We shut down BayWolf the other night:
Thurs/July 16:
Several of us got together for our last dinner at BayWolf (they close end of Aug). Included were
Bryan Harrington, Ken Zinns, Tom Leaf, Eric Lundblad, and (Florida) Jim Cowan. Lots of great wines, including
these memorable ones:
1. CowanCllrs Fiano RRV (13.9%; Sous Voile) 2014: Med.yellow color; slight nutty/fino sherry rather honeyed/
Fiano/floral rather complex nose w/ no overt oxidation; bit soft rather nutty/fino some honeyed/mango/Fiano/
fruity rather saline/savory quite interesting/complex flavor; very long/lingering saline/savory bit earthy/
nutty/fino sherry light honeyed/floral/Fiano finish; no signs of overt oxidation; quite an interesting
rendition of Fiano w/ lots of saline/savory character.
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2. Harrington Riesling GrivaVnyd/ArroyoSecco (14%; 25-30 yr old vines) 2014: Light yellow color; low-key/quiet
R/pineapple/floral somewhat earthy/chalky/mineral/perfumed talc quite interesting nose; fairly tart/steely
rather chalky/perfumed talc/mineral/stony light pineapple/floral/R flavor; very long some earthy/chalky/
perfumed talc/steely/metallic slight R/floral/mango finish; not your usual tutti-fruity Calif R; quite an
interesting R that should benefit greatly from 3-10 yrs of age.
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3. Sandlands Syrah SantaLuciaHighlands (13.2%) 2012: Very dark color; very strong green olive/black pepper/roasted/
roasted smoked meats strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery very complex beautiful nose; rather tart
intense Rhonish/green olives/roasted meats/roasted coffee intense blueberry/blackberry/Syrah complex flavor w/
ample grippy/structured tannins; very long/lingering intense roasted/roasted meats/smokey/espresso/green olive
very strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry/peppery bit earthy finish w/ ample firm/grippy tannins; obviously a lot
of whole-cluster ferment to give it a lot of Rhonish character; terrific Syrah.
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4. Forlorn-Hope LesParesseux CheninBlanc NorgardVnyd/Mendocino (11%) 2006: Deep golden color; very strong botrytis/
peachy/apricotty very fragrant/floral/spicy/perfumed some complex nose; quite sweet some tart/tangy light earthy/
chalky very spicy/floral strong botrytis/peachy/apricotty very ripe peaches/peach compote complex flavor; very
long/lingering rather sweet slight chalky/earthy very strong botrytis/peachy/apricotty/peach compote fnish; like
biting into a very ripe/fresh peach and having the juice dribble down your chin and onto your chest; great acidity
balances out the sweetness and a lot of underlying things are starting to develop; a stunning dessert wine as
good as any Coteaux du Layon.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Fiano: This was a Fiano of Jim's that took its own path to glory. A conventional Fiano that he struggled to get
thru MaloLactic, but wouldn't go. As the level in the barrel dropped, he noted that a flor yeast scum had formed
on top of the wine, so he decided to let nature take its course. The flor yeast must have done a good job of
protecting the wine in that it showed no overt signs of oxidation to me. It had a lot of saline/savory character
you get in skin-contact whites. Many of the Jura whites are made sous-voile and I liked this better than most
of those because it had plenty of Fiano fruit showing thru. Quite a fascinating wine.
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2. Riesling: The GrivaVnyd (grivavineyard.com/)is about 337 acres, mostly planted to Chard, w/ 27 acres of Riesling.
Most of the grapes go to BernardusWnry. Bryan got an opportunity to buy some of the old-vine Riesling and couldn't
resist taking a foray into the world of Riesling. I was quite taken by this wine because it reminded me a lot
of FingerLake R, a bit of AltoAdige R. Age should make this a very interesting R.
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3. Sandlands: This is the wine of Tegan Passalaqua, winemaker at Turley. My first foray into Tegan's wines. I was
mightly impressed, as I knew I would be. Clearly it is mostly/entirely whole-cluster ferment to give a very
Rhonish Syrah and the most unusual rendition yet I've seen of SLH Syrah.
Tom