We tasted last night (2/4/15) Some UmpquaVlly Wines w/ SkipKing:
1. PaulO'Brien Charlemagne UmpquaVlly/OR (70% Chard/30% PinotBlanc; 13%; www.PaulObrienWines.com)
Roseburg 2013: Med.gold color; strong fresh/green apple/melony/pear/Chard/lemony light toasty/oak/
caramel clean/bright quite attractive nose; fairly tart/crisp/lean bit stony/mineral brisk/green apple/
pear/Chard/lemony rather tangy flavor; very long tart/tangy some mineral/stony clean/green apple/pear/
Chard/lemony finish; clearly Chard but the PB gives it a bright/zippy/stony character; quite an
attractive Chard. $22.10 (vSK)
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2. SpanglerVnyds Tempranillo OR (13.3%; www.SpanglerVineyards.com) Roseberg 2012: Med.dark color; rather
earthy/dusty slight MendoCnty/tomatoey spicy/cherry/Temp/black cherry bit charred/toasty/oak slight
Rioja-like/rustic/earthy nose; fairly tart/tangy rather earthy/duusty/loamy/tomatoey some cherry/Temp
rather rustic/coarse flavor w/ lean/hard/bitey tannins; fairly long earthy/dusty/tomatoey some Temp/
black cherry rather charred/oak finish w/ hard tannins; somewhat coarse/rustic in character and
resembles MendoCnty Carignane than Temp. $26.00 (vSK)
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3. Cadiz HillCrestVnyds Tempranillo UmpquaVlly/OR (12.8%; www.HillCrestVineyard.com) Roseburg
2011: Med.dark color; light earthy/dusty/loamy more bright/cherry/Temp light pencilly/oak nose; fairly
tart/tangy somewhat bright/cherry/Temp/black cherry light earthy/dusty rather hard/austere flavor w/
modest/sharp/bitey tannins; med.long tart/tangy rather earthy/dusty light cherry/Temp slight pencilly/
oak finish w/ some hard/bitey tannins; rather hard/austere and not a lot of fruit on the palate.
$28.00 (vSK)
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4. ToreroNuevo DellaTerra Tempranillo (12.8%) HillCrestVnyds/Roseburg 2010: Med.color; light cherry/Temp/
black cherry/licorice quite earthy/dusty bit Rioja-like/rustic nose; very tart/tangy/lean/austere some
earthy/loamy/dusty slight cherry/Temp flavor w/ light/hard/astringent tannins; med. somewhat lean/hard/
austere somewhat earthy/dusty/loamy light cherry/Temp rather tangy/tart finish w/ light/coarse tannins;
noot a lot of Temp character and pretty hard/austere on the palate. $28.00 (vSK)
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5. Moxy Grenache MontereyCnty (13.5%) PaulO'BrienWines/Roseburg 2011: Med.color; some herbal/earthy/bit
candied mostly plummy/grapey nose w/ little Grenache character; soft rather herbal/earthy plummy/soupy
rather simple/dull little Grenache flavor w/ light/soft tannins; med.short soft plummy/soupy/RCCola
bit earthy/herbal rather dull finish w/ light/soft tannins; not much Grenache character but lots of
SanBernabe/soupy/plummy character; a rather dullard of a Grenache. $23.80 (vSK)
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6. LaAmericano Gd'O: Priorat (70% Garnatxa/15% Carinyena/15% Syrah; 14%) RealWinesRealPeople/
HillCrestVnyds/Roseburg NV (2012): Very dark color; intense blackberry/boysenberry/Grenache/framboise/
licorice/chocolaty light toasty/Fr.oak bit alcoholic beautiful/classic Priorat nose; soft very ripe/
boysenberry/blackberry/Grenache light toasty/charred/Fr.oak bit alcoholic flavor w/ modest/soft/ripe
tannins; very long soft/rich/lush some dusty/OV intense boysenberry/blackberry/Grenache/framboise/
licorice finish w/ some soft/ripe tannins; quite a good Priorat Grenache and a fair price. $36.00 (vSK)
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7. HillCrestVnyd PinotNoir UmpquaVlly/OR (DryFarmed/OldVine; 12.4%; Planted: 1961/1964) Roseburg
2012: Rather dark color; rather dusty/OV rather plummy/earthy very slight black cherry/PN/cherry cough
syrup some pencilly/toasty/smokey/oak nose w/ little PN character; soft some plummy/earthy/loamy/dusty
rather pencilly/smokey/oak very slight black cherry/PN/earthy flavor w/ light/soft tannins; med.long soft
plummy/earthy/dusty slight black cherry/cough syrup bit pencilly/smokey/oak finish w/ modest/soft tannins;
not a lot of Pinot character and rather simple/plummy character; disappointing for the $45.00 (vSK)
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8. LePig RW (Lot 1; 13.5%; Barbera) HillCrestVnyds/DellaTerra/RoseburgVlly/OR NV (2012): Dark color; classic
cherry/Italian sausage/berry/spicy light Am.oak quite attractive/spicy nose; fairly tart classic Barbera/
spicy/cherry/Italian sausage/fennell light Am.oak slight earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; fairly
long bit tart/tangy/angular quite spicy/cherry/Italian sausage/peppery light Am.oak/vanilla bit earthy/dusty
finish w/ light tannins; speaks strongly of Barbera but a bit more mild-mannered on the palate; reminds a
