WTN: Gonon Felsina Jadot Pahlmeyer Jonata Ojai

Notes from a blind tasting lunch

Domaine Franck Besson Rose Granit (nv) – a very pale pink with grapefruit and some faint cherry in the nose, this 100% Gamay from Beaujolais had good balance and was very pleasant. Despite being labeled NV, it is probably a 2017.

Blanc de Brulescaille (Cote de Bourg) – this 100% sauv blanc was surprisingly pleasant with citrus mineral nose and good balance.

2010 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers – opened at the end of all the other wines, this exhibited a very intriguing toasted pine nut nose, some floral and tropical elements, and a delicious long finish. Good show!

2007 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia – medium colour, very decent cherry nose, balanced and with a dry tannic finish. Worked better with food at this point.

2006 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre – very impressive showing here. Medium colour, excellent nose of floral notes and dark cherry hints at the end, fairly ripe – enough so that we thought it could have been new world. Good acidity and excellent balance.

2001 Tardieu Laurent Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes – colour now lightening in this wine, with good berry fruit and some garrigue in the nose, and sweet in the mouth with smooth finish. Punching above its weight.

1994 Pahlmeyer Merlot - first bottle I’ve opened of this since release. I’d seen some notes indicating signs of age and figured I should take a look, but this was in superb condition, with a juicy red fruit nose with definite hints of pepper, rich ripe in the mouth and with exceptionally long finish. The interesting thing was that no one jumped to merlot. The oak must have been assertive in youth but was now well integrated and it drank like a top level California Cab. It was so different from a French merlot based wine that it was akin to two different cultures using the same alphabet to produce works in completely different languages. RP rated this as the best merlot produced in California at the time. As to whether I would prefer to drink this wine or another merlot (Masseto, for instance) is another hard question.

2013 Jonata Todos – another interesting wine, mélange of syrah and sangiovese with several others in small amounts. Fairly dark, with a subdued nose but in the mouth, instant pleasure, sweet and juicy, well structured and with good length. Developed some chocolate raspberry elements in the nose with airing. Along with the Pahlmeyer, wines for sybarites to enthuse over.

2002 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard – dark wine showing a jammy sweet nose incorporating smoky black fruit, a tad riper than the 1997 I still have in the cellar, ripe, just a tad heavy and with a good length of finish.

2006 California Cult Classics Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard – made locally from excellent fruit sourced from good vineyards in California (initially, at least with the help of Signorello) this is still very dark, with a toasty oak nose with hints of cocoa and plum. Still showing well.

Nice. Always love when you write about opening 20+ year old bottles as the first time you've broached the case.

Was this lunch by any chance this week?

I was thinking about you folks because I was in Vancouver this week for a quick 48 hours. I debated putting out some sort of offline call, but it was a very quick work trip and I (correctly) assumed I would be too tired for much wine.

But, I did leave with a positive impression of the city (calmer, even-more-scenic version of my beloved SF), despite the grey drizzle and diminished views. And the fish was awesome. No blowout meals, but dinners at Oddfish and Sushi Itoga were both well worth my time.

Indeed - it was yesterday (Friday).

If you are ever up here and have time, let us know and we can do an ad hoc lunch! (Or if it features German wines, I guess that would be 'ad Hock'.....)

Aha, I was in airports/airplanes all day returning home yesterday (Friday).

And ad hoc lunch (of any sort) sounds great. Will see when my next return occurs. That was my first ever visit!

Great to have you up here Rahsaan.

I had the Tardieu-Laurent Vacqueyras VV 2001 - eleven year ago. I don't really like Southern Rhone much these day so I'd probably be cautious about re-visiting these, but it was nice remembering.

[Jenise]

I had the Tardieu-Laurent Vacqueyras VV 2001 - eleven year ago. I don't really like Southern Rhone much these day so I'd probably be cautious about re-visiting these, but it was nice remembering.

My experience is that Tardieu Laurents are overly oak-intense when young, but with age they come together beautifully and this was just such a bottle. So much so that in fact we initially missed it as a Vacq--guessing order went CdP, Gigondas, much head scratching, and only eventually Vacq.

[Jenise]

Bill, more later but two corrections: I purchased the Rose Granit in September of 2017, so it's probably a '16. And the Jonata was Syrah (74%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (16%). Sangio, merlot, CF, grenache, PV, semillon, SB and viognier are the remaining constituents.

[Jenise]

Some feedback:

Domaine Franck Besson Rose Granit (nv) – shows fruitier and less mineral driven than it did when I bought these early last fall. But definitely not a '17.

Blanc de Brulescaille (Cote de Bourg) – And I believe this was a 2013. Not 100% SB per Alvin, but 75% with 25% semillon which is what initially had me thinking chenin. Very balanced with lanolin and smoke.

2010 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Blanc Les Oliviers – I picked up hazelnuts and stone fruit. It was delicious. Made me very sorry I hadn't brought the Gonon 2010 red St. Joe I actually had my mits on. I was reaching for it when I saw the Jonatas, and gave into lust to finally taste one.

2007 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia – I don't drink enough Felsina. I have 06's which are much lighter, and I forgot that these can have that kind of body. Divine.

2006 Louis Jadot Volnay 1er Cru Clos de la Barre – Definitely punches above it's weight for both class and vintage. As you say, we even thought it might be new world. Barring that, a ripe year 1er or another year's GC. Either way, a lot more than I expected for either Jadot OR the vintage.

2001 Tardieu Laurent Vacqueyras Vieilles Vignes – Another winner from T-L--and so much more elegant than I associate with Vacq. Drinking perfectly now.

1994 Pahlmeyer Merlot - The first word in my notes is: BEEYOOTIFULL. I guess I liked it, and you're right that it didn't come across as merlot. In fact, I was certain it was syrah because of the mature black currant flavors. How many more do you have?

2013 Jonata Todos – 74% syrah and 15 cabernet sauvignon plus 8 other things including three whites. This is the central California project of the Screaming Eagle people. Early reviews suggest that this brand will set the bar for the area, and based on what I tasted in this, I can see it. Agree with your description of the flavors.

2002 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard – on initial opening, very Chave Hermitage-ish. Big tar in exactly that style. That aspect dissipated a bit with airing, but note we didn't even decant, just left the cork off. It was ready to go.

2006 California Cult Classics Cabernet Sauvignon Stagecoach Vineyard – I liked this too--it was tasty, balanced and interesting--but apparently it liked varietal typicity as my notes documents that no one guessed it was Cabernet. Btw, I have the 05 (I'm sure you do too)--wish I had the 06 instead!