We tried tonight (8/5/15) some Boheme Wines:
1. Boheme Chard EnglishHillVnyd/SebastapolHills/RRV (14.3%; 1/2 acre of WenteSlctn on Sept.26; Whole-cluster
pressed into neutral Fr.oak; one yr sur lies; www.BohemeWines.com; 144 cs) KurtBeitler/Occidental/Rutherford
2012: Med.gold color; strong ripe/melony/Chard/bit lemony/spicy rather pencilly/smokey/toasty/nutmeg lovely
perfumed nose; bit soft strong ripe/melony/Chard/spicy somewhat smokey/pencilly/nutmeg flavor; very long/
lingering ripe/melony/Chard/spicy some smokey/toasty/pencilly/oak/nutmeg quite balanced ripe/lush finish;
a bit bigger/riper/more oaked quite fragrant very attractive Chard. $37.75/$50.00
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2. Boheme Chard TaylorRidgeVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.5%; WenteSlctn harvstd on Oct.11; 2.34 tons/acre; W-C pressed &
frmtd in Fr.oak & SS; Aged 1 yr sur lie; 288 cs) 2012: Med.dark gold color; rather quiet melony/Chard/ripe/
clean some stony/mineral bit more interesting/complex nose; rather tart quiet melony/appley/lemony/Chard light
stony/mineral light pencilly/oak flavor; very long quiet/appley/melony/Chard light pencilly/oak light stony/
mineral finish; more on the delicate/restrained side w/ some stony/mineral character. $37.75/$50.00
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3. Boheme PinotNoir StullerVnyd/SonomaCoast (15.5%; Hrvstd: Oct 11-Oct 25; 10 days cold-soak; Aged: 17 mo.
in 50% new Fr.oak; 120 cs) 2006: Med.color w/ slight bricking; some funky/wet dog fur bit alcoholic some
pencilly/toasty/oak/smokey rather cedary/oldPinot bit tired nose; soft slight funky/hantavirus somewhat tired/
cedary/oldRed flavor w/ light/tired/astringent tannins; med.long slight funky/wet dog fur rather cedary/oldPinot
pencilly/toasty/smokey/oak finish w/ light/bitey tannins; lots of cedary/oldRed character, bit on the funky
side, and little fruit left; not much joy here. $50.00
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4. Boheme PinotNoir StullerVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.1%; Clones: Dijon 115 & 667; Hrvstd: Oct.5-11; 1.81 tons/acre;
Cold-soak & hand punchdown; 21 mo. in neutral Fr.oak; 472 cs) Rutherford 2012: Med.light color; lovely pencilly/
smokey/toasty/oak bright cherry/black cherry/PN/spicy quite fragrant nose; lightly tart bright/cherry/black cherry/
PN/very spicy light pencilly/smokey/Burgundian/oak slight earthy/dusty flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; very long/
lingering very bright/cherry/black cherry/PN/spicy light smokey/oak finish w/ light tight tannins; $43.75/$58.00
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5. Boheme PinotNoir TaylorRidgeVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.1%; 2.7 acres of Swan clone on Oct.20 @ 1.35 tons/acre;
190 cs) 2006: Med.light color w/ some bricking; slight funky rather cedary/pencilly/oldPinot slight cherry/PN
nose; bit tart/lean/dried out rather cedary/pencilly/oldPinot slight earthy flavor w/ light/dried out tannins;
med.long quite cedary/pencilly/oldPinot slight cherry/Pinot finish w/ light tannins; not much fruit left and
some pleasant cedary/pencilly character but not as tired as the Stuller; on its last legs. $50.00
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6. Boheme PinotNoir TaylorRidgeVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.3%; Swan Slctn; Hrvstd: Oct.7; 2.15 tons/acre; 21 mo. in
neutral Fr.oak; 305 cs) Rutherford 2012: Med.light color; strong cherry/black cherry/kirsch/PN light pencilly/
smokey/oak somewhat delicate/bright very fragrant nose; fairly tart bright/cherry/PN/spicy/kirsch light pencilly/
smokey oak w/ light gentle tannins; very long/lingering spicy bright/cherry/kirsch/PN/black cherry light smokey/
oak finish w/ light gentle tannins; lighter & more bright cherry fruit & more delicate of the '12 Pinots.
