Opened these two last night w/ dinner to try:
1. CedarvilleVnyd {Viognier} ElDorado (EB; 198 cs; 14.3%) 2013: Light yellow color; rather fragrant pear/Viog/spicy light stony/mineral/ElD earthy very attractive nose; fairly tart spicy/pear/Viog slight hair-oil/GWT-like rather ElD earthy/stony/mineral somewhat rich/lush/ripe flavor; fairly long tart ripe/pear/Viog almost GWT-like rather smooth/silky/lush slight tangy/metallic finish; a very pretty/attractive low-key Viog; reminds a lot of a Priorat GrenacheBlanc but w/ acidity. $21.00
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2. Kenneth-Crawford Syrah EvansRanch/StaRitaHills (15.3%; www.KennethCrawford.com) Buellton 2004: Very dark/near black color w/ no bricking; very intense blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah/spicy some black pepper/cold-climate Syrah/licorice/pungent slight Rhonish/roasted/smokey some toasty/charred/oak bit complex nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic some cold-climate/peppery strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe bit pungent/licorice flavor w/ hard/lean/astringent tannins; very long quite acidic/tangy/metallic very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/boysenberry/ripe some taosty/oak bit peppery/cold-climate finish w/ hard tannins; a beautiful cold-climate Syrah nose but pretty hard/angular/tannic on the palate and may never smooth out.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Cedarville: I have, of course, followed Jonathan & Susan's wines from the very start and have liked them quite a lot. Some of the best wines being produced in ElDoradoCnty.
Their earlier Viogs were somewhat on the soft & fat side. The last few vintages seem to show much more acid...yet still have plenty of ripe Viog flavors. Definitely not in a DollyParton style.
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2. Kenneth-Crawford: No longer in existence. The partners have gone their separate ways. The Gainey's are the owners of EvansRanch and now make a line of wines under the EvansRanch label. I've not tried any of them.
Tom