawberry/Grenache/
blackberry very spicy complex finish w/ light/smooth tannins; complex & lots of dusty/OV character; lovely Grenache.
$nc (MT-P)/$21.00
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7. TheOjaiVnyd Grenache JohnSebastianoVnyd/SBC (13.5%) 2012: Med.dark color; slight herbal/thyme very spicy/
Grenache/strawberry bit earthy light toasty/smokey/oak slight earthy/garrigue lovely nose; lightly tart very
spicy/Grenache/strawberry slight earthy/dusty light/toasty/oak flavor w/ some tannins; very long light toasty/
oak very spicy/Grenache/strawbery bit dusty/earthy finish w/ some hard tannins; needs 2-6 yrs yet; slight Rhonish
in character and a serious wine. $29.75
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8. JCCllrs BrokenCompass Calif RW (15.2%; 84% Carignane/10% Mourv/3% PS/2% Syrah/1% AlicanteBouschet;
PasoRobles/SonomaVlly; 55 cs; Drk: 2014-2022: JC) 2011: Dark color; very strong toasty/charred/oak some cherry/
black cherry/Carignane rather earthy/dusty bit alcoholic slightly coarse/rustic interesting nose; slightly tart
earthy/dusty bit cherry/Carignane/bright rather charred/toasty/oak somewhat coarse/rustic flavor w/ light/
gentle tannins; long bit coarse/rustic/earthy/dusty strong charred/toasty/oak light cherry/bright/Carignane
finish w/ light/gentle tannins; a rather interesting peasanty Carignane w/ not the hard/bitey tannins Carignane
often shows. $40.00
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9. JCCllrs Smoke&Mirrors Calif RW (14.9%; 39% Zin/22% Syrah/20% Grenache/8% AlicanteBouschet/4% PS/4% CabSauv/
3% Mourv; SonomaVlly/AmadorCnty/Lodi/SolanoCnty/PasoRobles/ContraCostaCnty; 1235 cs; Drk: 2014-2017: JC) 2012:
Dark color; slight herbal/milk of magnesia very spicy/blackberry/Zin slight floral/strawberries some toasty/oak
quite fragrant nose; bit tart strong blackberry/plummy/Zin/spicy/light strawberry/Grenache/floral light
toasty/oak bit earthy/mushroomy flavor w/ modest/hard tannins; long light toasty/oak some herbal/blackberry/Zin
bit floral/Grenache/strawberry finish w/ some hard tannins; a rather interesting blend & reasonably priced; needs
another 2-5 yrs yet. $25.00
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10. JCCllrs the Imposter Calif RW (54% Zin/19% Syrah/3% PS/6% AlicanteBouschet/4% Grenache/3% Carignane/1% Viog;
SonomaVlly/PasoRobles/SolanoCnty/AmadorCnty/NapaVlly; 3303 cs; 14.9%; Drk: 2014-2021: JC) 2012: Very dark color;
rather herbal/dusty/OV strong blackberry/Zin/boysenberry/very spicy some charred/toasty/oak slight minty/menthol
quite interesting nose; big/rich/extracted very blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/Syrah structured rather toasty/charred/
oak flavor w/ ample/ripe tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/boysenberry/Zin/very spicy slight herbal/
dusty/OV ratherr charred/oak finish w/ ample/firm tannins; needs 3-8 yrs; quite an interesting blend that speaks
mostly of Zin. $35.00
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11. NormSchroeder PinotNoir LosAlamos Ho-Made (SaH: 23%; 35#'s of grapes; Cuttings from Lamy vine; 15 btls) 2012:
Dark color; rather earthy/mushroomy/truffly strong cherry/Cheracol slight minty/menthol/eucalyptus quite
interesting/attractive/strange nose; rather citric/tart/lean/screechy bright cherry/Cheracol/PN-like bit earthy
flavor w/ modest tannins; med.long bright/cherry/Cheracol/confected very tart/lean/screechy light earthy finish
w/ modest/bitey tannins; quite an interesting nose but kinda hurtey on the palate.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is from an order I did w/ Larry last Spring and just finally got around to tasting (allright...to tell
the truth...they got lost in the room w/ my tastings wines...buried under a bunch of SQNs. Maybe the proximity
did the Terceros good!!). All three of these wines impressed me...very well-made, fairly drinkable, reasonably
priced. JebDunnuck, in the latest WA review of SBC wines, recently took Larry to task because he felt the wines
were not up to the level of extraction and alcohol Calif Rhones should be; characterizing them as "superficial".
Didn't send him to the woodshed to hang w/ BobLindquist & SteveEdmunds, but clearly felt Larry needs to mend his
ways to break the 90-pt barrier. So be it.
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2. Bedrock: This wine comes from the very old block of GrenacheGris planted back in the late 1800's on Gibson
Ranch. Since GrenacheGris is not a recognized variety, Morgan simply labeled it as Grenache.
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3. Ojai: I was sufficiently impressed w/ this Grenache that we went back for another case. I had it when it
first arrived a month ago & was underwhelmed. This btl was much better. A pretty serious Grenache.
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4. Ho-Made Pinot: Norm is in my tasting group. He has 5 "PinotNoir" vines planted in his backyard here in LosAlamos.
You talk about challenging growing conditions...LosAlamos is it. Not only the weather, but he has to deal
w/ maurading elk that pass thru & rip up the yard. Despite the very high acidity, I thought the wine was quite
well-made and showed no obvious flaws.
These 5 vines came from TreyNaylor, who owns a Pinot vnyd down in Jaconita, down in the valley. He has one
very old vine that was transplanted some 25 yrs ago from Bishop'sLodge. They were putting in some new units
and destroying some very old vines on the property. ElmerTownsley got wind of it and asked if he could dig up
one of the vines. He & a friend took a backhoe and dug that sucker out and transplanted it to his Jaconita
property. It managed to survive and is a thriving very-old vine.
The suspicion is that this was one of Archbishop Lamy's original vines. Lamy was from the Burgundy region,
would make frequent trips home, and brought back numerous fruit cuttings, including grapevines, and propagated
them throughout SantaFe. He had a small cabin just outside SantaFe in Teseque. He propagated a lot of his fruit
to his Tesuque lot. There still exist very old apple trees at Bishop'sLodge, as the property is now known, which
iis a very high-end resort w/ lots of history behind it. Being from Burgundy, it would quite naturally be a
PinotNoir vine that he brought back. The old vine of Trey's could very well be old PinotNoir dating back to
the 1860's. No DNA testing has been done on it. But there's a lot of history there to be discovered.
Tom