bit of a mid-range Barbera d'Alba. $36.00 (vSK)
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9. Spangler CabFranc Southern OR (13.0%) 2011: Med.color; rather herbal/CabFranc/rosemary/thyme some weedy bit
earthy/dusty/Loire-like qite attractive nose; soft quite herbal/CabFranc/vegetal/weedy light toasty/oak some
earthy/loamy/dusty flavor w/ light/graceful tannins; med.long somewhat CabFranc/herbal/rosemary/pungent
some earthy/loamy light toasty/oak finish w/ light/gentle tannins; resembles most a Loire CabFranc w/o the strong
earthy/loamy/dusty/gritty character they often display; a rather interesting rendition of CabFranc. $26.00 (vSK)
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10. HillCrest Syrah "Scyras" UmpuquaVlly/OR (12.4% Roseburg 2010: Med.dark color; some menthol/eucalyptus rather
cracked black pepper/Syrah/cold-climate some blackberry/spicy/Syrah light smokey/oak very interesting/unusual
nose; soft rather black pepper/cold-climate Syrah/pungent some menthol/eucalyptus bit earthy/dusty some
blackberry/Syrah/spicy flavor w/ modest/soft tannins; long very cracked black pepper/cold-climate Syrah
bit spicy/blackberry/Syrah slight earthy/dusty some menthol/eucalyptus finish w/ light/soft tannins; lots
of cold-climate/peppery Syrah character but light on the blackberry fruit; maybe a bit lacking in acidity
and structure but quite an interesting Syrah at a very fair price. $28.00 (vSK)
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11. Moxy Tannat MontereyCnty (15.4%) P&B by Moxy/Greenfield/CA/PaulO'BrienWines 2009: Very dark color;
rather tarry/earthy/plummy/boysenberry/licorice/spicy light toasty/oak nose; soft ripe/plummy/licorice/
pungent/tarry/herbal strong Tannat bit toasty/oak flavor w/ modest/soft/ripe tannins; long soft bit soupy/
plummy some tarry/Tannat/pungent/licorice bit charred/toasty/oak finish w/ light/soft tannins; lacks the
rugged/rustic character of a Madiran or the brightness of the Tablas Tannat; speaks quietly of Tannat
but shows that dull SanBernabe character. $30.60 (vSK)
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12. Moxy PetiteSirah AlexanderVlly (14.5%) PaulO'BrienWines/Roseburg 2009: Very dark/near black color; some
peppery/PS/plummy some Am.oak/vanilla bit earthy fairly classic/oafish PS nose; very soft/flabby strong
plummy/peppery/PS strong Am.oak somewhat earthy/loamy flavor w/ light/soft/mushy tannins; med.long some
earthy/loamy/dusty somewhat plummy/peppery/PS strong Am.oak/vanilla finish w/ soft/light tannins; rather
classic AlexVlly PS that is on the dull/oafish side & lacks acid or structure. $30.60 (vSK)
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And stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Tempranillo: All three of these Temps had a strong earthy/dusty/some loamy character and seemed rather
hard on the palate. Lack the bright/cherry character of Calif Temps. Maybe not the UmpquaVlly's
savior grape. Not sure if age will help these much or not.
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2. Moxy: This is the PaulO'Brien label apparently for wines they make from non-Oregon grapes. The MontereyCnty
Grenache & Tannat have the kind of earthy/soupy character I associate w/ wines out of SanBernabe Vnyd.
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3. Scyras: This is the ancient/original French name for the Syrah grape.
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4. UmpquaVlly: We have been buying some UmpquaVlly wines thru Skip for over a yr, from the Reustle wnry. We
have liked them quite a bit and thought them very fairly priced. When Skip was up in the UmpquaVlly at
Thanksgiving, he assembled this mixed case of wines from other wineries.
So..can I now identify that distinctive UmpquaVlly terroir blind?? Not a chance. Was I blown away by these
UmpquaVlly wines?? Certainly not. But I found the wines rather well-made and interesting. I've been much more
impressed by the whites than the reds. Based on this Scyras and several of the Reustle Syrahs, I think Syrah
has some real potential for the area. Don't know what about PinotNoir. The OldVine Pinot was rather
underwhelming, but I'd like to try others. Extrapolating from one data point is not a good idea, though
LosAlamos guys do it all the time...sometimes from even zero data points.
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5. LaAmericano: Not sure exactly the provenence of this wine. It had a Priorat Gd'O sticker on it, so I presume
it was entirely made & bttld in Priorat, and simply shipped over. Not sure who actually made the wine, nor
the actual involvement of the Hillcrest folks in making it. It's all a mystery to me.
Tom