$37.75/$50.00
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7. Boheme PinotNoir EnglishHillVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.3%; Sept.27 to Oct.3; 2.81 tons/acre; Clones Dijon 115 & 667/
Vosne-Romanee/Calera; 21 mo. in neutral Fr.oak; 766 cs) Rutherford 2012: Med.light color; very bright cherry/PN/
delicate light herbal/earthy/mushroomy light pencilly/oak quite bright/vibrant perfumey nose; fairly tart
very bright/cherry/PN/spicy/delicate slight earthy/dusty/herbal/thyme light pencilly/oak flavor w/ light smooth
tannins; very long/lingering very bright/cherry/PN/spicy light earthy/mushroomy/herbal light pencilly/smokey/
oak finish w/ light graceful tannins; a very pretty bright PN w/ a bit more interest; I & most liked this the
best of the '12 Pinots. $40.75/$54.00
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8. BodegaRancho Syrah VivioVnyd/BennettVlly (14.5%) 2007: Very dark color w/ little bricking; strong smokey/Rhonish/
roasted/peppery some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry rather complex lovely perfumed nose; tart very Rhonish/roasted/
smokey/smoked meats/coffee some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah light toasty/pencilly/oak flavor w/ light/smooth
tannins; very long strong roasted/Rhonish/smoked meats/espresso some blueberry/blackberry/Syrah finish w/ light
velvety tannins; loaded w/ NorthernRhone character and probably about at its peak; my favorite of these '07
Syrahs because of the strong Rhonish charaacter. $34.00
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9. BodegaRancho Syrah ThieriotVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.5%) 2007: Med.dark w/ some bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/
primary fruit light smokey/oak bit simple nose w/ little complexity showing; less tart some primary/Syrah/
blackberry/blueberry light toasty oak flavor w/ light slightly drying tannins; long rather primary/Syrah/blackberry/
blueberry slight earthy/peppery light toasty/oak finish w/ slight drying tannins; seems to show lots of primary
Syrah fruit but not the evolution I'd expect; probably not going to evolve much. $34.00
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10. BodegaRancho Syrah QueSyrahVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.7%; www.BodegaRanch.com)
P&B by D&K Wines/Rutherford 2007: Med.color w/ slight bricking; strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah light pungent/
smokey/roasted slight herbal/black pepper bit pencilly/oak fairly complex nose; fairly tart light Rhonish/smokey/
roasted/smoked bacon/espresso/pungent very strong blackberry/Syrah/black pepper light toasty/oak fairly complex
flavor w/ light smooth/resolved tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/licorice/
black pepper slight herbal/earthy/dusty light roasted/Rhonish/espresso/smoked bacon light toasty/oak finish w/
light silky tannins; a fully resolved classic QueSyrah Syrah probably at its peak; a beautiful expression of
Calif Syrah. $38.00 (Enoteca/MX)
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11. Boheme Syrah OccidentalHills/SonomaCoast (13.3%; 79% QueSyrahVnyd/21% EnglishHillVnyd; Oct.21; 2.28 tons/acre;
Clones 877/EnglishHill & Clone 1 & 877/QueSyrah; Destemmed; Cold-soak 5 days; 21 mo. in neutral Fr.oak;
288 cs) 2012: Med.dark color; beautiful very perfumed blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/cracked black pepper slight
roasted/Rhonish/espresso quite complex perfumed nose; fairly tart very spicy cracked black pepper/blueberry/
blackberry/Syrah light smokey/Rhonish/espresso balanced lovely flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long/
lingering very spicy/blueberry/blackberry/Syrah/black pepper some roasted/Rhonish/smokey/espresso/meaty
balanced finish w/ modest gentle tannins; a beautiful Syrah that has the balance to take it out 5-10 yrs.
$40.75/$54.00
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12. EdmundsStJohn Syrah BassettiVnyd/SLOCnty (14.2%; www.EdmundsStJohn.com) ThirstyPagans with BigIdeas/SuisunCity
2005: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong blueberry/Syrah/very spicy some peppery/Rhonish/roasted/
smokey quite French-like complex beautiful nose; fairly tart bit lean strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry/herbal/
peppery some Rhonish/roasted/smoked meats/coffee complex flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; very long/lingering
some roasted/Rhonish/smokey strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah bit tart complex finish w/ light/gentle/velvety
tannins; just about as perfect as a Calif Syrah can become; enough acidity that it can probably go another 5-10
yrs. Costigan mystery.
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Stuff from the famous BloodyPulpit:
0. The prices reflect the LosAlamos ThermoNuclear discount.
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1. Boheme: This is the label of KurtBeitler. He's the nephew of ChuckWagner/Caymus. He planted the Caymus Pinot
vnyd out on TaylorRidgeRd out west of Sebastapol and Freestone. Originally under the LaBoheme label, he first
made Syrah from Al&Ginny Rago's QueSyrahVnyd after EhrenJordan dropped it. He then started the BodegoRancho
label for the Syrahs and kept the Boheme label for Pinot/Chard, with his brother, Derek, as partner. Since 2012,
the BodegaRancho label is 100% Derek's and Kurt is strictly Boheme. With the focus on cold-climate far SonomaCoast
vnyds, his wines veer more towards the elegant/delicate side of the spectrum. He may be making a Zin this year
from old-vine fruit, under a yet-to-be-determined label, that I'm looking forward to trying. One of my favorite
producers.
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2. OccidentalHills Syrah: This is Kurt's last production of QueSyrahVnyd Syrah. He blended in the small/first crop
of the EnglishHill vnyd with the QueSyrah Syrah. He thinks it's the best Syrah he's yet made & I would tend to
agree. He doesn't seem as big/ripe as his earlier QueSyrah Syrahs. It will be interesting to see what kind
of Syrah EnglishHill produces on its own.
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3. Chards: I've always liked Kurt's Chard as they are usually more restrained & balanced & elegant than many
Calif Chards. I slightly preferred the TaylorRidge for its more interesting minerally character.
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4. Pinots: Kurt's Pinots tend to the more balanced/delicate side of the Calif Pinot spectrum. They remind me a
bit of JasonDrew's Pinots, but not quite as earthy and much prettier/brighter in style. Most of us preferred
the EnglishHill Pinot. This is a rather young vnyd and it will be interesting to watch it evolve w/ increased
vine age. He has a special Vosne-Romanee clone that should be interesting as a special bottling.
Tom